4 DAYS TOUR FROM FES TO MARRAKECH VIA SAHARA DESERT

• On the 2nd day of your 4 days tour from fes to marrakech, 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.

• Begin your day with a 1 hour Quad excursion through the Sahara Desert. Enjoy the exhilaration of speeding through the sands and up the dunes, where you will stop to enjoy a peaceful moment with just sky and sand for as far as you can see. You will have a professional guide to ensure your safety!

• Explore the Berber farms and fields of Merzouga town and marvel at the ingenious underground water and irrigation system, for family agriculture and for spectacular date palms.

• Visit Dayet Srij Salt Lake or “Flamingos Lake”. During Spring the lake attracts many species of birds e.g. amazing colony of Greater Flamingos, desert Warbler, Egyptian Nightjar, Falcons, desert Sparrows and many more. Several species reside at the lake all year round. Other wildlife to be spotted at the lake are lizards, hedgehogs and desert foxes.

• Visit the Black village of Khamlia. For centuries black Africans from the Gnawa tribe, originating from sub-Saharan countries such as The Sudan, Mali and Niger, were forcibly moved from their homelands across the Sahara to Morocco as part of the worldwide slave trade. Shackled in chains as they crossed the desert, they sang to soothe their pain and found a mindfulness in the rhythmic chanting and clanking of the chains.

• Today Khamlia’s inhabitants are direct descendants of these slaves. You will visit one of the music associations, have a cup of tea and listen to the Gnawa inspirational African music which is legendary from their ancestors, preserved from their original homeland and still played in a traditional manner.

• Visit a desert nomadic family, share a cup of tea with them and be totally captivated by their lifestyle of traditional tents and the harsh desert environment in which they live. A great experience you will enjoy while on your 4 days tour from Fes to Marrakech.

• Partake of a delectable lunch of Berber Pizza which is a specialty of the desert town of Merzouga and head to your Riad/Hotel in front of the sand sea for a rest or a swim at your leisure. (Overnight in Merzouga).

• Today, on the 3rd day of your 4 days tour from Fes to Marrakech and after having experienced 2 memorable nights in the spectacular sand sea desert dunes of the Sahara, you 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.

• 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 4 days tour from Fes to Marrakech, you 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.

• After lunch, you will continue the journey towards one of the most beautiful valleys in the Kingdom and enjoy colourful Berber mud villages overlooking the amazing Dades Valley. You 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 4th day of your 4 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 you 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 4 days 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.