The most complete desert loop you can do from Ouarzazate without leaving the south. This 5-day private tour strings together everything that makes pre-Saharan Morocco famous — the kasbahs of Skoura, the Damask roses of Kelaa M’Gouna, the cinematic Dades and Todra gorges, the towering Erg Chebbi dunes at Merzouga, and the palm-lined Draa Valley down to Zagora and the Tinfou dunes — finishing at UNESCO-listed Ait Ben Haddou. With two distinct desert nights, both major gorges, and an English-speaking Berber guide in a private 4×4, the extra day over the 4-day tour buys real breathing room. Pickup from your Ouarzazate hotel.
This 5 day ouarzazate desert tour is the grand southern loop — 5 days, 4 nights, two dune seas:
Want the deepest, wildest version with Erg Chigaga? See the 7 Day Ouarzazate Sahara Tour.
Pickup: 8:30 AM. East along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to the Skoura oasis and Kasbah Amerdhil. On to Kelaa M’Gouna and the Valley of Roses for a rosewater distillery stop, then up the Dades Valley to the dramatic Dades Gorge switchbacks. Sunset over the cliffs.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner. Accommodation: Hotel/kasbah, Dades Gorge (HB).
Walk the towering Todra Gorge at its narrowest point, then cross to Erfoud and Rissani (fossils, Alaouite history, the great souk). Late afternoon, a sunset camel trek carries you over Erg Chebbi to your desert camp for dinner, drumming, and a sky full of stars.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner. Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Erg Chebbi (HB).
Sunrise over the dunes, then a full 4×4 desert circuit: the Gnawa village of Khamlia, Mifis kohl mines, nomad families, fossil beds, and (seasonally) flamingos at Dayet Srji. Optional sandboarding. A second, more relaxed night by the dunes — luxury camp or a Merzouga kasbah hotel with pool.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner. Accommodation: Luxury camp or kasbah hotel, Merzouga (HB).
A spectacular cross-desert transfer west via Alnif, Tazzarine, and Nkob (the village of 40+ kasbahs) into the Draa Valley. Reach the Tinfou dunes near Zagora by late afternoon for a second camel trek and a night in an intimate Berber camp — quieter and more remote than Erg Chebbi. Stop at Zagora’s famous “Timbuktu — 52 Days by Camel” signpost.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner. Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Tinfou (HB).
Desert sunrise, then north up the Draa Valley with stops at the Tamnougalt Kasbah and palm-grove viewpoints near Agdz. Cross back over the Tizi n’Tinififft pass and finish at the UNESCO-listed Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou before drop-off at your Ouarzazate hotel in the late afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast.
Five days, two deserts, zero rush. Book the 5 Day Ouarzazate Desert Tour — private departures, flexible dates.
Route: Ouarzazate → Skoura → Dades Gorge → Todra Gorge → Merzouga → Nkob → Zagora → Agdz → Ait Ben Haddou → Ouarzazate
Distance: ~989 km round-trip.
