3 DAYS TOUR FROM FES TO MARRAKECH VIA THE SAHARA

• Before sunrise, on waking, you may climb the sand dunes for a fantastic view of the amazing sunrise in the Sahara Desert, followed by a typical traditional Berber breakfast.

• Today, on the 2nd day of your 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech and after having experienced a memorable night in the spectacular sand sea desert dunes of Sahara, we depart for the town of Rissani.

• This town was an ancient strategic cross roads destination on the trans-Saharan trade route linking Western Africa with Europe and Asia. It was a major camel caravan and commercial centre which gave great importance to the city from the 8th to 16th centuries.

• Caravans of up to 200,000 camels would arrive in Rissani each year, from many sub Saharan African countries, e.g. Mali, Ghana, Senegal, Niger, Sudan, all trading gold, ivory, local crafts, slaves and most importantly salt, which was sometimes used as trade currency and more valuable than gold at that time. Camels were first domesticated by the Native Berbers in north Africa, c.300 A.D. and the camel caravans traveled vast distances for long periods, up to 100 days to reach Rissani. They rarely traveled faster than the camel man’s walking speed and their ability to withstand hard conditions made them ideal for communication and trade especially in the desert of Africa.

• Rissani is renowned for its cultural diversity of Berber, Arab and desert communities, all recognisable and differentiated by their clothing style and colours worn. Also, it is a diverse city and well known for its traditional markets / Souks, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, being the busiest shopping days for souvenirs, gifts, spices, crafts and jewelry such as silver. There is a live stock market for sheep, goats and donkeys, and traders in local fresh produce such as dates, olives, vegetables and many traditional items. It might be possible to stop here to explore these traditional markets and maybe taste some Moroccan sweet dates.

• Departing Rissani and continuing your 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech, we will travel towards Tinghir, where we will deviate to a minor road following the river of Todgha Gorge. Contemplate the scenic panoramic views of the old Jewish and Berber mud villages, overlooking the valley. Some time at leisure to enjoy the immensity of the huge red cliffs, 400M elevation, where many international rock climbers come to enjoy their preferred sport.

• The Todgha Gorge is recognised worldwide for being one of the most spectacular rocky canyons. No wonder this place has been used for filming many movies due to its magnificent natural setting, one of the most famous movies being the “Mummy”.

• In this area, lives a large community of Berber nomads. Sometimes, you can sight Berber nomad women, who have Berber tattoos on their faces. They may be seen herding their goats to drink water at the river’s edge and collecting their own water which is carried by their mules back to the caves where they live. (a visit to a nomad family might be possible).

• After lunch, we continue our journey towards one of the most beautiful valleys in the Kingdom and enjoy colourful Berber mud villages overlooking the amazing Dades Valley. We will drive along the spectacular Dades Valley to reveal the amazing rock formations known as monkey toes or sometimes monkey fingers. These extraordinary rock formations are metamorphic rock which has been severely eroded by rain, water (which has produced a chemical breakdown of the rock), wind and possibly sand storms over thousands of years.

• The Dades Valley prides itself for the extensive production of roses, wall nuts, groves of palm and almond trees. It was the site of ancient nomad crossings and the valley is dotted with Oases and mud brick palaces known as kasbahs which gives the region its fairy tale nickname. Then it is time to arrive at your Riad / Hotel for a peaceful night in the Dades Valley. (Overnight in Dades valley).

• After spending the night in the heart of the beautiful Dades Valley and on the 3rd day of your 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech, you will start your journey by driving through the Rose valley and the town of Kalaat Mgouna, known as the Rose Capital, for Damaskina roses and for the annual festival during the rose harvest in May to choose Miss Rose of Morocco.

• Continue through the “Road of the thousand Kasbahs”, the iconic Berber mud brick villages and earth castles to the “Oasis of Skoura”.

• This oasis is UNESCO protected and is famous for its numerous Majestic Kasbahs and here you will stop to visit the iconic 17th century Kasbah of Amridil, an ancient fortification providing visitors a glimpse into life in rural southern Morocco.

• Amridil Kasbah was founded over 300 years ago and is largely unchanged today. It is one of the living museums of Morocco and is the ancestral home of the Nasiri family. The present generation of the family live on site, have a museum of ancient Moroccan artifacts as part of the Kasbah.

• In ancient times camel caravans of gold, spice, slaves, salt and other cargo, off-loaded in Skoura, after many weeks trekking across the desert from several sub Saharan countries e.g. Mali, Senegal, Ghana and Asia. Today, Skoura’s historic mud brick castles remain and traders still arrive with desert products, especially trading salt.

• Moving on, you may have an opportunity for photo stop at one of the many cinema studios as we now visit Ouarzazate. This city is known as the “Hollywood of Africa” and was a former caravan town on the silk and salt route in the eastern foothills of the High Atlas Mountains.

• Visit the spectacular UNESCO site of Ksar Ait Benhaddou, the most intriguing of the red earth castles and one of the most eye-catching filming locations featured in Game of Thrones, Gladiator, Prince of Persia, Indiana Jones, Kingdom of Heaven and more.

• This Ksar (village) is one of the most intriguing of the Red Earth Castles lining the ancient road of the old caravan traders and is the oldest mud village in Morocco. It was once a commercial hub for camel caravan traders. In 1987 UNESCO added the ksar to its World Heritage list for its impressive history and photogenic Southern Moroccan architecture.

• Visit a women’s cooperative for making the world famous Argan Oil where you will see the process of extracting the oil from the Argan fruit. This will enrich your knowledge of the wonderful Argan tree, which grows only in Morocco.

• Travel over the wilderness and the dramatically beautiful landscapes of the High Atlas Mountains areas, passing through old scenic Berber mud villages and over the Tizi n Tichka pass at altitude 2,260 M. The journey continues to the magic city of Marrakech which was originally called Amur n Akuch, a Berber name meaning Land of God.

• Marrakech is one of Morocco’s Imperial Cities, because at some time in the country’s history, Marrakech was the capital of Morocco from 1071 A.D. for the following 2 centuries. Sometimes called the Red city because of the red walls surrounding its UNESCO listed Medina.

• Marrakech is a major tourist destination and home to many Kasbahs, Mosques, Palaces and gardens. The ancient Medina is a walled Medieval style city, dating to the Berber Almoravid Empire. It was founded in 1062 A.D. by Yusuf bin Tashfin and was the capital of the Almoravid powerful empire which covered a vast area from the grand Sahara, West/North Africa to Europe.

• Your amazing 3 days desert tour from Fes to Marrakech finishes and you will be transported to your Riad or Hotel in Marrakech. Check our range of Fes desert tours for more Morocco desert tours departing from Fes.