Anti-Atlas, kasbahs and the Sahara: 8 days from Agadir

Trip overview

Eight private days through the less-visited south: the Anti-Atlas around Tafraoute, Taroudant, the Merzouga desert, the kasbahs, Marrakech and Essaouira, starting and ending in Agadir.

• Duration8 days / 7 nights
• Starts inAgadir
• GroupPrivate · 1–16 people
• DifficultyEasy
• LanguageEspañol
• DeparturesDaily departures all year round

Highlights

• Tafraoute, the painted rocks and the Ammeln Valley
• Aït Mansour Gorge in the Anti-Atlas
• The walls and souks of Taroudant
• Saffron cooperative in Taliouine
• A night in the Erg Chebbi dunes
• Return through N'Kob and the Draa Valley
• Aït Ben Haddou and the Tizi n'Tichka pass
• Marrakech and Essaouira before heading back to Agadir

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1

   Day 1: Agadir – Aït Baha – Tafraoute

   We pick you up from your hotel in Agadir and head south into the Anti-Atlas mountains. We pass through Aït Baha, with its fortified communal granaries, the agadirs, and climb a winding road between stone villages and farming terraces. If you get car sick, this is the stretch.

   After about 3 hours we reach Tafraoute, surrounded by huge boulders of pink granite. In the afternoon we go to the rocks painted blue by a Belgian artist in the 1980s, which are now the symbol of the area. We watch the sunset opposite the rock they call Napoleon's Hat. Dinner at your accommodation.

   Hotel or guesthouse in TafraouteDinner

2. 2

   Day 2: Ammeln Valley – Aït Mansour Gorge – Tafraoute

   We don't change hotels today. In the morning we explore the Ammeln Valley, with villages of pink houses clinging to the slopes of Jbel Lekst. In Oumesnat we visit a traditional Berber house that shows how people lived in the mountains: the mill, the kitchen and the systems for storing water and grain.

   In the afternoon we go down to the Aït Mansour Gorge, a narrow canyon with a very green palm grove and small villages by the water, in the middle of a dry landscape. If you like walking, you can do part of the canyon on foot; wear closed shoes. We return to Tafraoute for dinner.

   Hotel or guesthouse in TafraouteBreakfast and dinner

3. 3

   Day 3: Tafraoute – Igherm – Taroudant – Taliouine

   We cross the Anti-Atlas through Igherm, a mountain village at over 1,700 metres, and come down to the Souss plain to Taroudant, about 3½ hours away. We wander through its souks, quieter than those of Marrakech, and ride around part of the mud-brick walls in a horse-drawn carriage.

   After lunch we continue east to Taliouine, just over an hour and a half, between the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas. At a saffron cooperative they explain how it's grown and harvested. We reach the accommodation in the late afternoon, surrounded by mountains and close to the Glaoui kasbah. Go to bed early, because tomorrow we leave very early.

   Hotel or kasbah in TaliouineBreakfast and dinner

4. 4

   Day 4: Taliouine – Ouarzazate – Dades Valley – Merzouga

   This is the longest day of the trip, about 8 hours with stops, and we leave very early. We reach Ouarzazate and continue along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs: the Skoura oasis, the Valley of Roses and the Dades Valley. We stop at the Todra Gorge, in Tinghir, to walk for a while between its sheer walls.

   In the late afternoon we reach Merzouga, on the edge of Erg Chebbi. The camels are waiting there to cross the dunes to the camp, about an hour and a half as the sun sets. Berber dinner, music by the fire and a night in a tent. The temperature drops a lot at night.

   Desert camp in Erg ChebbiBreakfast and dinner

5. 5

   Day 5: Sunrise in the dunes – Alnif – N'Kob – Draa Valley – Aït Ben Haddou

   You watch the sunrise from the top of a dune and ride back by camel to Merzouga to shower and have breakfast. Then we take a different route from the way out, one that few tours use.

   We pass through Rissani and Alnif, an area known for trilobite fossils, and reach N'Kob, a village at the foot of the Saghro massif with dozens of mud-brick kasbahs. We continue through the Draa Valley, with its long palm grove, and Agdz, to Aït Ben Haddou in the late afternoon. It's about 6 or 7 hours with stops, the second long day. If you arrive while it's still light, you can climb up to the ksar to watch the sunset.

   Hotel or kasbah in Aït Ben HaddouBreakfast and dinner

6. 6

   Day 6: Aït Ben Haddou – Tizi n'Tichka – Marrakech

   First thing in the morning you explore the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, before the groups arrive. We walk up its alleys to the granary at the top, with views over the Ounila river.

   Then we cross the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, at about 2,260 metres, with lots of bends and stops at viewpoints and in a Berber village or two. We reach Marrakech in the early afternoon, after about 4 hours on the road. In the afternoon a local guide takes you around the medina: the Koutoubia, the Bahia Palace and the souks. At nightfall, Jemaa el Fna square fills with food stalls and music.

   Riad in the Marrakech medinaBreakfast

7. 7

   Day 7: Marrakech – Essaouira

   You have the morning free in Marrakech. We recommend the Majorelle Garden first thing, because later it fills up and there's a queue, or the Ben Youssef madrasa. Around midday we leave for the coast on a road of about 3 hours through argan forests, where there are sometimes goats up in the trees.

   We reach Essaouira in the afternoon. Its walled medina, with white streets and blue doors, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and moves at a different pace from Marrakech. Walk along the Skala ramparts, with their old cannons facing the Atlantic, and have fresh fish for dinner near the port. Bring a jacket: at night the sea wind cools things down even in summer.

   Riad in the Essaouira medinaBreakfast

8. 8

   Day 8: Essaouira – Atlantic coast – Agadir

   In the morning we see the Essaouira fishing port, with its blue boats and the fishermen unloading, and the thuya-wood marquetry workshops.

   Then we return to Agadir on the coast road, about 3 hours past cliffs, argan forests and small beaches. It's the best stretch of driving on the whole trip. If you like, we stop in Imsouane, a fishing village known among surfers for its long wave, or in Taghazout for a drink by the sea. We drop you at your hotel in Agadir or at Al Massira airport in the mid-afternoon. End of our services.

   End of the tripBreakfast

What's included

Prices per person

The vehicle and driver are paid per day and shared between the travellers, so the price per person goes down the more of you there are. Accommodation is charged per person per night (7 nights).

• Standard: Comfortable hotels and riads, standard desert camp
• Superior: More characterful accommodation and a superior desert camp
• Children aged 3 to 11: 3% less than an adult.
• Groups of more than 7 people travel in two vehicles. The booking calculator takes this into account.

Payment and cancellation

You pay a 15% deposit when you book. The rest is paid on the first day of the trip, in cash or by bank transfer. You can also pay it by PayPal or card, with a 5% surcharge.

Private: free up to 48 hours before the start. If you cancel in time, we refund the full deposit.

Extras you can add

Chosen when you book and added to the total. You can also ask for them later, subject to availability.

Frequently asked questions

Destinations on this trip