If you like hiking and have a little over a week at your disposal, there is a perfect proposal for you: this circular tour from Marrakech to the desert and the Ouzoud waterfalls. These are eight days in which there is also space for popular culture and art, on a tour that takes you through famous places in Morocco but also through other lesser-known corners by the general public. And we can organize it privately so that you can share your trip with whoever you want, without more participants.
What makes this tour different from others in our catalog are the walking experiences: although there are many kilometers of roads and tracks, as is logical, there are also long times to discover unexplored corners by walking. Especially in the Dades Valley and its surroundings, which is presented as an ideal place for hiking lovers. The camel ride in the Erg Chebbi dunes is also a slow tourism experience, topped off by the night under the stars and the contemplation of the sunrise. In addition, the Ouzoud waterfalls are a plus of nature in this travel package, which will end up conquering travelers looking for a calmer type of tourism.
Nature is the protagonist on this circular tour from Marrakech, through the desert and the Ouzoud waterfalls. But it also has a very important human component. On the one hand, because of the masterpieces of art and architecture that you can contemplate with your eyes, among which the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou and the monuments of Marrakech stand out. But also, because of the beauty and charm of popular culture, based on ancestral customs and traditions. This is how you will discover it, for example, in Khamlia with a gnawa music concert, and also in the heart of the desert when visiting a nomadic family, who will open the doors of their home to us.
Marrakech is the starting and ending point of this circular tour. And the tour will always be completed in a comfortable private vehicle, which becomes an all-terrain vehicle on the desert tracks and a dromedary in the Erg Chebbi dunes. This is the 8-day and 7-night program:
This circular tour from Marrakech to the desert and the Ouzoud waterfalls starts at Menara Airport: your flight will land there and we will pick you up there to hit the road and head south (another meeting point can also be agreed for the start).
The journey will begin to ascend until reaching an altitude of 2,260 meters above sea level: that is the altitude at which the Tizi n’Tichka pass is located, from where the panoramic views are privileged, with the peaks of the High Atlas snowy for a good part of the year. Therefore, stopping to take some photos becomes an almost obligatory option.
The descent takes us to 100% Berber territory, through valleys stripped of vegetation and typical constructions of their culture. The best example of this comes at the end of the descent: the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou. We will discover it calmly the next day, but during the night you will rest in a riad located right here, which will amplify the charm of the experience.
We will dedicate the first part of this second day to discovering the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, with a visit that will last approximately 3 hours. Only in this way will we be able to explore all the corners of this enclave, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco and a regular filming set in films and series from all over the world, such as Game of Thrones.
During our walk we will be able to admire its spectacular red adobe walls, impregnable some time ago when the caravan routes from the other side of the Sahara passed through here. Its kasbah in ruins, located at the top, helped to defend the territory and the town. And its hamlet, crowded and of great uniformity, preserves corners full of charm.
After this visit, we will return to the road to travel a section of the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs. We will pass, therefore, through Ouarzazate and we will stop in front of the kasbah of Taourirt, a majestic palace-fortress of the El Glaoui family. We will enter the Valley of the Roses, full of rose bushes that bloom in spring.
And we will travel through the Dades Valley. In fact, after lunch, we will take a walk through its gorges, which will make us learn more about its flora, its fauna and its geology, so unique because it is located halfway between the high mountains and the most arid desert. And after the walk, we will go to a charming riad located in this place, for dinner and rest at night.
On this third day of the tour, we leave the Dades Valley, but not without first discovering other gorges of enormous interest: those of Todra. It is a much narrower and more enclosed gorge than in the surrounding valleys, the result of the erosion of the Todra River. The result looks like a stab in the rock, at the bottom of which there is a path along which we will walk for a pleasant time.
Back on the road, the objective is now to reach Merzouga, the town that gives its name to this part of the desert. There they will be waiting for us to change the car for dromedaries, and with them enter the dunes of Erg Chebbi. It will be a walk of a couple of hours, at a rate of one dromedary per person. In this way, we will feel like authentic Tuaregs of the desert walking through the most beautiful sand dunes in the country.
And in the heart of these dunes is a Berber haima camp where we will spend the night. The scene is most evocative: canvas tents grouped around the fire of a bonfire (extinguished on windy days), live local music, an immaculate sky where the stars shine brighter, a traditional dinner where tea is a must… Without a doubt, a perfect epilogue to a very complete day.
If the night is beautiful and peaceful in the depths of the desert, the sunrise is not far behind: the lights of dawn create a magical atmosphere that you can enjoy if you get up early on this fourth day. Breakfast, in the camp, can wait until the day is already well lit…
After that, we will return to Merzouga with another camel ride and we will change the four legs for the four wheels, as a 4×4 route through the desert awaits us. To begin, an ethnographic and musical stop: in the town of Khamlia we will attend a gnawa concert, performed by people of sub-Saharan origin and descendants of former slaves, who are the true creators of this folkloric expression, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
And already through sand tracks, we will discover the other face of the desert. For example, sections through which the Paris-Dakar Rally circulated. Or kohl mines exploited in the past, in the times of the French Protectorate. Remains of Berber villages will tell us about the difficulty of surviving in an environment so hostile to life.
For this reason, the courage of the nomadic family that we will visit during the day acquires greater value: they will receive us with a tea and tell us what their day-to-day life is like, in which they maintain uses and customs of yesteryear, taking advantage of the scarce natural resources offered by the desert.
The route will also take us through elevated points where we can enjoy a panoramic view of the Erg Chebbi dunes. And to conclude the day, dinner and sleep will be in a beautiful hotel-kasbah, decorated according to the tastes and style of Berber culture.
Note: the morning shower can be taken in the haima camp or in a partner hotel in Merzouga, depending on the package contracted
On the fifth day of the tour we leave the desert, but before we will briefly get to know two of the interesting towns that are located at its gates. The first of these is Rissani, famous for its historic medina, well preserved and monumental, but also for its market: if our passage coincides with it, it is likely that we will see the unique image of a parking lot of donkeys tied to the door.
The other city to know is Erfoud, in this case famous for its minerals and fossils. Here proliferate the workshops and shops that trade with the wealth of its subsoil, in some cases with paleontological pieces of great value. Both in Rissani and in Erfoud, the star food is the date, present in the gastronomy and local festivals.
After that, we will take the road of the Ziz Valley and leave the most desert area of the country, because about 200 km later we will be crossing the mountains of the Middle Atlas and arriving at Midelt, the town where the riad will be tonight. Dinner will also be served there.
From Midelt, on this sixth day, the route turns west until passing through Beni Melal, one of the most important cities in the center of the country. Then, again south to head to the Ouzoud waterfalls: it is the largest and most impressive waterfall in Morocco, and also one of the most fascinating in North Africa, with more than 100 meters of fall that acquire all its splendor in spring.
In these Ouzoud waterfalls it is possible to take a bath in the pool located in the area of the fall, as well as take a small navigation through its water course. There are beach bars to have a drink and enjoy the surroundings, and it will not be surprising that some Barbary macaque appears, so accustomed to the company of the human being.
It will be a day to relax and enjoy without haste, as the riad of this day (with dinner included) is also located in the vicinity of the waterfalls.
From the Ouzoud waterfalls to Marrakech there are only 160 km, which is why this place is one of the favorite excursions for the inhabitants of this city. Therefore, after having breakfast and leaving the riad early, we will arrive in Marrakech around noon.
That will allow you to visit the so-called Red City the rest of the day, walking through the medina and admiring spaces as monumental as the Koutoubia Mosque, the Ben Youssef Madrasa or the Bahia Palace, among other proposals. The Jemaa el-Fna square, always very lively, is another neuralgic point of the city and recognized by Unesco, as is the entire medina.
Museums such as the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum, gardens such as those of Majorelle or fashionable neighborhoods such as Gueliz are other options to spend the rest of the day, without forgetting the always interesting craft purchases in the souks. Without a doubt, it will be worth squeezing the day until nightfall, before resting in your riad in the medina.
The eighth day will be scheduled according to the schedule of your return flight home. We will approach the riad to pick you up and make the transfer in a private vehicle to the airport. And if before that moment there is time for a last free walk through the city, it will be convenient to take advantage of it to squeeze the charm of this spectacular city to the maximum. For our part, we will consider our services finished at the airport terminal, after the transfer and with a farewell that we hope will be a ‘see you soon’.
On this 8-day tour you will feel supported at all times thanks to the services included in the package and that you can consult below: transport, accommodation, a good part of the diets…
These other services are not included. We will give you advice on them but they will have a separate cost:
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