Most desert tours start and finish in Marrakech, which means driving the same road twice. This one does not. You start in Fes, cross the Middle Atlas and the pre-Saharan valleys to Merzouga, sleep in the dunes, and come out the other side at Marrakech — so the three days carry you across the country instead of out and back.
Why travel in this direction
If you are flying into Fes or Casablanca and out of Marrakech, this is the route that fits. It also makes the drive to the desert shorter than from Marrakech: Fes to Merzouga is a long day but it runs through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas and down the Ziz Valley, which is a better road than the one from the south-west. And the day you arrive in Marrakech, you arrive as a visitor with the city still ahead of you.
Day one: the Middle Atlas and the Ziz
Out of Fes through Ifrane, built by the French in the 1930s and looking nothing like the rest of Morocco, then the cedar forest at Azrou, where troops of Barbary macaques live along the roadside. South through Midelt, over the pass, and into the Ziz Valley, a long green corridor of date palms cut into bare rock. The last stretch runs through Erfoud and Rissani to the edge of Erg Chebbi, where you ride by camel into the dunes for sunset and spend the night in a desert camp.
Day two: the gorges
Sunrise over the dunes, then west along the old caravan line. The Todra Gorge near Tinghir has limestone walls rising around 400 m and narrows to roughly ten metres at its tightest point. You continue into the Dades Valley, with its red rock and its hairpin road, for the second night in a hotel or guesthouse.
Day three: into Marrakech
Through the Skoura palm oasis and Ouarzazate to Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed fortified village on the Timbuktu caravan route, then over the Tizi n’Tichka pass at about 2,260 m and down into Marrakech by evening.
Who this suits, and who it does not
It suits anyone crossing Morocco with limited time. It is not a relaxed trip — three days covering that distance means real driving, particularly on day one. If you would rather go slower, our 6-day Fes to Marrakech tour takes the same country and adds Chefchaouen and two city days. Our Fes to Marrakech route guide compares the options honestly, including the train.
Once you are in Marrakech, our private medina day tour is the natural next day, and the Fes medina guide is worth reading before you leave Fes.
Overview
Most desert tours start and finish in Marrakech, which means driving the same road twice. This one does not. You start in Fes, cross the Middle Atlas and the pre-Saharan valleys to Merzouga, sleep in the dunes, and come out the other side at Marrakech — so the three days carry you across the country instead of out and back.
Why travel in this direction
If you are flying into Fes or Casablanca and out of Marrakech, this is the route that fits. It also makes the drive to the desert shorter than from Marrakech: Fes to Merzouga is a long day but it runs through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas and down the Ziz Valley, which is a better road than the one from the south-west. And the day you arrive in Marrakech, you arrive as a visitor with the city still ahead of you.
Day one: the Middle Atlas and the Ziz
Out of Fes through Ifrane, built by the French in the 1930s and looking nothing like the rest of Morocco, then the cedar forest at Azrou, where troops of Barbary macaques live along the roadside. South through Midelt, over the pass, and into the Ziz Valley, a long green corridor of date palms cut into bare rock. The last stretch runs through Erfoud and Rissani to the edge of Erg Chebbi, where you ride by camel into the dunes for sunset and spend the night in a desert camp.
Day two: the gorges
Sunrise over the dunes, then west along the old caravan line. The Todra Gorge near Tinghir has limestone walls rising around 400 m and narrows to roughly ten metres at its tightest point. You continue into the Dades Valley, with its red rock and its hairpin road, for the second night in a hotel or guesthouse.
Day three: into Marrakech
Through the Skoura palm oasis and Ouarzazate to Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed fortified village on the Timbuktu caravan route, then over the Tizi n’Tichka pass at about 2,260 m and down into Marrakech by evening.
Who this suits, and who it does not
It suits anyone crossing Morocco with limited time. It is not a relaxed trip — three days covering that distance means real driving, particularly on day one. If you would rather go slower, our 6-day Fes to Marrakech tour takes the same country and adds Chefchaouen and two city days. Our Fes to Marrakech route guide compares the options honestly, including the train.
Once you are in Marrakech, our private medina day tour is the natural next day, and the Fes medina guide is worth reading before you leave Fes.
Highlights
- A one-way crossing: no road driven twice, no backtracking
- The cedar forest at Azrou and its Barbary macaques
- The Ziz Valley, a corridor of date palms cut into bare rock
- Camel trek into Erg Chebbi at sunset and a night in a desert camp
- The Todra Gorge, walls around 400 m narrowing to about ten metres
- Ait Ben Haddou and the Tizi n’Tichka pass on the way into Marrakech
- Fits travellers flying into Fes or Casablanca and out of Marrakech
