Marrakech and the Sahara
Six days over the Atlas to the dunes and back.
Desert & Dunes · 6 days · Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
Two days in Marrakech, then over the Tizi n'Tichka pass and east along the old caravan route: the kasbah at Ait Benhaddou, the Todra gorge, and a night in a camp on the Erg Chebbi dunes. The drive is long and it is the point — this is the road the trans-Saharan trade used, and the landscape changes four times on it.
Day by day
- Day 1
The medina
Arrive, get lost deliberately, and be in the square at sunset.
15:00Bahia Palace
A nineteenth-century grand vizier's palace, and the carved cedar ceilings are the best in the city.
18:30Jemaa el-Fnaa at dusk
The square is an empty car park by day and something else entirely after dark.
The food stalls set up around six. Pick one that is busy with locals rather than one with a tout.
- Day 2
Gardens and souks
The quieter half of Marrakech, and shopping done properly.
08:30Jardin Majorelle
Jacques Majorelle's garden, restored by Yves Saint Laurent, and the blue is a registered colour.
Timed entry, and the eight o'clock slot is the only one without a queue.
11:00Souk Semmarine
The main artery of the souks, and everything else branches off it — which makes it the one lane worth knowing.
15:00Le Jardin Secret
A restored riad garden in the middle of the souks, and the only quiet within five hundred metres.
- Day 3
Over the Atlas
The Tizi n'Tichka pass, then the kasbah on the far side.
10:00Tizi n'Tichka pass
The watershed: green on one side, red rock and palmeries on the other.
2,260 m, and the road has been widened but is still four hours of switchbacks from Marrakech.
14:00Ait Benhaddou
A fortified earthen village on the old salt road, and a World Heritage site since 1987.
Cross the river on the stepping stones rather than the bridge, and climb to the agadir at the top.
- Day 4
Gorges and dunes
The long day: Dades, Todra, and into the Sahara by evening.
11:00Todra Gorge
You drive through the bottom of it, which is a different experience from looking down into one.
The narrowest section is ten metres across with 160 m walls, and the road runs through it.
17:00Erg Chebbi dunes
Dunes to 150 m, and the only genuine erg within reach of a Marrakech flight.
Camel out to the camp takes about an hour and a half. Bring a layer — the temperature drops hard after sunset.
- Day 5
Sunrise, then west
Out of the sand at dawn and back across the Dades valley.
06:00Erg Chebbi sunrise
The dunes are orange for about twenty minutes and grey for the rest of the day.
14:00Dades Valley kasbah road
The Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs, and the hairpins above Boumalne are worth the stop.
- Day 6
Back to Marrakech
Over the pass again, with a last stop before the airport.
09:00Atlas Film Studios
On the road out of Ouarzazate, and the standing sets explain why half the desert scenes you have watched were shot here.
Questions
- How long is the Marrakech and the Sahara itinerary?
- The Marrakech and the Sahara itinerary runs 6 days and covers 12 stops across Marrakech, Ait Benhaddou, Merzouga.
- When is the best time to do the Marrakech and the Sahara itinerary?
- Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov is the best window for the Marrakech and the Sahara itinerary.
- What happens on day one of the Marrakech and the Sahara itinerary?
- Day one is the medina: Arrive, get lost deliberately, and be in the square at sunset.
Sources
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