Day 1:
Departure from Marrakech, and drive through the High Atlas mountains -Tizi nTichka pass. We’ll take time to stop and enjoy the impressive landscapes, have coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice break before visiting the Atlas film studios where many big box office adventure films were turned ( The Mummy, Black Hawk Down, Cleopatra, Gladiator, Moses, and more) before stopping in Ouarzazate for lunch and to visit the famous Kasbah Taourirt. The first night will be spent there.
Day 2:
Next destination is a drive through the Valley of the Roses, and Dades Gorges. We pass through many Berber villages and experience a culture unchanged for thousands of years in riverside oasis gardens and barren hillsides clustered with kasbahs. We visit Dades Gorges and spend the night in a beautiful hotel, enjoying the local music with the evening meal.
Day 3:
After breakfast we have a short drive to reach a massive fault dividing the High Atlas Mountain. Todra Gorge sheer rock walls rise over 300m in their narrowest part, where you can wander with a guide through palmerie villages, gardens, and kasbahs for a close look at traditional Berber ways of life. After lunch we drive to Merzouga- the gate to the Sahara dunes; relaxing afternoon on the swimming pool; in the evening, the Christmas or New years’ eve dinner and show in the hotel
Day 4:
After breakfast we take you to visit an old slave village and a lake animated by the pink flamingos. Upon return from this visit you have lunch after which your local guide will lead your camel caravan into the dunes to the bivouac (camp), where a traditional tagine dinner (vegetarians welcome) is prepared under the evening stars. Climb the dunes and watch the moon rise before retiring to your bed in a nomad wool tent.
Day 5:
We will return by camels at sunrise to your your hotel for breakfast and shower. Afterwards we will depart for the World Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou Kasbah. This village of clustered Berber Kasbahs has been used as a backdrop for more than 20 films and was one of the most important fortress strongholds on the old Salt Road where caravans brought slaves, gold, ivory and salt from Saharan Africa to Marrakech and beyond. The last night will be spent there.
Day 6:
Back to Marrakech around midday.