4 days from Marrakech to Merzouga desert tour itinerary

Brief synopsis of stops along the route from Marrakech to Merzouga over the tours of four days:

The Desert of Merzouga

Itinerary for Marrakesh The best desert in Morocco is Merzouga, and you can visit it on a 4-day tour. The Erg Chebbi dunes are the most popular attraction in the desert. with its picturesque vistas and the highest golden dunes in the kingdom. offering a wide variety of attractions and activities for tourists. First, the camel ride and glamping are the most sought-after experiences. To put it another way, no trip to the desert is complete without a camel ride and a night under the stars in a traditional Berber camp. Nonetheless, there are those who would rather just take a short camel ride across the dunes to watch the sun set or rise.

However, some people enjoy taking 44 tours through the desert to see the sights. It’s true that camels are a great way to see the desert and meet locals like the Berber Nomads and the Gnawa. It’s also possible to rent a quad or a buggy and drive over the sand dunes. Additionally, if you are an adventure enthusiast with some spare time, you can ride a camel circuit and experience the old traditional way of life in Morocco.

Merzouga is a popular vacation spot for arthritic travelers. Many Moroccans, especially those living in the north, travel to the desert in the hopes of losing themselves in the sand.

The name Merzouga comes from the Merzoug family, who were early settlers in the region. There are several outlying settlements that surround the main town. In place of Merzouga, you could have heard of Hassi Labied, Tiharyin, Takojt, or any number of other settlements. However, the desert stretching from Tighmert to Khamlia hamlet is often referred to by this name.

Ait Benhaddou’s Kasbah

Located at the very end of the High Atlas Mountains, the town of Ait Benhaddou is just a half-drive hour’s from the city of Ouarzazate. The camel caravans on their way to Toumboctou often stopped here. Thus, they built it like a castle, complete with massive walls and angel towers. The tolerance of the Moroccan people is reflected in the fact that this community has been a temporary home to many different cultures throughout the years. Two graves, one Jewish and one Muslim, attest to the significance of this community, which has seen grandeur in its time. Many people believe that Ben-Haddou discovered Ait Benhaddou in 757 and gave it his name, despite the fact that it was really constructed by Thami el Glaoui. It is an excellent example of traditional Moroccan clay building and one of the oldest fortified settlements in the country.

Along with the other 8 sites, Ait Benhaddou was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987. As a result, the town has undergone a number of restorations throughout the years to ensure that it retains its charm and character. Ait Benhaddou’s river-in-the-gateway, massive walls, and lofty towers make it a popular filming location for filmmakers from all over the globe. To illustrate, let’s look at the success of Gladiator, an American-British television drama series.

Ouarzazate

Join our 4 day journey from Marrakech to the Merzouga desert and see the magnificent city of Ouarzazate. As a gateway to the desert, it is also one of the most popular tourist spots in the country. As an added bonus, it is often the first stop for travelers because of its convenient proximity to a major airport.

Located in the southeast, Ouarzazate is a collection of smaller settlements known as Ksours. Given its name, which is made up of two Berber words, Ouar, meaning “Without,” and Zazate, meaning “noise,” it implies the city or location without noise. Without a doubt, this is one of the most significant urban centers in the nation. First, it has one of the largest solar power facilities in the world, which provides most of the people who live there with clean, renewable energy. However, access is strictly forbidden. For another, Ouarzazate is a major hub for African filmmakers. With the incredible success of Prison Break’s fifth season, which was filmed here in this same city, as an example. In addition, a segment of the popular HBO series Game of Thrones was shot in the city of Ouarzazate.

The Taourirt Kasbah, one of Morocco’s most distinctive and spectacular fortifications, is located nearby. This amazing building is the finest representation of Moroccan architecture and has over 300 rooms. A member of one of Morocco’s wealthiest families, Thami El Glaoui commissioned its construction in the nineteenth century.

Geographical Location: Tizi Ntichka in the Atlas Mountains

As we begin our four-day journey from Marrakech to Merzouga in the Atlas Mountains, this is the first landmark we will see. Mountains that stretch across Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco are among the most well-known mountain ranges in the world. These ranges are not continuous chains but rather individual mountains separated by great distances.

Generally speaking, this range in Morocco can be broken down into three distinct sections: the High, Middle, and Anti mountains. We travel from Marrakech to the High and then the Anti first. The Berber people, who inhabit these mountains, have traditionally built their homes, known as Kasbahs and ksours, atop the hills. A straight road was difficult to construct because the landscape between Marrakech and the desert is characterized by steep hills. Engineers here built a 200-kilometer stretch of a road that curves in a way that no other road in Morocco does. The highest point of this latter is about 2260m and it offers one of the best panorama views. Along the way lies some cooperatives of the Argan oil that are usually taken as stop stations. These locations are worth a look if you’re interested in learning about the history of cosmetics production.

Numerous Berber Kasbahs and villages thrive off the produce of the various valleys that surround the Atlas Mountains.

Valleys

Our four-day journey from Marrakech to the desert town of Merzouga is likely to stand out due to the fact that we will be traveling through a number of different valleys en route. To begin, there is the Draa valley, the largest and longest valley in Morocco at 1,100 kilometers. The Dades and the Imini rivers meet there to form this body of water. The main products of this valley are dates and olives besides vegetables and Henna. Some estimates put the number of Kasbahs in this valley at around a thousand. Ouarzazate and Agdz are the two largest cities that have benefited the most from this valley.

First valley we reach after leaving Marrakech is the Ounila. One of the small rivers that separates the Ait Benhaddou and Telouet Kasbahs. Caravans, which often took several months to complete because to the slow pace of camels, utilized this route as their primary route. The governing tribes of these areas become immensely wealthy. The Thami el Glaoui family, for instance, constructed the stunning kasbahs of Telouet and Ait Benhaddou as an example.

We pass through yet another picturesque valley a few further down the road. This time, we go to Morocco’s Rose Valley, a major exporter of cosmetic ingredients. The city of Kalaat M’Gouna, located nearby, makes advantage of the valley’s produce. as an added bonus, this city celebrates the rose season with a festival every year.

We will transport you to the Dades valley once we reach the Dades region. Yet another stunning vally to see on the way to the desert’s discovery.