After breakfast we pick you up from your Marrakesh hotel or riad and travel to the High Atlas Mountains and over the famous Tizi-n-Tichka (2260m) pass. There are multiple opportunities to stop at the scenic lookouts to enable you to take in the breathtaking views of the mountaintops and valleys. After the Tichka pass, you leave the main road and take a side road to visit the Telouet Kasbah with its traditional interior decoration. This kasbah belonged to the Pasha, of the Glaoui family also known as the Lords of the Atlas. This kasbah sadly now stands in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country after the departure of the French.

Continuing our tour as we reach the far side of the mountains, the landscape changes dramatically, becoming semi-arid and desert-like. From there you continue for lunch at Aït Ben Haddou. The afternoon is spent exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aït Ben Haddou, which has been used as a backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters. It was one of the most important fortress strongholds on the old Salt Road caravan routes, where traders brought slaves, gold, ivory and salt from sub-Saharan Africa to Marrakech and beyond. You also have the option of a short camel ride.

From there you continue to Ouarzazate and onto the Oasis of Skoura at the beginning of the Valleys of a Thousand Kasbahs. Here you spend the night on the edge of the oasis in a beautiful new but traditionally built Kasbah.

After breakfast we return to Ouarzazate to visit the Kasbah Taourirt, which is currently being restored. It is one of the most attractive and beautiful sites in southern Morocco and considered a national heritage.

We next travel to the hidden oasis of Fint, surrounded by high mountains and nestling along a river. Fint Oasis is a traditional Berber village and once served as the head of the caravan route from the Sahara. It is a secluded spot for a walk along the river, observe the wild life in the oasis and have a traditional glass of tea.

Later the trip takes you to the Atlas Studios, if you are interested in seeing the somewhat faded but genuine sets of some major Hollywood blockbusters such as Lawrence of Arabia, Mummy, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Hanna, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen were all shot here, as was part of the Game of Thrones.

The road back to Marrakesh passes the Amethyst Valley, where you might like to get out of the car to look for semi precious gem stones on the slopes of the valley. From there you start climbing again slowly to reach the Tichka pass again and return to Marrakesh.