Leave Marrakech, sleep among the Erg Chebbi dunes, and arrive in Fes: a one-way crossing of the Atlas by way of the desert.
For travellers going on to Fes, the desert lies on the way rather than at the end of a return trip. Three days take you over the High Atlas to the Dades Gorges, through the Todra Gorge to Merzouga and a camel ride into the dunes, then north through the Ziz Valley and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas to Fes.
Over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) to Aït Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate, then east on the road of the kasbahs: the Kasbah Amridil at Skoura, the rose town of Kalaat M'Gouna, and the Dades Gorges by evening.
Along the Dades valley to the Todra Gorge, lunch on the way, then across the Jorf palm grove to Erfoud and its fossil workshops. Late afternoon at the dunes of Merzouga, and camels across the sand to a camp for the night.
Sunrise from the dunes by camel, then a shower and breakfast at the hotel. North through Rissani and the Tafilalet, along the Ziz Valley and its gorges, lunch in Midelt, then through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas by Azrou and Ifrane, arriving in Fes in the evening.
Starts from: Marrakech — your hotel or riad
PrivateA guided day in Marrakech, then south down the Draa Valley to M'Hamid and across open desert to Erg Chegaga, returning by the dry lake of Iriki and the saffron town of Taliouine.
PrivateThe shortest way to a night in the desert from Marrakech: over the Atlas, past Aït Ben Haddou and down the palm groves of the Draa Valley to a camp near Zagora.
PrivateA sunset camel ride into Erg Chebbi, then a night at camp where, on a clear moonless night, the Milky Way is plain to the naked eye.
PrivateAn evening in the stony desert outside Marrakech: an hour on a quad, a camel ride at sunset and dinner at a desert camp.
