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Camels crossing the crest of orange dunes in the early morning near Merzouga

Sample journey · 10–12 days

Over the Atlas to the Sahara and Fes

Marrakech, the High Atlas villages, the kasbah roads, a night in the dunes and the Fes medina

Photo: Carlos Leret / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

This route crosses Morocco much as the caravans once did, only in the opposite direction. It begins in the souks and riad courtyards of Marrakech, climbs into the High Atlas, where walnut-shaded terraces step down to the streams, and then drops over the Tizi n'Tichka pass into another world: red earthen fortresses, palm oases and rock gorges, at the end of which the dunes of Erg Chebbi begin.

After a night in the desert the road turns north, through the Ziz valley and the cedar forests, to Fes, the oldest and densest medina in the country. There are a few longer driving days, so rhythm matters: where to stop for tea, where to stay an extra night and when a driver-guide makes all the difference. This sample route is only a beginning; the pace, the stays and the season would be shaped around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Marrakech
  2. Imlil (High Atlas)
  3. Aït Benhaddou
  4. Dades Valley & Todra Gorge
  5. Merzouga (Erg Chebbi)
  6. Fes
  1. The Koutoubia minaret above Marrakech, with the snow-capped High Atlas behind

    01Days 1–2 · Marrakech

    A riad courtyard and the sound of the souks

    A flight to Marrakech and a first evening in a riad inside the medina: behind thick walls, a fountain, an orange tree and mint tea. The next day, with a local guide, the souks where every lane has its own craft, the carved courtyards of the Ben Youssef medersa and Jemaa el-Fnaa, which turns into a vast open-air kitchen as night falls. From a roof terrace on a clear day you'll see the ridges of the Atlas for the first time: the direction you'll travel next.

  2. A green valley near Asni, looking up towards the High Atlas

    02Days 3–4 · Imlil & the High Atlas

    On foot between Berber villages

    Around an hour and a half by road past Asni, and the city is far behind. Imlil sits at about 1,700 metres at the foot of Toubkal National Park, surrounded by villages of earth and stone, walnut trees and irrigation channels. With a local mountain guide you walk from village to village; the walks can be anything from a few easy hours to a full day over a pass. Lunch in a family home, and evenings that are cool even in summer.

  3. Travellers crossing the river on sandbag stepping stones towards the old earthen ksar on the hill

    03Day 5 · Aït Benhaddou

    Over the pass to the land of earthen fortresses

    The road climbs in hairpins over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (about 2,260 m), and within a few hours the landscape on the other side turns red and dry. Aït Benhaddou is a UNESCO-listed ksar stacked on a hill above the riverbed. It's worth staying the night: in the late afternoon and at dawn, before the coaches arrive, the earthen walls glow, and you can cross the river to the old village on stepping stones.

  4. A mud-brick village in a palm grove beneath a rocky mountain in southern Morocco

    04Days 6–7 · Dades Valley & Todra Gorge

    The road of kasbahs and the rock gorges

    Past Ouarzazate and the palm oasis of Skoura, the road leads into the Dades Valley, where kasbahs line the river and the rock higher up has weathered into strange, rounded shapes. Two nights here let you slow down: a walk between the fields with a local guide, then the next morning, driving east, a stop in the Todra Gorge, whose walls rise hundreds of metres above a narrow riverbed. The palm groves around Tinghir are among the greenest of the whole journey.

  5. A man leading a string of camels over the dunes at sunset in the Sahara

    05Days 8–9 · Merzouga & Erg Chebbi

    A night among the dunes

    After about three hours on the road the dunes of Erg Chebbi appear on the horizon, some rising well over a hundred metres. You reach a desert camp by camel, on foot or by 4x4, and it's worth meeting the sunset on the crest of a dune. In the evening there's dinner, drums by the fire and, on a moonless night, a sky with more stars than darkness. The second night can be spent in the dunes again or in a simpler house on the edge of the desert.

  6. Two people walking down a narrow arched lane in the Fes medina

    06Days 10–12 · Fes

    The maze of the oldest medina

    The road to Fes is the longest: past the palm groves of the Ziz valley, the Midelt plateau and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, where Barbary macaques sometimes appear. With stops it takes the whole day, so some prefer to break it with a night on the way. In Fes, two or three nights in a riad and a day with a guide in Fes el-Bali: the tanneries, the Bou Inania medersa, the coppersmiths' lanes and the ovens where neighbours bring their bread. You can fly home from Fes.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    A morning in an Atlas village

    A path between the terraces, water running in the channels and bread straight from a clay oven.

  2. 02

    Aït Benhaddou at dawn

    Earthen walls catching the first light while the village is still quiet.

  3. 03

    Sunset from a dune

    Sand shifting from gold to pink, and a silence you never find in a city.

  4. 04

    Fes with a guide

    A medina where it's easy to get lost on your own, and with a local guide you find workshops you'd never find alone.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • At a gentler pace

    An extra night in the Skoura oasis or at Midelt breaks up the longest drives, and you can stay longer in Fes, resting in a riad.

  • More active

    A few days trekking in the Atlas with a night in a mountain refuge or, for those who are prepared and in the right season, a climb of Toubkal (4,167 m), which needs good fitness and extra days.

  • With children

    Shorter drives, more nights in one place, camels and dunes, and windswept Essaouira on the Atlantic to finish instead of Fes.

  • In another season

    Spring and autumn are usually the most comfortable. Summer in the desert can be very hot, while in winter the Atlas passes may see snow and desert nights are cold; we'd adapt the route and pace to the season.

Practical considerations

  • Flights into Marrakech and out of Fes usually connect through a European city; travelling one way means you never retrace your route.
  • The driving days over the Atlas and to Fes are long, so many travellers choose a driver-guide; self-driving is possible, but mountain roads and distances need preparation.
  • Mornings and evenings in the mountains and the desert are cool even in the warmer months, so bring a warm layer and comfortable shoes.
  • Modest dress is appreciated in the medinas and villages, and it's good to ask before photographing people.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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