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Merzouga Sahara Desert Tour
Three Day Sahara Desert Tour Merzouga
Duration: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Morocco Travel: In Luxury 4x4
English, Arabic, Berber, French Speaking Driver, Guide
Starting & Finishing Point: Your Hotel In Ouarzazate
Travel to Merzouga, the Sahara Desert of Morocco and visit the Erg Chebbi Dunes.
Book a Tour or call(800) 787-8806. Let us be your guide to Morocco Travel.
ITINERARY:
DAY 1: OUARZAZATE – MERZOUGA ►Morning departure from
Ouarzazate.
►With our final destination being Merzouga 480km away, the route ahead, often referred to as "the road of one thousand kasbahs" will be full of exciting scenery.
►When traveling to
Morocco's Sahara - Merzouga - we will first pass the sleepy town of
Skoura and admire its impressive palm groves and ruined kasbahs surrounded by palm trees, fig, birch and tamarisk. We will also pass
El-KelaaM’Gnouaand surrounding valleys, open up your window to inhale the strong scent of Persian roses permeating through the mountain air. In spring we can make a pit-stop to take pictures of the spectacular landscape overlooking El-Kelaa M’Gnoua whose two distillation factories use 3000 to 4000 of the rose petals produced by the town each year.
►Continue the journey passing the Todra river, oases of impressive kasbahs, valleys lined with date palms, olive terraces, pomegranate and almond and fruit trees. Back on the main road, look for signs for Er-Rachidia. Here the palm groves of the Ziz and Tafilalt begin and you can catch a glimpse of the Er-Rachidia’s administrative and military center built by the French in the early twentieth century.
► Other sights to look for include lovely stretches over the fertile
Todra Gorgeand a dramatic backdrop of rocks framing the slender towers of the Tamnalt Kasbahs.
►Stop in Rissani for lunch and try Madfouna, southern Morocco’s version of pizza: griddle- fried wheat flour bases topped with onions, tomatoes, olives, minced lamb and cheese.
DAY 2: MERZOUGA – RISSANI - ALNIF - AIT OUZZINE - N’KOB
►Wake up early and head out to an Oasis by camel to
trek across the Erg Chebbi Dunes before dawn. Watch the sunrise over the dunes.
►Depart Merzouga and stop in the center of Rissani to purchase Berber jewelry with iconic designs of the desert. Stock up on dried fruits and other snacks at the local souk to enjoy a relaxing ride back to Ouarzazate.
►Meet a local
Berber family, sip tea in the Saghro Mountains, and dine on couscous. Then explore and tour the village by foot. Walk in the green fields and see how the traditional Berbers live with their gardens of herbs, livestock, and henna plants.
►After lunch, you can have your hands and feet painted with henna or your hair adorned with saffron by a local village artist and relax. Experience the tradition of Berber perfume made from musk and amber along with the villages own spices.
►N’kob is a village in the Middle Atlas Mountains which boasts prehistoric rock-carvings to explore. If geology is your passion then stopping in Tazzarine, Alnif and Rissani to explore the rocks, fossils and minerals found in shops along the roadside is a priority. Trilobites are the areas main export. Besides fossils, you will also have a chance to see a circuit of ksour- Asserehine, Zaouiet el Maati, Irara, Gaouz, Tabassant, Tinrheras and Ouirhalne.
► Overnight in a Boutique Riad or Guesthouse in Nkob.
DAY 3: N’KOB – OUARZAZATE
►Rise early and take the road through the DraaValley
►En route to Ouarzazate, pass the
Draa Valley, known as Morocco’s longest river. The formation is that of the Dades River and Imini River and flows from the High Atlas Mountains southeastward to Tagounit and from Tagounit mostly westwards to the Atlantic Ocean somewhat north of Tan-Tan. The Draa Valley is the road of the old caravans that once traveled to transport dates and other goods from the Draa Region to Marrakech.