At eight in the morning, a driver will pick you up from your Marrakech lodging and take you to the High Atlas highlands in southern Morocco. Along the way, you’ll stop at Tizi N’Tichka port for panoramic views and to take pictures of the Berber hamlet settlements that blend into the surrounding terrain. Then we go farther south to Ait Ben Haddou, a ksar (fortified settlement), where we will explore the well-known Kasbah, which was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. Famous movies like Gladiator, Obelix, The Mummy, The Jewel of the Nile, Sahara with Penélope Cruz, etc. were filmed on this magnificent set.

Lunchtime in the town is free. Then we proceed to Ouarzazate, also referred to as “The Gate of the Desert” and translated from Berber as “noiseless or without confusion.” The Taourirt kasbah, one of Morocco’s most impressive ksars, may be found here. The Rose Valley, which passes through the expansive Skoura palm grove, is the next destination to see. It’s a lovely place to admire the more than 700.000 palm trees there as well as the numerous kasbahs that have been constructed nearby. Damascene roses are grown in this valley for use in beauty products like the highly prized rosewater. This location hosts the Rose Festival every year in May and is a significant museum for Moroccan culture. We arrive to the Dades valley, where we will spend the night, at last.

After breakfast, we’ll take in one of the most stunning views of the Dades Valley from a well-placed mountain lookout, where we can take in the abundance of kasbahs and their individual aesthetic qualities. From the city of Tinerhir, a very nice asphalt road ascends the valley to the gorge and then to the desert. We will arrive in the Todra Gorges after a few stops along the road. The view is breathtaking. Local residents can be observed in their adobe villages, where they reside. These gorges are famous with rock climbers because of their rocky sides with numerous uneven surfaces.

After a brief stroll through the Todra gorges, you’ll have some free time to grab lunch in Tinejdad or Touroug before we continue on to the desert and the magnificent Merzouga dune system. From there, we will go on an hour-long camel journey to Erg Chebbi, the site of our nomadic camp. We’ll watch the sunset from a dune’s top before dinner, and we’ll spend the night in a tent under a starry sky.

After breakfast, we set off on an alternative route back to the DRAA Valley through the desert landscapes of ALNIF, NQOB, and TAZARINE, which are interspersed with oasis. After lunch, go to AGDEZ along the DRAA valley, and then arrive at the Kasbah of AIT BEN HADDOU. 250 kilometers.

We travel to the historic Kasbah of AIT BEN HADDOU, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, after breakfast. This regional style was used in hundreds of movies: After touring the Kasbah, we travel back to the pass TIZI N’TICHKA, have lunch, and then arrive in the red city of MARRAKECH. The MOMMY, GLADIATOR, 7 DAYS IN TEBET, BABEL, and ALEXANDER.