3 Days Tour from Marrakech to Merzouga: The Ultimate Sahara Desert Experience

Your driver picks you up from your hotel in Marrakech between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning. You head south-east through the olive groves and red plains that surround the city before the road starts climbing into the High Atlas.

The first major stop is the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres. This is the highest point on the tour and on a clear day the views stretch for hundreds of kilometres in both directions. In winter the road is lined with snow and the mountain peaks above are completely white. Your guide will stop at the best viewpoints and you can watch local vendors selling hand-made silver jewellery and fossils by the roadside.

From there you descend south into the pre-Saharan plains and reach the kasbah before lunch. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is the most photographed building in Morocco. Known locally as Ait Benhaddou, it is a living village of earthen-clay architecture that has stood for over a thousand years. Cross the stepping stones across the river (or the footbridge in winter) and walk up through the ancient mud-brick passages. Your guide explains the history of this 11th-century fortified village and points out the filming locations used for Gladiator, Game of Thrones and more than 20 other major productions. Around six Berber families still live inside the kasbah and maintain the traditional clay structures.

After the kasbah you continue to Ouarzazate, the gateway to the Sahara. You visit the Atlas Studio complex, the largest film studio in Africa, and photograph the beautifully restored Taourirt Kasbah. Lunch is available at a local restaurant here (around 8 to 10 euros, not included).

The afternoon route passes through the Valley of Roses near El Kelaa M'Gouna, where damask roses are harvested every spring for rosewater and cosmetics. You continue through Skoura with its ancient palm grove and arrive in the scenic Dades Valley by early evening. Dinner is included at your accommodation in the Dades Valley.

Drive time: About 315 km, 6 to 7 hours including stops

After a traditional Moroccan breakfast of mint tea, msemen flatbread, honey and argan oil, you enter the Dades Gorge (the Dades Gorges). The road follows the Dades River through dramatic canyon scenery past the famous Monkey Fingers rock formations, twisted pillars of stone that rise like sculptures from the valley floor.

Next is the canyon at Tinghir, one of Morocco's eight natural wonders and one of the most impressive canyons in all of Africa. The limestone cliffs rise 300 metres on both sides of the narrow canyon floor. The Todra River, cold and clear, runs at your feet. Allow at least 45 minutes here to walk, photograph and simply look up at the walls around you.

The afternoon drive takes you through the Tinghir oasis and then east along the pre-Saharan plains. You pass through the fossil town of Erfoud and the ancient Rissani market, the birthplace of the Alaouite royal dynasty. The landscape gradually changes as the rocky plateau gives way to sandy plains and the first low dunes appear on the horizon.

Then you see it. The Erg Chebbi dunes rise from the flat desert floor in front of you, 150 metres high, glowing deep orange in the late afternoon sun. This is the real Sahara desert. You park the vehicle and meet your camel caravan for the one-hour sunset ride into the heart of the dunes. The silence, the colour and the scale of the desert at sunset is something that genuinely stops you in your tracks.

At camp that evening you eat a proper Moroccan dinner prepared by a local Berber chef, watch the musicians play around the campfire, and then lie back to stargaze in complete darkness. The Milky Way is fully visible. Your private en-suite tent has a real bathroom with a hot shower and comfortable bedding.

Drive time: About 255 km, 4 to 6 hours including stops

Your alarm goes off before sunrise. This is the moment most people rate as the single best experience of the entire tour. You walk or ride back on camel to a high dune and watch the Sahara wake up. The light changes from deep purple to gold in minutes. The shadows cast by the dunes create abstract patterns across the sand. Take as many photos as you need.

After breakfast at the camp you start the return journey to Marrakech. Rather than retracing the same route, your driver takes the scenic southern road through the Draa Valley, Morocco's longest valley. Date palms stretch along the valley floor for hundreds of kilometres, with ancient kasbahs and traditional villages dotted along the route. The Anti Atlas provide the backdrop on the western side.

You stop for lunch in Ouarzazate or at a viewpoint along the road (around 10 euros, not included). Your driver makes regular comfort stops every two to three hours.

Option to end in Fes: Many travellers choose to finish this tour in Fes instead of returning to Marrakech. This avoids the long Day 3 drive and lets you continue exploring northern Morocco. There is no extra charge for the vehicle. Ask about this when you book.

You arrive back in Marrakech between 6:00 and 8:00 in the evening. Your driver drops you at your hotel or any central location you choose.

The return route crosses the Anti Atlas Mountain passes between Ouarzazate and Marrakech, a dramatic landscape of volcanic rock, argan forest and small settlements.

Drive time: About 560 km, 8 to 10 hours including stops