4 Days/ 3 Nights
This tour was designed for
travellers who want to feel Morocco, not just photograph it. Day one sets the
tone: a serious hike through the Western High Atlas from Agersioual to Imlil,
crossing two passes above 2,200 metres with a local Berber guide who has walked
these trails since childhood. The route threads through hamlets where French is
rarely heard and hospitality is unconditional.
Days two and three unfold across
the epic southern desert road — Tizi-n-Tichka pass, the rose-red kasbahs of the
Drâa Valley, the rock-carved magnificence of Todra Gorge — before the landscape
softens into the salmon-pink sand seas of Erg Chebbi. A camel trek at dusk
brings you to a Berber camp where dinner is slow-cooked tagine and conversation
flows freely around the fire.
On the final morning, the alarm rings early — deliberately so. A pre-dawn camel ride carries you deep into the dunes to watch the Saharan sunrise paint the sand in shades of copper and ochre before the world wakes up. The long drive back to Marrakech via the Atlas mountains rounds off a journey that manages to feel both epic and intimately personal.
Cross two genuine High Atlas passes — Tizi n'Agersioual (2,200m) and Tizi n'Tamter (2,779m) — on a 12km trail that earns its views. Lunch is taken inside a Berber family home, the kind of encounter no tour bus can replicate.
Arrive at the dunes by camel at golden hour, dine on a traditional Moroccan feast at a desert camp, then spend the night under a canopy of Saharan stars. Wake before sunrise for a second camel ride as the dunes ignite with colour.
Explore Morocco's most dramatic ksar — an entire fortified city of sun-baked earth that has starred in Gladiator, Game of Thrones and Lawrence of Arabia. Your guide brings the stones to life with stories the film crews never told.
Stand inside a 300-metre cathedral of rock where the High Atlas splits apart, then walk through lush palmeries bursting with date palms. The contrast with the arid desert beyond could not be more cinematic.
Starting time 9
Moderate
Depart Marrakech at 08:00 and drive south through the Moulay Brahim Gorges, passing Asni's famous Saturday souk. At Agersioual (1,600m) you leave the vehicle and join your local Berber guide for a 12km mountain walk east to the village of Aïkkiss (1,700m), over Tizi n'Agersioual pass (2,200m) and on to the high ridge of Tizi n'Tamter (2,779m). Panoramic views take in two valleys simultaneously. A leisurely descent of 1.5 hours brings you into Imlil, where an evening meal and a warm guesthouse await. Total: 1h20 drive + 6 hours hiking.
Collected from your guesthouse at 09:00, you cross the Atlas via the spectacular Tizi-n-Tichka pass and descend into the pre-Saharan south. The road threads through Berber villages, riverside oases and rolling hillsides peppered with kasbahs. An optional visit to Ouarzazate's famous film studios makes for a fascinating detour; a stop at the UNESCO-listed ksar of Aït Benhaddou — film set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones — is not to be missed. You arrive at your Dades Gorge hotel in time to hike the gorge trail (season permitting) or simply absorb the extraordinary views. Total: approximately 7 hours driving.
After breakfast, drive to Todra Gorge — a soaring 300-metre fault in the earth's crust — for a walk through shaded palmeries laced with the sound of running water. After lunch, the landscape gradually loosens into stony hammada desert as you approach Merzouga and the gateway to Erg Chebbi. At the dunes' edge you mount your camel for a one-hour sunset trek to a traditional Berber desert camp. Dinner is a slow-cooked tagine eaten under the stars; sleep is either under the open sky in summer or in a comfortable tent in cooler months. Total: ~6 hours driving.
Rise before dawn for a one-hour sunrise camel ride deep into Erg Chebbi — the desert at first light is nothing short of magical. Return to Merzouga for breakfast, a welcome shower, then begin the long, photo-stop-rich drive back over the Atlas to Marrakech. Expect to arrive between 17:00 and 18:00. Total: approximately 10 hours driving with stops.
This tour is available all year round.
Throughout the tour, accommodation includes a stay in a guest house in Imlil, a hotel in Dades, and a Berber desert camp.
Day
1 is a genuine mountain hike — 12km with around 1,200m of ascent over two
passes. A reasonable level of walking fitness is required. Days 2–4 are
primarily scenic drives with short, easy walks. If you have any concerns, get
in touch and we'll advise honestly.
March
to May and September to November offer the most comfortable temperatures for
the mountain hike and desert camping. Summer (June–August) is possible but very
hot in the desert. Winter tours run but some high passes may be snowy and gorge
hikes curtailed by short daylight hours.
Absolutely.
Even if you've seen it on screen dozens of times, standing inside the ksar with
a knowledgeable local guide is a genuinely moving experience. Allow at least 90
minutes to do it justice.
All
High Atlas Hiking tours depart as private tours — your party only. We do not
combine groups. This means your pace, your interests and your schedule take
priority throughout.
Yes.
We can add extra nights in the desert, swap Dades for an alternative valley,
arrange a mule for the mountain hike, or include a cooking class in a Berber
village. Contact us and we'll tailor the experience to you.
