8-Day Grand Morocco Discovery via Ouzoud Falls & the Sahara

An alternative route east passes the spectacular 110-metre Ouzoud Falls, the highest waterfall in North Africa, where Barbary macaques play among rainbow-lit pools, before crossing Middle Atlas cedar forests to Midelt, a quiet mining town at the foot of Jbel Ayachi, well positioned for the following day's descent into the Sahara.

The road south from Midelt drops dramatically through the Ziz Gorges, a corridor of palm groves squeezed between red cliffs, before reaching Errachidia and finally the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi, where camels carry guests to a desert camp for the night.

A relaxed day based in Merzouga allows time to visit Khamlia, a village founded by descendants of sub-Saharan slaves and famous for its Gnawa music, and to explore the Erg Chebbi dunes on foot, by sandboard, or by quad bike. Afternoons can include a visit to a semi-nomadic family tent or simply time to relax and photograph the ever-changing light on the dunes before a second night at the desert camp.

Heading north from the dunes, the route follows the spectacular Ziz Valley Gorges, a ribbon of palm trees threading through red sandstone cliffs, before climbing onto the Middle Atlas plateau. A stop in Ifrane, nicknamed the “Switzerland of Morocco” for its Alpine-style architecture and stone chalets, offers a striking contrast to the desert. Just beyond, the Azrou Cedar Forest is home to wild Barbary macaques that often approach the roadside. The journey concludes in Fes, Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital and home to the world's largest car-free urban area.

Leaving Fes, the route can include a detour to the remarkably preserved Roman ruins of Volubilis and the imperial city of Meknes before climbing into the Rif Mountains toward Chefchaouen, the famous “Blue Pearl” of Morocco, arriving in time to wander its cobalt-blue lanes at sunset.

The road south can pass through Ouezzane and the elegant capital Rabat, home to the unfinished Hassan Tower and the whitewashed Kasbah of the Udayas, before reaching Casablanca, Morocco's modern economic capital and site of the vast Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world, built directly on the Atlantic Ocean.

A final look at Rabat's imperial sites and Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque before an overnight stop positions the group for the return drive to Marrakech.

A comfortable final drive south across the plains returns travellers to Marrakech, where the trip concludes back in the buzz of Jemaa el-Fnaa square.