From the Sahara to Marrakesh in 10 Hours

Trip date September 2023

It had been an incredible journey and night in the Sahara Desert but now we were on the road to Marrakesh! And it would be a very long day of driving, about 10 hours. It was so great to have our private driver for these expeditions!

Madhi had the car all packed up and we were on the road at about 8:30 am. After only 30 minutes on the road he pulled over in the middle of nowhere. When we asked what he was doing, he said that he was taking us hunting for fossils!! We got out, walked across the highway, and started searching along the base of a low ridge of hills.

This entire area of the Rocky Sahara was once a sea bed and home to many different sea creatures and invertebrates during the Devonian period, 419.2 to 358.9 million years ago. All sorts of fossils have been found in this area, such as giant catfish, crocodiles, whales, pterosaurs, trilobites, nautiloids, brachiopods, etc.

We found a few nautiloids and brachiopods which was really cool. I knew that Morocco is known for their fossils (from watching The Forgiven), but I didn't know why, and I didn't realize there is a whole business of fossil tourism! We would see many very impressive ones for sale along our route. 

The landscape remained rocky as we drove through the Draa River Valley. We passed by Tamnougalt, an old kasbah and date palm oasis, and various small towns with bustling markets along their streets. Our original itinerary suggested driving up thru the sheer rock walls of the Todra Gorges but as this was already an extremely long drive for one person to handle we skirted south of there and followed the Anti Atlas Mountains. 

From here we started climbing up a bit to Aït Saoun, which is a mountain pass in the Anti Atlas range. Madhi pulled over so we could get out and take in the gorgeous views. This 5042 foot elevation pass was once a caravan route for people traveling to the Sahara.

Just on the other side of the pass near Ouarzazate we drove by CLA Studios, a movie production house that opened in 2004 and has had parts of films such as Babel, Gladiator, and Ben Hur shot on their sets. It was closed when we were there and Madhi thought that might be a permanent thing. 

Another well-used movie location was just off the main highway a bit further. Ait Ben Haddou, an UNESCO World Heritage Site is a ksar; a fortified village built of clay.  

There have been so many movies shot here including Lawrence of Arabia, The Jewel of the Nile, Sheltering Sky, and The Mummy. 

After a quick (and really bad) lunch in the more modern part of town, we were able to walk across a dried river bed and up into the lanes of the village. Very few people still live in the ksar but there are some small shops selling antiques and fossils to tourists. The clay architecture was super cool to see.

The buildings at the very top of the ksar were closed, having sustained damage from the 2023 earthquake that happened just a week before we arrived in Morocco. Having been on the other side of the country for the last 6 days, this was the first time we were seeing physical damage.

It was 3pm and we still had over 3 hours before reaching Marrakech. This part of the drive was through the High Atlas Mountains and the views were stunning. It was also a bit nerve wracking as Madhi is very use to the twisty roads and was driving pretty fast. Steep drop offs on one side and top-heavy trucks, double-deckered with cattle were creaning past on the other side. I've never seen cows loaded on open topped, 2-story trucks before! 

We stopped at Tizi N Tinifift pass, the highest major mountain pass in North Africa at 7,234 ft (2,205 metres) above sea level. Nomadic Berbers still cross this on foot! Madhi explained that during the winter this pass closes often because of snow. Towns located inside are then cut off until the road can be opened back up. 

We stopped in a tiny town at the pass to shop from the Berber Women Argan Oil CoOp. The ingredient argan oil is slapped on just about every label in the States but most of that is very diluted with other oils. Real oil is extracted by hand from the argan tree fruit which are very small. It takes a lot of nuts to get a bit of the precious oil and this part of Morocco is said to have the best.

The small nuts are cracked open with a stone and their seed is separated from the husk. Then the seeds are ground with a small stone mill by one of the women. The shop sells cosmetic as well as food grade oils. This is where we all bought the Moroccan specialty Amlou which is a spread of honey, almonds, and argan oil. It's fabulous and you should eat it anytime you see it!

We weren't the only ones shopping! As we opened the trunk to put our purchases in, boxes and boxes of dates just about fell out! Madhi had stopped along the side of the road as we headed up the pass to buy some, but we hadn't known how much he had bought! Turns out we were his last group that he would be driving through this region so he was stocking up!

It was past 6pm when we arrived in Marrakesh, it had been a really long day on the road but also a super interesting & beautiful one! 

Fes Authentic Tours was a great company to work with, creating the exact trip we wanted. I highly recommend them. 

All photos of the High Atlas Mountains here. 

Other posts from Morocco:
2 Nights in Tangier, Morocco 
Tétouan and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco
Riads and Restaurants in Fes, Morocco
A Food & Culture Tour in Fes
Berber Luxury Camp Overnight in the Sahara Desert

Marrakesh Eats and Drinks

Exploring Marrakesh, Morocco

Berber Luxury Camp Overnight in the Sahara Desert

Trip date: September 2023

We had a last quick breakfast in the lovely Riad Tizwa in Fes, before checking out and being collected by our private driver Madhi at 8am. Even though this was early for me, we were all super excited as today we were driving to the Sahara Desert! More specifically we were going to be spending the night in a Berber camp near the small town of Merzouga, which was about a 7 hour drive away.

Following the itinerary that we booked with Fes Authentic Tours our first stop was Ifrane. It was surprising to drive up into the Middle Atlas Mountains and see the fancy ski resort Michlifen; skiing in Morocco? Turns out that snow is common here at 6,900 ft between Dec and Feb. The town of Ifrane is actually referred to as "Little Switzerland" as the buildings were built in an alpine-style by the French who occupied the area in the 30's.

We had a quick walk around the tiny town and snapped a photo with the city's stone lion near the Hôtel Chamonix. Supposedly it was carved by a German soldier, who was held here during WWII in a prisoner-of-war camp, in exchange for his freedom. The sculpture represents the last wild Atlas lion, shot near Ifrane in the early 20s. 

I bought a mix of sweet and salty peanuts and candied ginger from a snack vender for the car ride and then we were back on the road. The land became very flat and arid right out of Ifrane, but soon we were in an area lush with cedar trees and a large population of Barbary macaques! These are tailless monkeys that live in small groups on the ground. 

The endangered species is already extinct in other parts of Northern Africa. Unfortunately there have been problems with poachers in this area and many are taken and sold as pets. There has been a lot of movement to protect these monkeys recently and hopefully their numbers will continue to rise; we saw babies which even 2 years ago was very rare. 

As we continued our drive, we were leaving the Middle Atlas Mountains, which run primarily north and south, and crossing the high plateaus. The scenery was really interesting and really bare. Madhi pulled over and pointed out a small scattering of Nomadic Berber tents and pens made of scrub sticks for their herds. What an incredibly tough life that would be.

There were a few spots where we just barely crossed into the very northeastern tip of the High Atlas and the peaks were incredibly craggy, giving us just a small taste of what we would be driving through the next day!

For lunch we stopped at a roadside cafe seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It was obviously a pretty normal stop for tourists and others making the trek to and from the Sahara. Madhi left us as it was prayer time and we grabbed a table and some sticky menus. We weren't expecting much, and honestly my kabobs were fine, but Gail still talks about the "Berber eggs" she ordered, as one of the best egg dishes she has had!

Shortly after lunch we came upon the Ziz River and the Tafilalt oasis. It's really a stunning site, even though our skies had turned overcast. Following the gorge are multiple walled kasbahs built among the thousands of date palm trees. This is the largest palm grove in all of Morocco.

At 5pm, 9 hours after leaving Fes, we arrived at the Palais des Dunes hotel in Merzouga. This tiny village in the Sahara Desert is the kickoff spot to Erg Chebbi, which are the huge red sand dunes that line the border Algeria. 

We wouldn't be staying at the hotel but our suitcases and Madhi were. We would be staying at their luxury Berber camp in the desert! 

We were escorted across the street to meet with our camel guide who, after tying our scarves around our heads for us, would be leading us on our 1 ½ hour ride. To be clear, these were Arabian camels, or dromedary, which have 1 hump instead of 2 (which are mainly found in central Asia).

Riding a camel is awkward and not comfortable, but it was an amazing experience! There were 5 of us total, each on our own dromedary, with the guide holding very loosely to the lead rope. Mine was in the front so I had pretty amazing views of the incredibly high dunes of powdery red sand. 

Our guide was great, he was very patient with us and his camels. Sometimes he dropped the rope when helping one of the riders; I asked him if he worried the camel would walk off but he said that he'd had them for years, he treated them very well, and he knew they would never walk away.

He even did a little photo shoot with us all and then individually. A few of the camels really liked having their photos taken, it was super cute. 

As it had been overcast all afternoon we weren't expecting any kind of pretty sunset which everyone always talks about. And honestly when the guide asked if we wanted to get down and take a break and watch it, we were all pretty unenthusiastic. And I just about fell off my camel getting down! So we watched the quad riders off in the distance, and saw a big scarab beetle making his way over the dune we were on, and then all of a sudden the skies started to clear and we had the most amazing sunset!

When we booked this excursion we had our choice between a luxury tent and a basic tent. The luxury tent was only €30 more and was private with actual beds (vs mats) and private bathrooms with running water in them (vs not). When we got to a rise on the dune and could see the two camps below us the camel guide told the other couple that they could dismount and walk to to their camp- the basic one. So going basic also means you are on your own to walk across a stretch of dunes! 

We rode a bit further before being helped off the camels and being led into our luxury camp for the night. I have to say we were all VERY excited about what we saw, it was beautiful! 

Our overnight bags were waiting for us in our big triple tent with a bathroom, including hot water shower, and also a nice little sitting area out front. Mint tea was brought to us as we relaxed. 

Pro tip- while in Fes, we had taken a taxi to the Carrefour and bought wine, beer, and gin at the Cave there; one of the only places you can buy alcohol. We then had some of our wine and beer brought out with our bags and requested it to be put in their refrigerator. Obviously we checked with our organizer first to make sure this was all ok, and it was! So after tea we had a nice little drink before dinner.

That evening we had dinner in a big tent with just 2 other parties. Dinner was pretty basic: rice, veg, chicken tagine (even though we had requested a vegetarian option for Gail), french fries, and fruit. But we didn't care, we were in the Sahara Desert! 

After dinner we were all invited to join around a big bonfire, and sitting on plush pillows got to listen to some traditional Berber music. It was so fun! Gail even got to take a turn on the drums!

Then one of the guys led Caitlin, Gail, and I out of the camp in the pitch darkness to look at the stars! We climbed a dune, holding hands as you really couldn't see anything, and layed on our backs gazing up at an amazing sky. We even saw a shooting star! It was really such a fantastic thing to be out there. 

The next morning we were up early to catch sunrise but unfortunately it was cloudy. And this folks is why I always prefer sunset; no giving up any precious sleep! The camels we had ridden were still hanging out right where they were left the day before, without being tied up, and the resident cats were running around looking for bugs and critters to catch.

We packed up and had a fine but not exciting breakfast back in the big tent. And as cool of an experience riding a camel was, we opted to return to the hotel by 4-wheel truck! 

This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and it was so awesome! Highly recommend the long trek out to the Sahara if you ever get the chance.

All photos of the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert here.

Other posts from Morocco:
2 Nights in Tangier, Morocco 
Tétouan and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco
Riads and Restaurants in Fes, Morocco
A Food & Culture Tour in Fes

From the Sahara to Marrakesh in 10 Hours

Marrakesh Eats and Drinks

Exploring Marrakesh, Morocco