Grand Tour of the South Morocco ..holidays in morocco.
Marrakesh – Ouarzazate Morning departure from your hotel/riad in Marrakesh at 8 o'clock and driving across the High Atlas mountains. At panoramic viewpoints, there will 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. Here you will stop to have a leisurely lunch. Then the route crosses the Oumila Valley and leads to the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, the oldest and most famous Kasbah in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site. After visiting the kasabh there is another 35 kilometres of road as far as Ouarzazate, where you spend the night in a riad.
Ouarzazate – Toudgha gorges Morning departure to the Toudgha Gorge, passing the Oasis of Skoura, 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, where we stop to see cosmetic articles made locally from the valley’s abundant blossoms. These products are well-known throughout Morocco and are highly valued. We drive off-road to the Dades Gorge for lunch, after which there is time for a stroll alongside the river before continuing to the Toudgha Gorge for the second night in a hotel or Kasbah there.
Toudgha Gorges – Merzouga After breakfast, there is time to walk by the river before continuing to Toudgha to the very different gorges there. Lunch will either be here in the gorges or later at the bivouac at the Erg Chebbi dunes. You drive there via the Oasis of Tafilalet, Erfoud and Rissani. After a welcomeing glass of tea, you can take a two-hour camel ride in the Sahara. The sunset from the top of the dunes is spectacular (250m) and afterwards there is dinner and the night in a nomad tent at the foot of the dunes.
Merzouga – Agdez If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. The drive back east to the Dra’a Valley takes us via the villages of Tazzarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’) and N’Qob, where we have lunch. In the afternoon we continue to Tanasikht, along the track of the ancient caravan route, reaching the Dra’a valley, abundant with large palm trees and ancient kasbahs, at Agdez, where we spend the night in a kasbah.
Agdez – Cheggaga After breakfast there is an opportunity to visit the Tamnougalte Kasbah, the oldest in the Dra'a Valley and which some consider to be the most interestng. Some of it is still inhabited and other parts crumbling away. The way follows the ancient track of the caravan route to Zagora. From here the trip continues along paved roads to the village of M’hamid, which marks the end of the paved road and the beginning of the Sahara. Here we pause for lunch in a riad set in a beautiful garden full of palm trees and with a swimming pool. In the afternoon, we leave for the Erg Cheggaga dunes (300m) with 60km off-road. This route passes different features of the desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’ and oases. These dunes are far away from civilization, in the desert proper …… and the silence and the expanse of the sand are overwhelming. Dinner and the night are in a bivouac there.
Cheggaga – Ouarzazate After breakfast, the track covers another 90km of desert with varying scenery; Lake Iriqui, the mountains and fossils. Lunch is in Foum Zguid, the first village after the desert, where it is also possible to freshen up with a shower. From here we drive back to Ouarzazate along paved roads via the village of Taznakht, famous for its Berber carpets and rugs, and we arrive in the course of the afternoon. Here you spend the night in a riad.
Ouarzazate – Marrakesh After breakfast, we visit Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate, originally the sometime residence of the Pasha of Marrakech. We also visit the cinema studios and then drive cross-country to the Fint Oasis, tucked away in the mountains and once serving as a crossroads for the caravans traversing the south of Morocco. We then take the road back to Marrakech over the High Atlas, arriving by the early evening.
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