7 Days Morocco Tours Adventure

Day 5

Fez to Merzouga via Middle Atlas

Depart Fez and head south through a succession of landscapes that make this one of Morocco's most rewarding driving days. The first stop is Ifrane — a pristine mountain town at 1,665 metres, built in the French colonial era to look like a Swiss alpine resort, with stone chalets, manicured parks, and a famous stone lion sculpture. Its clean streets and cool air are a complete contrast to the medina left behind. Continue to Azrou's ancient cedar forest — the cedars here are some of the largest in North Africa, and Barbary macaques (the continent's only wild primates outside sub-Saharan Africa) roam freely among the trees, often approaching roadside visitors with relaxed confidence. Children reliably find the macaques a highlight of the entire trip — bring bread or fruit, but follow local guidance on feeding. Descend through the dramatic Ziz Gorges: the river has carved a spectacular canyon through red limestone, one of Morocco's most cinematic drives, the canyon walls deepening in color as the altitude drops. The Ziz Valley opens below into a 70-kilometre ribbon of thousands of date palms threading through ochre canyon walls — one of the most striking landscapes in Morocco, its underground khettara irrigation channels functioning continuously for over 1,000 years. Arrive in Merzouga as the late afternoon sun turns Erg Chebbi copper-gold. Mount your camel for a sunset trek across the towering dunes — individual crests rising 150 metres above the desert floor — arriving at your luxury Berber camp as the stars emerge in the extraordinarily clear desert sky. A traditional tagine dinner is served around the campfire, followed by live Berber drumming: a night that families consistently cite as the most memorable of the entire journey.