DAY 1: MARRAKECH → HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS → AIT BEN HADDOU → DADES VALLEY

Your adventure begins with an early departure from Marrakech. Heading south, the road climbs steadily through the dramatic switchbacks of the Tizi n’Tichka Pass — at over 2,260 metres, it is the highest paved mountain pass in North Africa. Traditional Berber settlements line the route, each one a study in resilience and beauty.

The first major stop is the iconic Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of extraordinary earthen architecture rising above a dry riverbed. Its towers and labyrinthine passages have served as a backdrop for countless films and television productions. From here, you continue to Ouarzazate — a bustling crossroads city and home to Africa’s largest film studio — before heading east along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs.

By evening, you arrive in the Dades Valley, where your hotel is set among canyon walls and dramatic rock formations. Dinner and a well-deserved rest round off a full and rewarding first day.

DAY 2: DADES VALLEY → TODRA GORGE → MERZOUGA

After a leisurely breakfast, the route continues east through landscapes of palmeries and ksour to the Tinghir Oasis. Just beyond Tinghir lies the entrance to the Todra Gorge — a slot canyon of extraordinary scale, where sheer limestone walls rise over 300 metres above a shallow river. The coolness inside the canyon and the echo of water make it one of Morocco’s most memorable natural environments.

From Tinghir, the terrain opens up into the wide pre-Saharan plain as you push further toward Merzouga. By late afternoon, the first dunes of Erg Chebbi appear — initially just a golden shimmer on the horizon, then growing into the magnificent sand mountains that have captivated travellers for centuries.

Arriving at the foot of the dunes, you mount your camel and ride into the heart of Erg Chebbi as the sun descends in a blaze of amber and gold. Your luxury desert camp awaits with a warm dinner, live Berber music, and a private tent beneath one of the world’s most spectacular night skies.

DAY 3: EXPLORATIVE DAY OF THE DESERT

A full day dedicated entirely to the Merzouga desert — and what a day it is. Rising with the sunrise, you begin the morning with a cup of mint tea as the dunes glow in the early light.

Your guide leads you on a 4×4 excursion deep into the desert, venturing off-road to regions that camels and tourists rarely reach. A highlight is the visit to a nomadic Berber family — welcomed into their home with tea and stories, you gain a rare and genuine insight into a way of life shaped entirely by the rhythms of the sand and wind.

The afternoon is yours — for sandboarding, photography, a solo walk among the dunes, or simply sitting in the extraordinary silence of the Sahara. As the light softens, take another camel ride out to the dunes to watch the sunset from the top.

In the evening, the desert camp comes alive with music, storytelling, and stargazing.

DAY 4: MERZOUGA → RISSANI → AGDEZ → OUARZAZATE

After breakfast, the drive begins westward. The historic market town of Rissani — once the final waypoint on the trans-Saharan caravan route and the ancestral seat of the Alaouite dynasty — is worth a brief stop to soak in its traditional atmosphere.

The road continues through Agdez in the Draa Valley, where ancient ksour rise from among the palm groves, before arriving in Ouarzazate in the late afternoon. Tonight’s hotel here gives you a comfortable base for the final push back to Marrakech.

DAY 5: OUARZAZATE → AIT BEN HADDOU KASBAH → TELOUET KASBAH → MARRAKECH

The last day offers two remarkable heritage experiences. First, a return to Ait Ben Haddou for those who wish to explore it more fully, followed by a visit to the Telouet Kasbah — a grand but crumbling 19th-century palace once belonging to the powerful Glaoui chieftains of the Atlas. Its ornate tilework and carved plaster interiors tell the story of southern Morocco’s complex colonial-era history.

From Telouet, the mountain road winds down through the valley and back into Marrakech, where you are dropped at your accommodation in the early evening.