Highlights of the trip

• Exploring the rich culture and buildings of Marrakech
• Spending time exploring some amazing Kasbahs
• Visiting Toudra Gorges and climbing the canyons
• Camping in the desert with the nomads in the depths of the Sahara Dunes

Introduction

Morocco is one of the best tourist destinations all over the world. In this New Year, the Moroccan government expects that number of tourists will be raised by the end of 2023. Some of you have already been to Morocco, while, others have never been there! Maybe because they didn’t get the chance yet. So, as a Moroccan travel agency, we are here to help and facilitate your travel to Morocco and get the chance to live a wonderful experience traveling around its beautiful landscapes. The team of Nomadic Explore is ready to give you the chance to explore Moroccan culture and deep into its beauty through a six-day tour starting from the famous city in the world ‘Marrakech’. The experience will be extraordinary especially if it’s your first time in Morocco. Keep reading to know the tour’s detail from Marrakech to the Sahara desert of Merzouga. Don’t miss the chance of visiting Morocco!

Day 1: Marrakech – Telouet – Ouarzazate

After we meet up, our 6-day tour from Marrakech to the Merzouga desert starts. We will drive across the mountainous landscapes of Tizi N’Tichka, which is more than 2 kilometers above sea level. We can stop by some villages and landscapes along the way in case you want to explore something. For example, at Telouet, we might stop to explore the Kasbah of Pacha Glaoui, who is notorious for his wealth, power, and evil.

Before reaching Ouarzazate, we will explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ait Benhaddou Kasbah via Ounila Valley.

The latter site is a fortified city that captures the sights with its unique buildings. Ait Benhaddou is very popular as a filming sight for Hollywood blockbusters.  After we reach Ouarzazate, we will stay at a nice hotel for the night where we can relax and have something to eat or drink.

Day 2: Ouarzazate – Draa valley – Zagora

After breakfast, we will start our journey. Across the Draa Valley, we will travel penetrating the diverse Berber villages and natural landscapes towards Zagora. We might stop at the ancient Koranic library of Tamagroute if you’re the kind of person who likes ancient spiritual texts. We can also visit the workshops where they manufacture pottery and purchase something tiny that you can take with you home.

At Zagora, will stop for the night in a luxury hotel or something more budget-friendly. We spend the night here before we continue our tour from Marrakech to the Merzouga desert.

Day 3: Zagora – Tazarine – Alnif – Rissani – Merzouga

As it is programmed in this tour from Marrakech to Merzouga desert, we should arrive in the desert of Merzouga. Departing from Zagora, passing by Draa Valley, our trip will carry us across many landscapes and villages towards Tazarine and Alnif. We can have lunch in either of those towns.

After lunch, we will head to Merzouga where we will be close to the dunes. After visiting Rissani, we will stop at a hotel in Merzouga. After leaving the unnecessary luggage in the hotel room, we will head to the desert camps in the middle of Erg Chebbi Dunes, where we will spend the night. Riding the camels will be the transportation from there onward.

Erg Chebbi dunes are all that you imagine when you picture exotic deserts, especially when riding a camel. We will spend time with nomads who can keep us entertained with their spiritual desert music. Under the super-starry night sky.

Day 4: Merzouga – Erfoud – Touroug – Tinjdad – Tinghir — Toudra

On the fourth day of our tour from Marrakech to the Merzouga desert, we will wake up to witness the beauty of the desert sunrise before we ride the camels back to the town. Afterward, we will head to Erfoud, the town of fossils and precious stones. We will head after that to Tinjdad where we will have our lunch, crossing Touroug. In the afternoon, we will head to Tinghir before continuing to the magnificent Canyons of Toudra Gorges. Dinner and overnight stay in a fancy hotel or auberge.

Day 5: Tinghir – Boumalne – Gorges de dades – Roses valley – Kelaa Mgouna – Skoura – Ouarzazate

After having a hearty breakfast, we will take a walking tour across the palm groves of Tinghir before heading to Boumalne. During the afternoon, we can explore Dades Valley and the Kasbah of Ait Youl.

Then, we will head to the Valley of Roses near Kelaa Mgouna before heading to Skoura Oasis, Armedyle Kasbah, and Ouarzazate.

See also, 7 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga desert.

Day 6: Ouarzazate – Marrakech

Traveling across the mountainous road Tizi N’Tichka once again, we will return to Marrakech. The height of the road will offer us a wonderful view of the Haouz plains. Once in Marrakech, we can do whatever you want.

If you’re the kind of person who loves shopping and tasting the diversity of Moroccan cuisine, Marrakech is the best city. At night, we can visit a club or something a little bit quieter like a riad.

That’s how the 6-day tour from Marrakech to Merzouga Desert ends. For more details, please contact us.

Why choose a 6-day tour from Marrakech?

Marrakech is the first tourist destination in Morocco and all over North Africa; a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the fourth imperial cities in the kingdom. So, it’s wonderful to start your tour in this iconic city of Marrakech. However, visitors on their first time in Morocco, choose to stay for a short time because they don’t know how beautiful the country is! Or sometimes because their vacations are shorter, they book for a short time. Six-day in Morocco is not enough to explore all the must-sees in the country, but you can have a memorable tour from Marrakech to the desert of Merzouga. On this 6-day desert tour from Marrakech, we chose the historic and breathtaking landscapes to make your experience in Morocco unbelievable and also to revisit us later.    

Information on the places you will visit:

Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah

The Ait Ben-Haddou Qasar in Ouarzazate province, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, is one of the finest examples of southern Moroccan architecture. This ksar is built entirely from pise (a building material made from raw earth, analogous to a cobbler) and can be reached by a path that stretches for several kilometers. You park in the large car park at the entrance to the “modern” village, from where you can see the magnificent reddish-ochre Kasr. The river “El Maleh” separates the village from the Kasr, which is now home to just a few families. Crossing the Oued on foot or by mule, you enter the village through the main gate leading to the village house museum. Once inside the museum, you realize the fragility of this tamped-down earth building. One storm is enough to bring down the building….. I recommend you take a walk through the streets, climb to the highest point to see the whole valley below, and let yourself be captured by the atmosphere and the inhabitants who will not hesitate to tell you their story.

This extraordinary place has already served as the setting for the films Lawrence of Arabia, Diamond of the Nile, Tea in the Sahara, Indiana Jones, and most recently, Babel.

Telouet Kasbah

The kasbah of Telouet, sometimes called the palace of Glaoui, is a kasbah built between the 18th and 20th centuries.

Located in the small Berber village of Telouet in the rural municipality of Telouet in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, it was inhabited and fitted out by Pasha Tami El Glaoui. After his death in 1956, the Kasbah was looted and abandoned. Inside, the architecture and walls testify to the exquisiteness of the interior.

The palace is situated on the outskirts of the small Berber village of Telouet in Morocco. Because of its strategic location in the High Atlas, the inhabitants of the palace were privileged to be on the route of trade caravans and close to important salt mines.

Today, the Kasbah and the village can be reached via a branch of the P31 Tichka road that connects Marrakech to Ouarzazate.

Ouarzazate Studios

Moroccan Hollywood or Holly Ouarzazate is a caramel-colored oasis framed by a clear blue North African sky, with countless clay kasbahs, mountains, dry plains, valleys and green oases, palm groves, and villages of red or ochre earth that give the region its charm and tourist appeal.

A landmark in the town is the Kasbah of Taourirt, which belonged to the Glaoui family and was probably built in the mid-18th century.

It is depicted on the new 50-drama banknotes and is located close to the medina.

The Moroccan town at the confluence of Wadi Ouarzazate and Wadi Dades (High Atlas), which after their confluence form Wadi Draa, is the center of a large region in southern Morocco.

Ouarzazate with its 100,000 inhabitants resembles both the southern foothills of the High Atlas and the proximity of the desert.

On the doorstep of the great south of the Kingdom, the majestic Ouarzazate is an atmospheric mixture of oases, kasbahs, flower-laden valleys, and a vast desert plain that attracts tourists of all nationalities to discover its natural beauty.

The kasbahs are protected as humanitarian heritage and some kasbahs have been converted into tourist residences.

The city of Ouarzazate is also thriving in terms of tourism and cinema. Ouarzazate has an international airport which can be reached by road from Marrakech.

It is one of the most sought-after Moroccan filming locations for filmmakers from around the world.

In addition to the landscape, one of the strengths of this location is the quality of the light, which shines on an average of 300 days a year.

Zagora Desert – Chegaga Dunes

Zagora is located in the Draa Valley, 160 km south of Ouarzazate, at an altitude of 700m. It is from the oasis of Zagora in the 16th century that the Saadians conquered the Souss, then all of Morocco. Zagora was also an important caravanning center. At the southern end of the town, built by the French military under the protectorate, is the famous signpost announcing the road to Timbuktu. Zagora is famous for its high dunes of Erg Chegag. You can attend the sunrise or sunset over these high dunes which offer a panoramic view.

Merzouga Desert – Erg Chebbi dunes

At the gates of the great golden desert, Merzouga and Erg Chebbi are among the top tourist attractions in south-eastern Morocco. In this ochre desert, the monumental dunes move and warp in the wind, offering travelers a sight as colorful as it is spectacular. The further east you go, the wilder the landscape becomes. With a family, as a couple, or even alone, this is the perfect excursion!

Merzouga is a small Saharan village in south-eastern Morocco, at the foot of the Erg Chebbi dunes, in the Tafilalet valley. For centuries this region has been a crossroads of civilizations in the African desert. Numerous hostels and kasbahs are located along Erg Chebbi. Some are run by Berber families who will introduce you to all aspects of their culture and gastronomy. You will be in love with this landscape and its generous Berber people.

Marrakech: Red City

Marrakech is a city in the south of the country that was the capital of Morocco during the Almoravid, Almohad, and Alaouite dynasties before the arrival of the French colonizers.

The country was called the Kingdom of Marrakech and the name Morocco is still in use today.

It is one of the so-called imperial cities, a world-renowned regional trading metropolis, and an important handicraft and religious center.

Today, it is a cultural city, a source of inspiration for artists, a trendsetter, a venue for major events, and of course, an important tourist destination. The red city of Marrakech is a rech of the must-see sites and your visit is incomplete if you didn’t see all of the sites.

FAQ on the tour from Marrakech:

Is there any specific location or airport to meet the customer?

No, Nomadic Explore makes it easier for everyone. No matter where will you arrive or stay in Morocco, after contacting us and booking your tour, our team will meet you at your location and head to Marrakech to start your tour.

Can I change or customize the tour on my own?

Yes. You can customize your tour according to your interests and needs. In this case, the Nomadic Explore team will help you plan the proper tour for you.

Does the accommodation include in the paid price?

Yes. But if you have the intention to book luxury hotels or special accommodations, we can customize it on the tour.

Is there a deadline for the tour?

No. Our tours are always available and our services are made to satisfy our dear customers. We plan and customize your tour in Morocco anytime, everywhere, and reach anywhere.

What is the best time to Visit Morocco?

There is no specific time to visit Morocco. In other words, Morocco has several landscapes that offer a special atmosphere, different views, and activities. So, your tour will include all that you love and what you’re interested in. However, Morocco in the summer becomes quite busy, so, the prices get raised at that time.

Do you offer a suitable vehicle for families?

Yes. No matter if you’re a family, couple, group, or individual, we will offer you a suitable vehicle to have a comfortable journey.

Why start the tour from Marrakech?

Marrakech is one of the most visited cities in the world. Also, it’s the preferred destination for tens of celebrities all over the world to spend their vacations or New Year. So, it’s interesting to start your tour from Marrakech.