This 3 Days Marrakech to Fes Desert Tour is built for travellers who do not want to backtrack. Instead of returning the way you came, you cross the country in one continuous line: over the High Atlas, down into the pre-Saharan valleys, out to the dunes of Erg Chebbi, and finally north through the Middle Atlas to the imperial city of Fes.
Along the road you stop at the fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou, follow the kasbah trail through Skoura and the Dades, walk into the shaded canyon of Todra, and reach the sand in time for a camel trek at sunset. The night is spent in a Berber camp on the edge of the erg, with dinner, drums and a very wide sky.
Three days is short for this distance, so the pace is honest: long but scenic driving stages, a private vehicle, and a driver who knows where the good stops are.
Pickup from your accommodation in Marrakech in the early morning. The road climbs quickly into the High Atlas and crosses the Tizi n Tichka pass at just over 2260 metres, with stops at the viewpoints and at the argan and mineral stalls that line the switchbacks.
On the far side you turn off for Ait Ben Haddou, the earthen ksar above the Ounila river that has stood in for half of North Africa on screen. There is time to cross the riverbed and climb to the old granary at the top before lunch in the village.
Continue to Ouarzazate, then east along the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs through Skoura and El Kelaa des Mgouna, the town that supplies Morocco with rose water. Late afternoon you reach the Dades Valley, where the road winds between red cliffs and the rock formations known locally as the monkey fingers.
Accommodation: Hotel or guesthouse in the Dades Valley
After breakfast you drive to Todra Gorge, where limestone walls rise around 300 metres above a stream and the canyon narrows to a few paces across. A short walk on the valley floor is the best way to feel the scale of it.
The route then runs east through Tinghir and the fossil town of Erfoud, where marine fossils are cut and polished from the surrounding hamada. The landscape flattens and empties until the first orange line of Erg Chebbi appears on the horizon.
You arrive at Merzouga in the late afternoon, leave the heavy luggage behind, and set off by camel into the dunes. The trek reaches camp around sunset, with time to climb a crest and watch the light change. Dinner is served under the tent, followed by drums around the fire and a night in a private tent.
Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Erg Chebbi
An early start to catch sunrise over the dunes, then the camels carry you back to Merzouga for breakfast and a shower.
The drive north passes Rissani, the old caravan town and market that was the seat of the Alaouite dynasty, then follows the Ziz Valley, a green corridor of date palms cut into bare rock. You cross the Middle Atlas plateau to Midelt, the apple town halfway between the desert and the north, where you stop for lunch.
The last stage climbs through the cedar forest near Azrou, home to a well-known troop of Barbary macaques, and passes through Ifrane, a resort town built with pitched roofs that looks nothing like the rest of Morocco. Arrival in Fes is in the evening, with drop-off at your riad or hotel.
It is the shortest sensible version of the route. Expect roughly six to eight hours of driving on the first and third days, broken by stops. If you want more time on foot and less time in the car, the four or five day versions cover the same ground at an easier pace.
In a camp on the sand at Erg Chebbi, reached by camel from Merzouga. Tents are private, with real beds and blankets. Standard camps share washing facilities; luxury camps have private bathrooms and can be arranged on request.
Yes. The same itinerary works in either direction and the price does not change.
Hot and dry from May to September, with nights that cool sharply. From November to February days are mild and nights can approach freezing, so a warm layer is essential whatever the season.
No. You take a small overnight bag to the camp and the rest stays in the vehicle or at the Merzouga hotel until you return the next morning.
Yes. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals are prepared at the camp and at the hotels if you tell us in advance.
Most travellers who want to see both Marrakech and Fes end up driving the motorway between them and missing the south entirely. This route uses the distance instead of fighting it, putting the Atlas, the kasbah valleys and the dunes on the line you were going to travel anyway.
Every departure is private. The vehicle, the driver and the timing are yours, so you can stop where you want, start earlier for sunrise, or linger longer in the gorge.
