2 days/1 night: “The desert of Mhamid”

We set out in the morning from your hotel or riad in Marrakesh. We’ll be crossing the mountains of the High Atlas range and the pass of Tizi-n-Tichka (2,260 m), where the views are breathtaking. The scenic road runs through oak woods and walnut groves, Berber villages with stone and mud brick houses, and pastures where goats and sheep graze. After crossing the pass, we move down into the lunar landscapes of the Lesser Atlas range and reach Ouarzazate (where we pay a visit to the Taourirt Kasbah) and the Draa Valley. The waters running down from the High Atlas have formed a long oasis which runs from Ouarzazate to M’Hamid. The most luxuriant part, with millions of date palms, is located between Agdz and Zagora. The dates of Zagora are of particularly high quality and can be bought anywhere in the area during the harvest period from September to December. Whatever you do, make sure you taste this exceptional fruit. At the end of the Draa Valley, we come to M’Hamid, a small outpost in the Sahara Desert, where we’ll find our tented camp and you’ll be able to admire the sunset from the back of a dromedary. Here, the typical nomad hospitality awaits, along with a traditional dinner and overnight accommodation in the camp.

After breakfast in the desert camp we will go back to Marrakesh. We stop for lunch  in the Draàvalley and we will visit Ait Benhaddou, a mud brick kasbah protected by UNESCO and known as the finest and most famous in Morocco, which has featured in a number of films, such as Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and The Gladiator,  then cross the High Atlas mountains to reach Marrakesh towards evening.