8 Days Tour from Agadir: Sahara, Imperial Cities & High Atlas

Day 1 starts at Agadir 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 Agadir, the resort city on the Atlantic, gateway to the Souss-Massa argan groves and the Anti-Atlas mountains. You then continue toward Taroudant. Lunch is served en route in ramparts. The afternoon takes you to Berber market. Overnight in a carefully selected riad or kasbah hotel with traditional dinner included.

Day 2 continues the journey deeper into Morocco. You travel through Taroudant. The afternoon takes you to the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres — the cinematic switchback road that connects Marrakech to the Saharan south, with hairpin views in every direction. As the light softens you reach Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed earthen kasbah whose fortified walls have starred in Gladiator, Game of Thrones and Lawrence of Arabia. The route winds on through Ouarzazate, gateway to the Sahara and home to the Atlas Film Studios where dozens of Hollywood productions are shot every year. You sleep tonight in a charming guesthouse hand-picked for character, location and breakfast quality.

Day 3 continues the journey deeper into Morocco. You travel through Ouarzazate, gateway to the Sahara and home to the Atlas Film Studios where dozens of Hollywood productions are shot every year. The afternoon takes you to the dramatic Dades Valley, where ochre cliffs fold over the river and Berber kasbahs stand on every bluff. As the light softens you reach the palm grove of Skoura, an emerald oasis of 25 surviving kasbahs scattered among the date palms. Tonight's accommodation is a boutique riad with a courtyard pool, fresh towels and Berber breakfast at dawn.

Day 4 continues the journey deeper into Morocco. 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 Todra Gorge, where 300-metre red limestone walls narrow to just ten metres apart and the river runs ice-cold even in summer. As the light softens you reach Erfoud, the gateway to the Sahara and capital of black marble fossils where ancient ammonites and orthoceras are still mined from the surrounding hills. The route winds on through Merzouga, the tiny Berber village on the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes where the Sahara properly begins and the silence is so deep you hear the sand shift. 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 5 continues the journey deeper into Morocco. You travel through Merzouga, the tiny Berber village on the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes where the Sahara properly begins and the silence is so deep you hear the sand shift. The afternoon takes you to luxury Sahara camp. As the light softens you reach the towering Erg Chebbi dunes — Morocco's most cinematic Sahara landscape, rising up to 150 metres in apricot waves at sunset. 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 6 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 Tinghir, the green palm oasis at the foot of the Todra gorges with its old Jewish quarter and tile-roofed kasbah. The route winds on through Ouarzazate, gateway to the Sahara and home to the Atlas Film Studios where dozens of Hollywood productions are shot every year. Tonight's accommodation is a boutique riad with a courtyard pool, fresh towels and Berber breakfast at dawn.

Day 7 continues the journey deeper into Morocco. You travel through Ouarzazate, gateway to the Sahara and home to the Atlas Film Studios where dozens of Hollywood productions are shot every year. The afternoon takes you to the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres — the cinematic switchback road that connects Marrakech to the Saharan south, with hairpin views in every direction. As the light softens you reach the Marrakech medina — Jemaa el-Fnaa square, the maze of souks, Bahia Palace, Saadian tombs and the Koutoubia minaret rising above the date palms. Overnight in a carefully selected riad or kasbah hotel with traditional dinner included.

Day 8 is your return day. You travel 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. The afternoon takes you to Tizi n'Test pass. As the light softens you reach Agadir, the resort city on the Atlantic, gateway to the Souss-Massa argan groves and the Anti-Atlas mountains. You arrive at your Agadir hotel or airport in the late afternoon, with photo memory cards full and a head full of Berber drumming.