After breakfast we travel to Azrou, where you can see Barbary apes in the cedar forest of the Middle Atlas. Lunch is in Midelt, in the high plains between the Middle Atlas and High Atlas mountain ranges. We descend down out of the mountains and through to the stunning and picturesque Ziz Valley. All along the road there are innumerable palm-fringed towns. We travel through Er Rachidia a garrison town and then to Erfoud – an oasis town in the Sahara desert, famous for its fossils and date festival. Our journey for this day ends at Merzouga and the dunes of Erg Chebbi, where you will be greeted with a traditional tea ceremony. You will then have tour by camel into the dunes for the sunset. Dinner is served and followed by an evening of music and you will spend the night in a bivouac of nomad tents.

Early birds can watch the spectacle of the majestic sunrise where the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome and memorable experience. After breakfast we leave for the Todra gorges. The road passes through Tinjdad and the Todra Valley. After lunch there are plenty of opportunities to walk, either along the river, through the gardens or up the road. Later we continue to the Dades Gorges and Dades Valley known as the ‘Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs’. We have dinner and spend the night in a hotel.

After breakfast, we go south, through the Saghro mountain to the village of N’Qob for lunch. We drive along the Dra’a Valley towards Agdz. The road gives a view of the gardens and kasbahs in the valley, passing oases beside the river. The oldest kasbah, Kasbah Tamnougalte, in the Dra’a Valley is situated near Agdz.

You will have time to walk in the Dra’a Valley and spend the night in the riad.

After breakfast there is time to explore the Kasbah Tamnougalte before taking the ancient caravan road between the river and the mountains. On the way we pass many villages, farms, palmeries and gardens. Once we reach the Zagora oasis, we stop for lunch in the town, renown for having the best dates in the country. After lunch we drive to Tamagroute and visit a traditional ceramic workshop, display centre and Quranic library. We then drive to M’hamid, the gateway to the Moroccan Sahara desert, to enjoy the sunset in the dunes close to the village. Here we have dinner, be entertained by local musicians then spend the night in our riad or optionally in nomad tents.

After breakfast at the riad, we visit the ancient kasbahs of M’hamid and Oulad driss and then make our way across another 60km through the varying features of the desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oasis. We stop for lunch at an oasis and then continue to the Erg Chegaga dunes. These are the greatest dunes in Morocco and are approximately 300m high and 35km long. You will go via camel to the bottom of the dunes for a wonderful view of the setting sun, before returning to the bivouac at the foot of the dunes.

After breakfast at Chegaga, we travel the desert by 4WD, which takes us through a further 90km travelling by Lake Iriqui, the desert mountains and fossil sites. Lunch will be in Foum Zguid, the first village after the desert, where it is also possible to freshen up with a shower. From here the drive back to Ouarzazate via the village of Taznakht, famous for its Berber carpets and rugs. We stop at a local Berber carpet cooperative where local female artists create their artwork and sell direct to the public. We can watch the process from dying the raw wool, spinning the fiber into strands before weaving the carpet or rug. We then travel the rest of the way to Ouarzazate and spend the night in either a riad or hotel.

After breakfast, we visit Kasbah Taourirt (which used to belong to the Pasha of Marrakesh) and the cinema studios of Ouarzazate. We then travel to Ait Ben Haddou. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many films have been shot in Ait Ben Haddou including Gladiator, Prince of Persia and parts of the series Game of Thrones. After lunch we then return north over the Tizi-n-Tichka pass to reach our destination of Marrakesh in the early evening. Optionally taking you to the airport or your accommodation.