Marrakech to Fes desert tours

Marrakech to Fes desert tours Map

Tizi-N-Tichka is the most famous mountain pass in Morocco that reaches 2260 meters (7415 feet) above sea level. Tizi-N-Tichka grants an incredible road trip opportunity since the top 40 km up the High Atlas Mountains is made through a serpentine road. Expect incredible and breathtaking views from above. Interestingly enough is that the road from Ouarzazate to Marrakech during the winter months is made crossing snowy mountains (video). Moroccan winter in the mountains that reach above 4000 meters can be rough, so expect a totally different scenario, from the orange sand dunes of the desert all the way to Marrakech through the Atlas white snowy mountains. Moroccan landscape diversity is one of the factors that made this country worldwide famous and prominent in the international tourism arena.

Telouet mountain village probably comes as one of the biggest surprises of the whole trip from Fez to Marrakech. This isolated Atlas Mountain rural village is the place where the famous Thami El Glaoui was based. Thami El Glaoui the Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912 to 1956, was known as the Lord of the Atlas. Visiting the Telouet Kasbah is like going back in time, and one can explore its interiors and discover a magnificent palace, with exquisite refined decoration, basically in the middle of nowhere. Telouet kasbah held an important strategic geographic position in the ancient caravans from the Sahara desert. The famous route Marrakech to Timbuktu in Mali had a stopover here as one of the final stages before reaching Marrakech, the Red city.

Ounila Valley is usually named as one of the most beautiful valleys in south Morocco, along with the Dades Valley and the Draa valley. Its red colors and impressive mountain views create spectacular scenery. Ounila Valley stands in the middle of the way between the mountain village of Telouet and Ksar Ait Benhaddou. So, on an Ouarzazate to Marrakech road trip, Ounila shouldn’t be missed. Apart from many picturesque adobe villages, one can also spot several canyon granaries, build on the edge of the riffs. These ancient fortified cellars were the way people use to store their precious crops and seeds.

Ksar Ait Benhaddou is undoubtedly south Morocco’s ex-libris, as the only UNESCO World Heritage site listed below the Atlas Mountains. Holding a mythic place in people’s memories as one of the film sets for the movie Gladiator (video), Ait Benhaddou’s spectacular views are indeed one of the best in Morocco. This 17th-century mud-brick village located on the hill surprises visitors with its inherent beauty. Still today a reduced number of families live there which creates a nice familiar and cozy atmosphere.

Ouarzazate is a city nicknamed the “Door of the Desert“, as it is the biggest city before heading south to the Sahara Desert near Mhamid and Chigaga Dunes. Ouarzazate is also on the way between Marrakech and the Sahara Desert. Ouarzazate’s prestige is renowned worldwide due to many factors, but the most prominent being the fact of holding the World’s Biggest Film Set. Many leading movies were filmed in Ouarzazate, being the most famous: Enemy of My Enemy (2012), The Terrorist Hunter (2011), Mary Mother of Christ (2011), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Game of Thrones (2010 TV Series), Ben Hur (2010 Mini-Series), The Way Back (2010), Die Frau des Schläfers (2010 TV Movie), Prisoners of the Sun (2010), Lippels Traum (2009), Pope Joan (2009), Mirages (2009), Italians (2009), Body of Lies (2008), Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (2007 Documentary), Ali Baba et les 40 voleurs (2007 TV Movie), The Hills Have Eyes II (2007), Babel (2006), The Amazing Race, Episode: We Just Won’t Die, Like Roaches (2006), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Alexander (2004), What a Girl Wants (2003), Gladiator (2000), and among many others films shot during mnay decades. Ouarzazate city offers much more than just the movie studios, and you can visit the beautiful Taourirt Kasbah, Tifoultoute Kasbah, the carpet museum, the cinema museum, Fint Oasis, ancient petroglyphs, and the city center.

Dades Valley is a profoundly scenic valley in the High Atlas Mountains, lavished with Berber villages, endless palm groves, dramatic rocky formations, impressive red soil, and hundreds of kasbahs. One of the most important places in the Dades Valley is the impressive Tissedrine road, considered among the most beautiful roads in the world (video).

Todra Gorges, also locally known as Gorges du Todra are one of the most fascinating attractions of the Tnghir Province or Draa Tafilalet region in Morocco. These majestic rocky canyons rising up to 300 meters (1000 feet) impress visitors (video) that traverse its narrow opening where the river flows out into the Tinghir valley furthermore on the southern exit. Located in the Atlas Mountains, Todra Gorges are a guaranteed stop on any desert tour from Marrakech or Fes desert tour. Furthermore on the way, continuing along the road, we arrive in a very beautiful region of Morocco, filled up with isolated and rural villages such as Tamtettoucht, Ait Hani, and Imilchil, at 2119 meters altitude in the Asif Mellulen valley. Don’t be fooled, as Todra Gorge is one of the most spectacular canyons in the world, and you can’t miss it!

Erg Chebbi Dunes is the most famous desert destination in Morocco. We can say that the Moroccan southern regions start developing thanks to this amazing natural wonder that attracted visitors since the late 1980s. Sometimes these dunes are called Merzouga dunes getting the name of the nearby village. A Morocco desert tour Fes to Marrakech through Merzouga is always fantastic, and coming from Marrakech you have to pass many other beautiful destinations along the way. The dunes of Erg Chebbi are the tallest sand dunes in Morocco, reaching around 250 high. It is possible to do some camel ride and sleep in luxury desert camps, watch sunset and sunset, and engage in other adventure activities. Erg Chebbi desert is located in the Errachidia Province of the Draa Tafilalet region. This is where you will meet the dazzling nature of southern Morocco.

Ziz Valley is a famous Moroccan rocky set of dramatic canyons that open towards the Tafilalet palm grove, that consequently heads towards Erg Chebbi dunes furthermore to the south near the Algeria border. The incredible views of Ziz Gorges make the abrupt transition between the Atlas mountains and the Sahara Desert. In the Ziz Valley, you will cross the legendary Tunnel du Légionnaire build by the french troops back in 1928, before you reach Errachidia, the capital of the Draa Tafialet region.

Azrou is a famous Moroccan destination due to the fact of its wild population of the Barbary macaque, an autochthonous species to the cedar forests in Ifrane Province. Azrou is located in the Middle Atlas, just 94 km distance south of Fes, and at an altitude of 1250 meters. Azrou and its wild monkeys are in fact one of the highlights of any trip from Fes to Marrakech. The road from Fes to the Sahara Desert just naturally passes the immense forests with these amazing creatures. Visit Cèdre Gouraud Forest and stay interacting with the Moroccan macaques (video), take pictures and enjoying nature, before continuing your journey.