3 Nights Desert Tour from Fes

The fabulous journey starts with a pick up from your hotel or Riad at 7 am heading to the Middle Atlas Mountain sand then on to the Sahara. Your first stop will be at the delightful town of Ifrane, built by the French in the 1930's and known as "Morocco's Switzerland" because of its Alpine chalet-styled architecture and aspect. In winter, it is snow covered and there is a ski resort at Michliffen, nearby. Next, you will travel on through the huge cedar forests around the quaint peaceful Berber town of Azrou. "The Rock" in the local Berber dialect, where the famous Barbary Apes, actually a type of macaque monkey, will be eager to share your lunch, in the heart of their natural habitat.
Pass through the Atlas Mountains that are said to hold up the sky, winding your way through forested peaks, twisting mountain streams and gushing springs and passing jagged walls of rock. Continue on south, you will pass through Rissani, and then be amazed at the startlingly sudden appearance, as if by magic, of the Erg Chebbi sand dunes. These dunes are massive, up to 50 meters in height and extend eastwards all the way into the Algerian Sahara. At the foot of the sand dunes your Kasbah/hotel awaits you, along with a refreshing glass of hot sweet mint tea, where you can chill out after the long journey. Enjoy a delicious dinner while listening to the sweet strains of traditional Berber music until it is time to sleep.

Choose your own experience after having breakfast. The delights of a walk through the immense dunes of the Erg Chebbi. Perhaps a refreshing dip in the hotel swimming pool, or you can go for the option of a shopping trip to the nearby villages of Merzouga, only fifty kilometres from the Algerian border, which boasts the largest underground natural reservoir in Morocco, and then the tiny Khamlia, called the village of the black people, as it is inhabited by the descendants of slaves taken from The Sudan who will enthrall you with their performances of their much loved, sacred Gnawa music. At dusk, you will have your camel prepared to carry you off into the glorious sunset for an unforgettable ninety-minute camel trek through the shifting desert sands before you arrive at a traditional Berber desert encampment where you will spend the night in a tent, surrounded by mountainous dunes. Your guide will cook you an authentic Moroccan repast while you are watching the stars that are so many and so bright which makes you feel you could just reach out and touch them, Plus, listening to the soft sounds of time-honoured Berber music

Have an early start to experience the panoramic sunrise over the sand dunes. Ride your camel gently back to your hotel for breakfast, during the ride, you cannot fail to notice the shifting and changing of the shadows cast by the dunes, lengthening and shrinking as the day progresses. After breakfast, the journey to The Todra Gorge begins with a drive to the main Sahara's edge town of Rissani, the first capital of the Alaouite dynasty.
The next step is Erfoud with its array of famous fossils, be sure to pick up a beautiful bargain, but don't forget to haggle! You also get to visit the wonderful workshops where men prepare the fossils, removing them from the rocks and cleaning them up with expert skill. The trip carries on through 300 meter deep canyon of the Todgha Gorges cut through the easternmost tip of the High Atlas Mountains, close to the village of Tinghir where you will get the chance to do a spot of relaxed hiking. The Tinghir and Todgha Gorges are the highest and narrowest in Morocco and the most beautiful. Dinner will be served and you will spend a peaceful night in the heart of the Todgha Gorge.

Have breakfast and enjoy more hiking in Todra Gorge, then the journey back to Fes through the Mighty Middle Atlas Mountains.