Private multi-day tour · southern Morocco
The Draa, the dunes and on to Fes.
The long version, adding the Draa valley and its palm groves before the dunes, for travellers who would rather see one country properly than three in a week.
The itinerary
1. Marrakech → Aït Ben Haddou → Ouarzazate
The pass and the ksar, with a night in Ouarzazate or at the foot of the kasbah.
2. Draa valley → Zagora or Agdz
The longest palm grove in Morocco, the earthen villages, and the light that photographers come for.
3. → Todra gorges → Merzouga
Back up through the valleys to the gorges, then the dunes and a night under canvas.
4. A day in the desert
Nomad families, Khamlia and its Gnaoua musicians, or simply the dunes and the silence.
5. Merzouga → Midelt → Azrou → Fès
The Ziz valley, the cedar forest, Ifrane and Fès, or the road back to Marrakech if that suits your flights.
Practical details
The tour is led from start to finish by Adil, a government-certified guide, licence no. 2706.
Cancellation terms depend on the accommodation booked and appear on your quote, before any payment.
What you actually see
Five days allow the Draa valley to be added, which the shorter tours leave out for lack of time. It is the longest palm grove in Morocco, two hundred kilometres of continuous oasis between Agdz and Zagora, punctuated by earthen ksour, many still lived in. The road is spectacular and almost empty.
Agdz and Zagora mark the stages. At Zagora, the famous sign pointing to Timbuktu, fifty-two days by camel, is a reminder that this valley was a caravan route to the Sahel. The Draa ksour, less visited than Ait Ben Haddou, give a truer idea of what fortified settlements were like before tourist restoration.
The tour then rejoins the classic route: the Todra gorges, two nights around Merzouga with a full day in the dunes, then north through Midelt and the cedars of Azrou to Fes. This is the format chosen by people who want to see the south without spending their days in a car.
Questions about this tour
What is in the Draa valley that you do not see elsewhere?
A continuous oasis over two hundred kilometres, earthen ksour still inhabited, and a caravan-route atmosphere the tourist roads have lost. It is also the quietest part of the tour.
Is five days too long?
It depends on your total stay. Over ten days in Morocco, a five-day tour leaves time for Marrakech before or Fes after. Over a week, four days is more sensible.
Are the nights all the same?
No, deliberately. A guesthouse in the palm grove, a hotel near the gorges, two nights under canvas in the dunes. The detail appears on the quote before any payment.
