We pick you up from your hotel or riad in Marrakesh and depart at 8am to travel into and across the High Atlas Mountains. After a spectacular drive on the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, we take a side road to the Telouet Kasbah, a superb example of Moorish architecture, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family, and which now stands in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country following the departure of the French from The Kingdom of Morocco. From there we continue on to lunch at 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. Later we continue to Ouarzazate where we spend the night.

Departing 8am we drive from Ouarzazate to the Todra gorges travelling beside the Dades River, which separates the High Atlas and Low Atlas mountains. Stopping at the picturesque Oasis of Skoura and visiting the stunning Kasbah Amridil. From here we travel through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, where the roses are distilled to produce oils, lotions and creams found on sale throughout the country. From there the next place to visit is the Dades Valley with its green gardens along the river and amazing rock formations where we stop for lunch and the afternoon of either relaxing or walking along the river valley. You will spend the night in a berber guesthouse.

After breakfast, continue to the next gorge of Todra where we will stop for some sight seeing of this narrow and steep sided gorge. We then continue onto Tinjdad, and the Oasis of Tafilalet where we stop to go down into the fascinating underground water channels deep below the earth, always cool and preventing the evaporation of this priceless source of irrigation. Lunch will be in a Berber village along the way. In Erfoud, famous for its Date Festival, you can stop to see the workings of thousands of fossils made into all sorts of artifacts. We then continue onto our bivouac at the Erg Chebbi dunes. In the afternoon after a welcoming glass of tea, watch the stunning sunset against the high dunes (250m) and afterwards there is dinner and the night in a nomad tent at the foot of the dunes.

Early birds can watch the spectacle of the majestic sunrise where the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. After breakfast we drive back east towards the Dra’a Valley via the villages of Tazzarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’) and stopping at N’Kob for lunch. We then drive to Tanasikht, along the track of the ancient caravan route, reaching the Dra’a valley, full of large palm trees and ancient Kasbahs. We continue on until we reach Agdz and spend the night in a riad or hotel.

After breakfast there is time to further explore the Kasbah before taking the ancient caravan road between the river and the mountains. On the way we pass many villages, farms, palmeries and gardens so that you can gain a better idea of the way of life in southeastern Morocco. We continue through Zagora oasis renown for having the best dates in the country and onto Tamagroute. Here we visit a traditional ceramic workshop, display centre and Quranic library. We then drive to M’hamid, the gateway to the Moroccan Sahara desert and stop for lunch.

We then make our way across another 60km through the varying features of the desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oasis 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 in nomad tents. Here we have dinner, be entertained by local musicians then spend the night.

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. We travel through Foum Zguid, the first village after the desert, to the village of Taznakht, famous for its Berber carpets and rugs. We stop for lunch and visit a local Berber carpet cooperative where local female artists create their artwork and sell direct to the public. We then cross the Tizi-n-Ikhsane and Tizi-n-Tighatine passes and onto Taliouine famous for its production of saffron and one of the main exporters of this spice worldwide. We then travel the rest of the way to Taroudant and spend the night in either a riad or hotel.

After breakfast we visit the town of Taroudant known as “the little Marrakesh”. Taroudant is spectacular for its massive 7.5km ramparts and beautiful medina. Then we travel back into the High Atlas Mountains across the famous Tizi-n-Test pass. Lunch will be in a mountain restaurant with superb views. From here we continue through the mountains to the village of Imlil, located at the end of the Mizane Valley, where we stay the night. Here the quiet and beauty of the views are overwhelming.

After breakfast, we have time to take in the majestic snowcapped Jebel Toubkal Mountain (4167m), the highest peak in North Africa. Back on the road we visit the Toubkal National Park then travel onward to Asni, a small Berber village, which is famous for its permanent as well as for its weekly souks. We then pass the mausoleum of Moulay Brahim, a well-known Moroccan Sufi saint who died in 1661. Here you can have tea with a local Berber family, who will show you the traditional bread ovens. The last Valley of the trip is that of the Lalla Takerkoust reservoir, which supplies Marrakesh and the surrounding area with water from the snow melt of the High Atlas. Here there are stops to take photos of the wonderful scenery over the lake. And then back return to Marrakesh.