3 Days Tour Ouarzazate to Marrakech: Merzouga Dunes, Atlas Studios & Ait Ben Haddou

Day 1 starts at Ouarzazate where our English-speaking Berber driver collects you from your hotel or airport in a private, air-conditioned 4x4 or comfortable minibus. From here, the road climbs through Ouarzazate, gateway to the Sahara and home to the Atlas Film Studios where dozens of Hollywood productions are shot every year. You then continue toward the palm grove of Skoura, an emerald oasis of 25 surviving kasbahs scattered among the date palms. Lunch is served en route in the dramatic Dades Valley, where ochre cliffs fold over the river and Berber kasbahs stand on every bluff. The afternoon takes you to the Todra Gorge, where 300-metre red limestone walls narrow to just ten metres apart and the river runs ice-cold even in summer. Tonight you sleep in a private luxury Berber tent on the Erg Chebbi dunes — real beds, ensuite bathroom, candle-lit dinner and one of the darkest night skies in Morocco for stargazing.

Day 2 continues the journey deeper into Morocco. You travel through the sunrise dune walk — barefoot and silent on the cold morning sand, watching the desert blush apricot then gold. The afternoon takes you to Rissani, the ancient caravan town and former capital of the Filala dynasty, with one of Morocco's most authentic Berber markets. As the light softens you reach the Todra Gorge with its towering red cliffs — a favourite of rock climbers and a moment of cool shade in the desert journey. The route winds on through the rose-pink Dades Valley with its cliffs sculpted by erosion into the Monkey Fingers and a string of fortified kasbahs. You sleep tonight in a charming guesthouse hand-picked for character, location and breakfast quality.

Day 3 is your return day. You travel through the rose-pink Dades Valley with its cliffs sculpted by erosion into the Monkey Fingers and a string of fortified kasbahs. The afternoon takes you to the UNESCO World Heritage kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou — clay-and-straw towers rising from the dry Ounila riverbed in the perfect golden-hour light. As the light softens you reach the spectacular Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres, twisting up through Berber villages and ochre cliffs. The route winds on through Marrakech, the Red City, where palm-fringed gardens meet the dusty noise of the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and the labyrinth of the medina souks. You arrive at your Marrakech hotel or airport in the late afternoon, with photo memory cards full and a head full of Berber drumming.