3-Day Errachidia to Marrakech Desert Tour

If you’re flying into Errachidia and continuing to Marrakech, this private tour puts the Sahara first and makes the journey west the second half of the adventure. Within two hours of pickup you’re in the dunes of Erg Chebbi, riding a camel to our luxury camp for the sunset. Then, over the next two days, you cross the whole of southern Morocco: the Rissani market, the Todra Gorge, the Dades Valley, the Valley of Roses, Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou, finishing with the drive over the High Atlas to Marrakech.

It’s a clever way to see the south without backtracking, and it avoids the long first-day drive that tours from Marrakech usually begin with.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Errachidia → Blue Spring of Meski → Ziz Valley viewpoint → Erfoud → Merzouga, then by camel to camp (about 130 km)
• Day 2: Erg Chebbi → Rissani → Tinghir → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley (about 310 km)
• Day 3: Dades Valley → Valley of Roses → Skoura → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 350 km)

Day 1: from Errachidia to the dunes

Your driver meets you at Moulay Ali Cherif Airport, the bus station or your hotel. South of the city you stop at the Blue Spring of Meski, a clear pool in a palm grove, overlooked by the ruins of an old ksar, and then at the viewpoint over the Ziz Valley, where the river has created a long oasis of date palms through the desert.

In Erfoud, a workshop shows you how the local black marble, full of fossils, is cut and polished. After a short drive across the hamada you arrive in Merzouga, where the camels are waiting. Ride into Erg Chebbi as the sun sinks, watch the dunes change colour from the top of a ridge, and continue to camp for dinner and Berber drums.

Day 2: Rissani, Todra and the Dades Valley

After watching the sunrise and having breakfast, you start the journey west. The first stop is Rissani, the old caravan town where the Alaouite dynasty was born. Its market is at its liveliest on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, when farmers come from across the oasis to buy and sell.

The road then crosses a vast stony plain along the foot of the Jbel Saghro to Tinghir, where the palm grove spreads along the river for kilometres. A short drive north takes you into the Todra Gorge. Here the canyon narrows to a slot between walls around 300 metres high, and you walk along the clear stream at the bottom.

In the afternoon you drive on to the Dades Valley, where erosion has shaped the red rock into rounded forms known as the “monkey fingers”. You spend the night at a kasbah hotel in the valley.

Day 3: kasbahs and the High Atlas

The last day follows the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs west. In the Valley of Roses around Kelaat M’Gouna, the fields are lined with rose bushes, which bloom from late April to mid-May. In Skoura, earthen family kasbahs stand among the palms.

After Ouarzazate, you reach Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified ksar on the hillside above the Ounila river. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been used in films from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator. Walk through its lanes and climb to the top for the view over the valley.

In the afternoon you cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres, and follow the winding road down to Marrakech, arriving in the early evening at your riad or hotel.

Why start in Errachidia?

Most desert tours to Merzouga start in Marrakech and spend the whole first day driving, around nine or ten hours, before anyone sees a dune. Starting in Errachidia reverses that. Your first afternoon is short and gentle, you reach the Sahara fresh, and your camel ride and night at camp come at the beginning of the trip, when you have the most energy to enjoy them.

The drives that follow are split into two reasonable days, about five hours and six and a half hours with stops, and each one passes through a different landscape: the gorges on day two, the kasbahs and the High Atlas on day three. By the time you arrive in Marrakech, you’ve crossed the whole of southern Morocco from east to west without covering the same road twice.

Tailoring the route

Because the tour is private, you can adjust it. A second night in Merzouga adds a full day around Erg Chebbi, with a 4x4 excursion to a nomad family, the abandoned mines of Mfis and the Gnawa village of Khamlia. In the Dades Valley, a local guide can lead a morning hike among the rock formations. In Ouarzazate, you can add a visit to the Atlas Film Studios, and in Marrakech we can book your riad nights and a guided tour of the medina. Tell us what interests you when you send your dates.

Where you’ll sleep

• Erg Chebbi (1 night): our luxury desert camp, with a private tent for your booking, en-suite hot shower and flushing toilet, comfortable beds and electricity for charging. Heavy blankets are provided in winter, and family tents are available on request.
• Dades Valley (1 night): a kasbah hotel with a private room and bathroom.

Dinner and breakfast are included both nights.

Best time to go

The best months are March to May and September to November. Late April to mid-May adds the roses on day three. Winter days are sunny, but nights at camp are cold, and snow can sometimes slow the Tizi n’Tichka crossing. In summer, the desert is very hot in the afternoon, so the camel ride starts later and the gorge walk takes place in the shade of the cliffs.

Who this tour is for

Travellers arriving in Errachidia and heading to Marrakech, who want the desert first and a scenic journey west through the gorges and kasbahs. It’s also a smart choice if you’ve already seen Fes and want to cross the south in the easiest possible order.

Good to know

• The easiest start of any desert tour: you’ll be in the dunes about 2 hours after pickup.
• Market day: the Rissani souk runs on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so time day two for one of those if you can.
• Entrance fees at Ait Ben Haddou and the film studios are paid on the spot.
• Arriving in Marrakech: most riads are inside the car-free medina, and your driver will walk you from the nearest drop-off point.
• Want more time in the desert? You can add a second night in Merzouga with a 4x4 excursion around Erg Chebbi.