8-Day Desert Tour from Casablanca

This is the day that your Morocco desert tour starts. From the city of Casablanca, you will have an early morning departure towards the Sahara Desert. You have to take into consideration that this is going to be a long day, but really worth it in terms of landscape variety. You will have the privilege to travel from the Atlantic Coast, all the way to Erg Chebbi dunes, near the border with Algeria. Undoubtedly this trip is one of our best tours from Casablanca.

Driving in Morocco’s network of Motorways until near Meknes, we turn south in direction of Azrou, as we enter the Atlas Mountains. This will be the first real stop of the day and you’re going to be amazed. At Cèdre Gouraud Forest, you will have the chance of interacting with wild monkeys. The Barbary macaque is an endemic species to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The lovely cedar forest will with primates is remarkably photogenic.

Cèdre Gouraud is literally a 40-meter high cedar tree located in the forest on the outskirts of Azrou. The Gouraud cedar is estimated to be 800 years old and owes its name to the French General Henri Joseph Eugène Gouraud.

Crossing the Mid Atlas until Midelt, the Moroccan capital of apples, we now start to climb higher altitudes until we reach the Rich city. From now on, the journey is going down altitude wise, as we finally arrive in the fabulous Ziz Valley.

You now notice how the landscape changes abruptly as we enter the Draa Tafilalet region, from a green and forest scenario, to dry mountains. Yes, the Sahara Desert is close. Draa-Tafilalet region‘s principal watersheds are that of the Draa River and the Ziz River, which waters the Tafilalt oasis down south near the dunes you’re heading.

You will have a couple of photo stops in Ziz valley and Al-Hassan Addakhil dam. Our last section of the journey is almost done as we cross Errachidia all the way to Erfoud, the last city before the dunes.

Erg Chebbi Dunes are the tallest dunes in Morocco, and its highest dune reaches above 250 meters.

As soon as we arrive at Erg Chebbi Dunes, you will be taken to your hotel room where you can rest before going to have dinner. If we get to the dunes on time, you will have the opportunity of enjoying your first Sahara Desert sunset. But as you know, the sunset calendar changes throughout the year, as in wintertime sunsets much earlier that throughout spring and summertime. During the evening you will enjoy live music from the local staff and have lots of fun.

Early morning wake up to enjoy the sunrise in the desert. Don’t miss this opportunity even if it means rising up early to climb the dunes. The reward is worthwhile. There are times that the sun creates this surreal colors while rising up from the Algerian mountains. This is an epic experience.

You’re going back to your hotel to have breakfast and get ready to explore the desert. Today you will be taken to several places in the region in order to get to know its culture, traditions, and best places to visit.

The highlight of the day will be a phenomenal Gnawa show with dance and music played by local artists. People from Khamlia village are descendants from sub-Saharan Africa tribes that stayed in the region while the ancient caravan routes we still operating. Nowadays, they maintain different traditions that create a very interesting and creative way of life.

After visiting Hassilabied oasis, you’ll be taken to your hotel to enjoy and relax the rest of the day until your time to go on a camel trekking just before sunset. You will spend the night in a desert camp in the dunes. If you thought your Sahara trip couldn’t get any better, well, you got it all wrong. The evening will be with music and local dance while eating a delicious local meal.

For those who wish to repeat and enjoy the early sunrise in the dunes, this is your last chance. Those who want to rest a bit more and get ready to start the day, breakfast will be served and you should pack to get ready to move on. Today, our final destination is the fantastic mud village of Tamnougalt, in the heart of the fabulous Draa valley.

After leaving the dunes we cross the desert into Rissani where we quickly explore its central traditional market. The road will be amazing today as we traverse pure African landscapes, in a region renowned for being one of the richest parts of the world in terms of fossils. We will have lunch on the way until we reach Nkob, a Berber village popular for its 39 well-preserved kasbahs.

Afternoon arrival to Tamnougalt. You will have dinner in the hotel and hopefully have a good night’s sleep so that you get some rest to continue your tour the next day.

Good morning from the Draa valley. Get ready, pack of things, and have breakfast.

You will explore the old part of Tamnougalt, interact with locals, and have a look in the palm grove. Today is a special day as you explore the fantastic landscapes and village of this epic Moroccan valley, and head all the way back to the Sahara Desert, but this time in another different part of the country.

After driving in sandy tracks into the open desert, you will arrive at your camp in Erg Chigaga, for another night in the middle of the dunes, sleeping in a desert camp. Night activities and great dinner as usual.

Early wake up to enjoy the sunrise in the desert. Erg Chigaga Dunes are the longest dunes in Morocco, as they spread in a really vast area. The sense of being the wilderness is obvious and you will enjoy every moment of it.

Today, you will visit many special places, such as Tamegroute village with its traditional pottery manufacturing, Ksar Tissergate, and its fantastic Ethnographic museum. Furthermore, on the way you will stop to photography the incredible panoramic view of Agdz palm grove before you arrive in Ouarzazate city, often called the Door of the Desert.

After breakfast, we will leave our hotel in Ouarzazate in order to visit several places in the city. We start with the charming Taourirt Kasbah, a 17th-century palace totally made of mud. You can chose to take an official guide that explains to you the details of the place, or, just pay the ticket and explore the place on your own, but watch out not to miss the most important rooms with ceiling decoration and the best window views.

After Taourirt we move one to the exciting Atlas Film Studios. Don’t get this place wrong, we’re talking about the fact that these are living studios, so possibly, you will visit this place while some important Holywood production is being shot there. You might even cross Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt?! Who knows…

Throughout the years, the Atlas Studios Ouarzazate has served as a shooting location for Babel, The Living Daylights, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Alexander the Great, Kingdom of Heaven, Kundun, Body of Lies, The Mummy, and Star Wars for example.

You will now visit one of the most fabulous places in south Morocco. Get ready to roam inside Ksar Ait Benhaddou, a full mud-made village included on the list of UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

Ait Benhaddou is a remarkable illustration of the construction of southern Morocco with an amazing collection of structures offering a full prospect of pre-Saharan clay building architecture. The oldest buildings date back from the 17th century.

After visiting Ait Benhaddou you will be taken across the high Atlas Mountains, up to altitudes above 2000 meters, in order to cross the mountain range to be able to get to our final destination of the day: Marrakech.

The mountain crossing takes you through breathtaking views, and if you visit Morocco from late November to late February, you will surely see this region of Morocco full of snow. The contrast of getting from the Sahara Desert to Marrakech, couldn’t be more unbelievable.

Upon arrival to Marrakech, you will be taken to your riad/hotel.

Morning visit of Marrakech with an official guide. You will be taken to the best part of the old city in order to explore its highlights. Free afternoon for shopping and experiencing the city on your own.

Marrakech attractions:

• Djemaa el-Fnaa square
• Medersa Ben Youssef
• Spice souks and artisanal markets
• Riad museums
• Traditional Moroccan hammam
• Saadian Tombs
• The Badi and Bahia Palaces
• Koutoubia Mosque
• The Marjorelle, Agdal and Menara Gardens

This is the last day of your tour from Casablanca. You will be taken from Marrakech all the way to a place of your choice in the city, either your pre-booked hotel or even to Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport.

End of our services. We hope you had a great time traveling in our company.