3-Day Ouarzazate to Marrakech Desert Tour

Tours from Marrakech to the Sahara begin with a long climb over the High Atlas. Start in Ouarzazate instead, and you’re already on the desert side of the mountains. This private three-day loop takes you east along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to the Dades Valley, through two of Morocco’s great gorges to the dunes of Erg Chebbi, and back west by the quieter southern road through the Draa Valley, before crossing the Tizi n’Tichka to finish in Marrakech.

It’s a complete circuit of the south without repeating a single stretch of road, and it’s ideal if you’re flying into Ouarzazate, arriving by bus, or already staying there.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Taourirt Kasbah → Skoura → Valley of Roses → Dades Valley (about 210 km)
• Day 2: Dades Gorge → Tinghir → Todra Gorge → Alnif → Merzouga, then by camel to camp (about 290 km)
• Day 3: Erg Chebbi → Alnif → Tazzarine → Draa Valley → Agdz → Ouarzazate → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 560 km)

Day 1: Ait Ben Haddou and the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs

We pick you up at Ouarzazate Airport or your hotel, and the first visit is Ait Ben Haddou, 30 kilometres away. Walk up through the lanes of the ksar, past houses of earth and straw decorated with geometric patterns, to the granary at the top of the hill. From there you can see how the village guarded the caravan route that ran from the Sahara over the mountains to Marrakech.

On the way back through Ouarzazate, you pass the Taourirt Kasbah, once a residence of the Glaoui family, the most powerful clan in the south in the early 20th century. Then the road heads east through the Skoura palm grove, dotted with family kasbahs, and the Valley of Roses around Kelaat M’Gouna, where rose hedges line the fields. You spend the night at a kasbah hotel in the Dades Valley.

Day 2: through the gorges to the Sahara

The morning begins with a drive up the Dades Gorge. The road winds past the eroded “monkey fingers” rocks and climbs a set of famous switchbacks, with a café at the top overlooking the bends.

From the Dades you continue east to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge. Here the canyon walls close in, rising around 300 metres above a clear stream, and you walk along the gorge floor in their shade. Then the route crosses the pre-Saharan plain via Alnif to Merzouga. The camels are waiting at the edge of Erg Chebbi, and you ride out into the dunes for the sunset, arriving at camp for dinner and Berber drumming.

Day 3: the southern road back to Marrakech

Rise early to watch the sunrise over the dunes, then ride back for breakfast. The last day takes the southern route west, one of the least-travelled roads in the south.

It passes Alnif, famous for its fossils, and Tazzarine, a small oasis town among dark volcanic hills where nomadic families graze their flocks. Then you reach the Draa Valley, where the longest river in Morocco feeds a string of palm groves, kasbahs and fortified villages. Around Agdz, the table mountain of Jbel Kissane rises above the oasis.

You stop for lunch in Ouarzazate, then climb over the High Atlas via the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres, and descend through Amazigh villages to Marrakech. You arrive in the evening at your riad, or at Marrakech airport if you’re flying out.

Why start in Ouarzazate?

Starting on the southern side of the High Atlas means your first day is short, about four hours of driving, and full of sights rather than a long transfer. You reach the gorges on day two while you’re fresh, and the dunes the same evening. The drive over the mountains comes at the very end, on the way to Marrakech, where most travellers are heading anyway. For anyone who arrives in Ouarzazate by plane, bus or after a stay in the town, it’s the most logical way to loop through the south.

Planning the long last day

The third day is the longest of the tour, about 560 kilometres and nine hours with stops, so it helps to know what to expect. We leave Merzouga soon after breakfast. Your driver stops every hour and a half or so for photos, coffee or a stretch, and lunch is in Ouarzazate at a local restaurant (not included, paid on the spot). Keep a small bag in the car with water, sunscreen and a warm layer, since the Draa Valley can be hot at midday and the Tizi n’Tichka cold in the late afternoon.

If you’d rather not arrive in Marrakech in the evening, you have options. We can end the tour back in Ouarzazate, about six hours from Merzouga, if you’re flying out from there. Or you can take the 4-day version, which gives you a second night in the dunes and the same final drive.

Where you’ll sleep

• Dades Valley (1 night): a kasbah hotel with a private room and bathroom.
• 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.

Dinner and breakfast are included both nights.

Best time to go

March to May and September to November are the best months. In late April and May, the Valley of Roses is in bloom. Winter days are sunny, but nights are cold and snow occasionally closes the Tizi n’Tichka for a few hours. In summer, the Draa Valley and the desert are very hot in the afternoon, so the last day starts early.

Who this tour is for

Travellers already in Ouarzazate, whether arriving by plane or bus or staying after a film-studio visit, who want the classic desert loop without the mountain drive at the start.

Good to know

• Short first day, long last day. Day one is about 4 hours of driving; day three, back to Marrakech, is about 9.
• Best months: March to May and September to November. In late April and May the Valley of Roses is in bloom.
• Entrance fees at Ait Ben Haddou and the Taourirt Kasbah are paid on the spot.
• Flying home from Ouarzazate? We can end the tour back in Ouarzazate (about 6 hours from Merzouga) instead of Marrakech.
• More time in the desert? The 4-day version adds a full day and a second night around Erg Chebbi.