Fly to Marrakech – depending on your arrival time, there may be some time to explore this wonderfully colourful city before our group meeting in the early evening.

Location: Marrakech

Accommodation: 1 night at hotel

Included: n/a

We leave at around 1100 after breakfast at the hotel. travelling by minibus, we leave the red city behind and head into the Atlas mountains. our destination for the day is Tighza (1870m), and our scenic route takes us over the Tizi n’tichka pass, the highest in morocco at 2260m. the journey time today will be approximately 3.5 hours, with comfort breaks along the way. this is a narrow range of mountains, and after the winding roads, we drop into the gorge on the other side. it is here that we turn off into a wide valley, and get to Anmiter (1829m), where we will stop for a picnic lunch.  after lunch, we will enjoy a short walk gently uphill (1-2 hours) arriving mid-afternoon at our riad where you can enjoy a light walk in the town or have a free afternoon.

Location:  Anmiter (1829m)

Accommodation: 1 night at a riad

Included: breakfast @ hotel + lunch & dinner

After breakfast this morning, we walk back down to Anmiter (1829m) to join our vehicle and make our way to the first destination for the day, the well-preserved Kasbah of aït Benhaddou. this Unesco world heritage site is one of the most spectacular sights of the atlas, made famous as the filming location for several Hollywood films including ‘Gladiator’ and ‘queen of the desert’. we continue our adventure along the ‘road of a thousand kasbahs’ to Ouarzazate, a 30-minute drive from aït Benhaddou and nicknamed as the ‘door to the desert’ because it used to be a crossing point for African traders on their way to Europe. making our way through the drâa valley, we see a little of the agriculture in this area including a huge palmery containing over four million palm trees, edged by many fortified villages. we pass through Skoura and the town of the roses, El Kelaa Des Mgouna where there is an annual rose festival. in the late afternoon, we will reach our hotel for the evening, nestled in the rocks at the entrance to the Todra gorge.

Location:  aït benhaddou & todra gorge

Accommodation: 1 night at camp or refuge for 150 mad pp

Included: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

This morning we will take a short walk into the Todra gorge, following the crystal clear river as it meanders through the steep-walled gorge. after reaching the viewpoint, we turn back to meet our vehicle and carry on with our journey towards Merzouga, which will take us approximately 3 hours, with some short breaks along the way.  Merzouga is a tiny village in the Sahara desert, on the edge of erg Chebbi, a 50km long and 5km wide set of sand dunes that reach up to 350m high in places. we trek into the desert on a caravan of camels. after this unforgettable experience, we head back to the Bedouin camp on the edge of the desert, where will stay for the evening and enjoy the stars of the night sky.

Location:  Merzouga

Accommodation: 1 night at camp

Included: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

We get up early today for an exciting camel trek (riding camels about 50mins each with 1hr walk and some time to rest in the middle) through the desert back to Merzouga. after being reunited with our vehicle we make our way to Ouarzazate passing through several towns along the way. first, we pass through skoura, a small picturesque town that is one of the most renowned places in the world for collecting the prehistoric creatures known as trilobites and attracts fossil hunters from all over. we then pass the quiet town of Tazzarine,  before heading north to n’kob. with its swimming pool, we can enjoy a well-deserved break after our adventure on the ‘ships of the desert’.

Location:  Ouarzazate

Accommodation: 1 night at hotel

included: breakfast, lunch & dinner

In the morning we begin our scenic drive through the winding roads of the Atlas, bound for Marrakech, an ancient and exotic city wrapped in European modernity. there’s no rush as the scenery through the high atlas mountain passes is magnificent, and there will surely be calls for several photo stops along the way. the journey will take approximately a 4-hour.

Location:  Marrakech

Accommodation: 1 night at a hotel

Included: Breakfast & lunch only (everyone to pay for team dinner)

Extras: you can pre-select an activity for the afternoon from brochure provided at the start of your trip.

This morning we take a guided tour (on foot) of the ‘red city’ of Marrakech where we can soak up the atmosphere of this bustling and vibrant city, with its maze of bazaars, palaces and mosques. the afternoon there is free time to simply potter around the souks, visit the more peaceful jardin majorelle, or maybe enjoy a ‘caleche’ ride (horse-drawn carriage). no visit to Marrakech is complete without a visit to the djemma el fna, the open-air central square around which Marrakech revolves. the name literally means ‘place of death’ as it was the place where the sultans used to display the heads of their enemies. now, with the food stalls, snake charmers, juice-sellers, travelling musicians and acrobats, the square is a place of entertainment for both Moroccan and overseas visitors. that evening (around 5), we will gather for a last night team dinner.

Location:  Marrakech

Accommodation: 1 night at a hotel

Included: Breakfast & lunch only (everyone to pay for team dinner)

Extras: you can pre-select an activity for the afternoon from brochure provided at the start of your trip.

Today we take you by minibus back to the airport to catch your flight home. you can of course decide to stay on to explore more of Marrakech but we only provide transport back on the final morning of the trip.

Location: Marrakech

Included: Breakfast at hotel