The 4 Days Morocco Desert Tour from Fes is the round trip for travellers who want the Sahara and the gorges without ending up in Marrakech. It returns you to Fes, which suits anyone with a flight out of the north or a riad they have already paid for.
Two of the four days are spent in the deep south. The desert gets a night on the sand and a full free day for nomad camps, the black desert and the Gnaoua musicians of Khamlia. The following day heads west into Todra Gorge, one of the narrowest canyons in North Africa, with a night at Tinghir among its palm groves.
The last day returns north through the Ziz Valley and the Middle Atlas cedar forest.
Early pickup in Fes and into the Middle Atlas past Ifrane, then the cedar forest at Azrou where Barbary macaques come down to the road.
Lunch at Midelt on the plateau, then the descent through the Tizi n Talghomt into the Ziz Valley and its long belt of date palms, with a viewpoint above the gorge.
Arrival at Merzouga in the late afternoon and the camel ride into Erg Chebbi, reaching camp at sunset for dinner under the tent and drums by the fire.
Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Sunrise from a dune crest, then back by camel for breakfast and a shower at your hotel.
A 4×4 circuit fills the day: tea with a nomad family on the open hamada, the seasonal lake at Dayet Srji where flamingos stop in spring, the black volcanic desert and the abandoned kohl mines at Mfis.
Late afternoon at Khamlia, where a Gnaoua ensemble plays, then a second sunset at the edge of the erg.
Accommodation: Hotel or kasbah in Merzouga
West after breakfast, with a stop at Rissani and its covered market, then Erfoud, where fossil-bearing rock is cut and polished in workshops open to visitors.
The road runs along the edge of the pre-Sahara to Tinghir, an oasis town spread along a palm grove below the old kasbahs.
In the afternoon you drive up into Todra Gorge, where limestone walls of about 300 metres close to a few paces above the streambed. Climbers are often working the near face. A walk on the valley floor is the best part of the day.
Accommodation: Hotel or guesthouse in Tinghir or the Todra Gorge
The return north, by a road that follows the southern edge of the High Atlas to Errachidia before turning up the Ziz.
You pass the Ziz gorges and the reservoir at Hassan Addakhil, then climb onto the plateau for lunch at Midelt.
The last stage crosses the cedar forest and Ifrane before dropping into Fes in the evening, with drop-off at your accommodation.
Because plenty of travellers fly out of Fes or have accommodation there. If you would rather finish in Marrakech, the 4 Days Desert Tour from Fes to Marrakech covers the same desert and carries on west.
Around eight hours from Tinghir to Fes with stops in the Ziz Valley and at Midelt. It is the longest stage of the trip.
Walk the flat valley floor between the walls, watch the climbers, and see the palm groves of Tinghir below. Staying nearby means you can be in the gorge early, before the coaches.
One in the camp on the sand and one in a hotel or kasbah in Merzouga. Two camp nights can be arranged instead if you prefer.
Yes, along with the nomad family visit and the Gnaoua session at Khamlia.
Yes. Every departure is private, so days can be lengthened, shortened or reordered before you leave.
This is the round trip that does not feel like a round trip. Only the Ziz Valley is driven twice, and the four days take in the dunes, the hamada and the gorges rather than just the sand.
Ending back in Fes also means no repositioning at the end: your flight, your riad and your bags are all where you left them.
