On our Morocco Grand South Tour, expect to visit the majority of southern towns and villages of Morocco. The road will take you by so many panoramic views of both the Atlas Mountains and the Moroccan Sahara Desert that you will be left speechless by their greatness.
Of course, a camel trek is also included in the Morocco Grand South Tour!
Morning departure from your hotel/Riad in Marrakesh is expected at 8 o’clock to drive across the High Atlas mountains to start our Morocco Grand South Tour. At panoramic viewpoints, there will be opportunities to stop and take photos.
The first scheduled stop is at the Kasbah of Telouet, which served as a palatial residence, and the headquarters of the powerful Glaoui tribe.
Then, our route crosses the Ounila Valley and leads to the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, the oldest and most famous Kasbah in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site where we will have lunch. After visiting the Kasbah, you continue to see another famous one in the area, Kasbah Tifoultoute. Once in Ouarzazate, you spend the night in a Riad.
After breakfast, you set out towards the Dades Gorge, passing the Skoura Oasis, where numerous ancient Kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees. From here, our route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, famous for its Rose Festival in May.
We stop to see the cosmetic articles which are made locally from the valley’s abundant flowers. These products are well-known throughout Morocco and are highly valued.
You take an off-road route to have a better impression of the landscape. Along the way, you will stop at caves, used by whichever Berber nomad that happen to pass and claim residence there. We will have a glass of tea with them before continuing to the Dades Gorge for lunch.
This leaves you half a day to walk in the valley, relax, have a stroll by the fields and gardens, or have a cup of tea with a Berber family.
After breakfast, the trip continues a short distance to Tinghir and Todgha gorges where you can take a short walk to appreciate the steep sides of the gorges and the narrow expanse of the sky above.
From there, you continue to Erg Chebbi dunes via Tinjdad, and the Oasis of Tafilalet near Erfoud, famous for its Date Festival, and Rissani, the site of the Alaouite family of the present king of Morocco.
Between Tinjdad and Erfoud, you can stop to go down into the fascinating underground water channels deep below the earth. It is cold so it can prevent the evaporation of this source of irrigation. In Erfoud, you can stop to see thousands of fossils made into all sorts of artifacts. Lunch will be in a Berber village along the way.
At the bivouac, you are welcomed with a glass of tea before taking a camel ride to watch the sunset from the top of the dunes. Later, there is dinner and the night in a nomad tent at the foot of the dunes.
If you wake up early enough, you can watch the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. You’ll visit the Gnawa people, originally slaves brought from Sudan, to experience their music and lifestyle. Not far away there’s the lake of Merzouga, with its bird populations.
You may also visit the nomad wire house where many Berber handicrafts are priced lower than in the big cities. In the afternoon, guided by an experienced camel man, you’ll explore the sand sea of Merzouga with a camel trek while watching the sunset over the golden dunes. An overnight stay awaits you at the desert camp, equipped with flash toilets.
After breakfast in the desert camp, we’ll drive you back east to the Dra’a Valley via the villages of Tazzarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’) and N’Qob, where we will have lunch.
In the afternoon, we drive to Tanasikht, along the track of the ancient caravan route, reaching the Dra’a valley, abundant with large palm trees and ancient Kasbahs, then, we stop at Agdz.
We spend the night at the oldest Kasbah in the village: Kasbah Tamnougalte.
After breakfast, we drive north to Taznakht, famous for its Berber gelims and carpets, where we will stop for lunch. After crossing the Tizi-n-Ikhsane and Tizi-n-Tighatine passes, we reach Taliouine, the heart of the saffron growing region.
The road takes us onto to Taroudant, where we stop for the night in a local Riad to end day 6 of our Morocco Grand South Tour.
In the morning, you pay a visit to the town known as “the little Marrakesh”. It is spectacular for its massive ramparts and beautiful Medina. Then, we climb back up the High Atlas Mountains across the famous Tizi-n-Test pass, stopping at the Tinmal mosque, which may be visited by non-Muslims.
Lunch will be in a mountain restaurant with superb views. From here, we continue through the mountains to the village of Imlil, where we will stay the night. Here, the quiet and beauty of the panoramas are overwhelmingly beautiful.
After breakfast, we have time to walk and look up at Toubkal Mountain, the highest peak in North Africa. Passing the Toubkal National Park, we reach Asni, a small Berber village, which is famous for its permanent as well as for its weekly Souks.
We, then, pass the mausoleum of Moulay Brahim, a well-known Moroccan Sufi saint who died in 1661. Here you can have tea with a local Berber family, who will show you the traditional hammam and bread ovens.
The last Valley of the trip is that of the Lalla Takerkoust reservoir, which supplies Marrakesh and the surrounding area with water from the snow melt of the High Atlas. Here, there are stops to take photos of the wonderful scenery over the lake.
Later on, we head back to Marrakech to end our Morocco Grand South Tour.
Tempted? Hurry to join us on the Morocco Grand South Tour to discover and explore the beauty of Moroccan nature which includes panoramic views of the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert. If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact us.
