Description

Day 1: Fez – Azrou/Midelt – Erfoud

Check-out Fes hotel, drive crossing the cultivated and fertile valley of Saiss up to Imouzzer de Kandar with its nearby gorgeous lake ‘Dait Aoua’ and on to Ifrane, a charming ski resort, and Azrou, a typical Berber town with its flat-roofed earth houses.
The road goes through magnificent cedar, pine and oak forests. This particularly varied itinerary from north to the south offers a diversity of impressions through the Middle Atlas Mountains where nomad shepherds live in black tents and move with their herds of goats and sheep across these mountains in the hot season down to the desert land areas in the winter. Follow their route down to the Saharan plateau before you start ascension up the High Atlas Mountain where you will see some of the most beautiful sceneries so far thanks to the geological variety of this range as well as its date palm valleys, fortified earth made villages. After Er-rachidia you will enter the Tafilalet country from where the present royal family is originated and admire this legendary valley named Ziz and which runs along a deep canyon all the way down to Erfoud. Dinner tonight is at our hotel. (about 8 hours drive)

Day 2: Erfoud – Holy City Rissani – Merzouga Dunes

This morning we visit the city of Rissani, with its 18^th-century ksar, a virtually impenetrable warren of alleys; then continue on to the ruins of Sijilmasa.  Once a central trade point in the Trans-Sahara trade routes, the city of Sijilmasa suffered through years of continuous religious conflict.  Today, the ruins lay protected by the World Monuments Fund as they were left after the nomadic tribes of Ait Atta destroyed the city in 1818.  We enjoy a tour highlight this afternoon as we set out on a sunset excursion to the breathtakingly beautiful sand dunes at Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara erg, In the enormous silence we watch the sun set over the desert as we take a camel ride along the Morocco’s only Saharan dunes where we will spend the night in our luxury tents. A traditional dinner of local harira soup and meshoui  – roasted lamb  – will be served and local musicians will entertain us under the stars. (about 1 hour30 drive)

Day 3: Merzouga – Errachidia – Ziz Valley – Midelt – Fez

Early morning, waked-up and walk to the top of the dunes to witness the sunrise before returning back to your Camp for breakfast. Start our return to Fez through the Middle Atlas, a visit to Ziz Valley, Midelt and get to Azrou..we will back in Fez in the evening.