The Desert Circle — Eight Days of Earth and Echo
Duration: 8 days / 7 nights
Arc: Marrakech → Skoura → Merzouga → Agdz → Ouarzazate → Marrakech
A meditative journey along Morocco’s Atlantic edge — salt air, endless light, and the slow rhythm of water and wind.
Day 1 – Marrakech to Skoura
Depart Marrakech for the High Atlas, climbing through the Tizi n’Tichka Pass. Afternoon arrival in Skoura, a palm oasis of quiet water and red kasbahs. Walk at dusk through the gardens, air scented with dust and fruit.
Day 2 - Skoura
Morning exploration of Kasbah Amridil, walls breathing centuries of sun. Lunch in the palm grove, then rest as light filters through fronds. Evening tea on the terrace — the sound of wind over earth.
Day 3 – Skoura to Merzouga
Drive through Kalaat M’Gouna and Tinghir, following the Dades and Todgha Gorges. The valleys narrow, then open again to a vast plain. Arrive at Merzouga by dusk; the dunes shimmer like sleep.
Day 4 – Merzouga
Wake to silence and shifting light. Tea with nomads, walk among fossils and acacia trees, or simply sit as the sand glows and fades. Night beneath a canopy of stars, soundless and infinite.
Day 5 – Merzouga to Tamougalt
Leave the dunes behind. The road crosses dry plateaus and enters the Drâa Valley, a green thread through red rock. Overnight in Tamnougalt, where palm shadows stretch across the kasbah walls.
Day 6 – Tamnougalt, The Living Fortress
Morning walk through the oasis and visit a 500-year old Kasbah, a labyrinth of mud-brick and quiet breath. Lunch under date palms. The afternoon heat hums, the valley holding its own time.
Day 7 – Tamnougalt to Ouarzazate
Follow the valley north, past broken forts and dry riverbeds. Arrive in Ouarzazate, where the desert meets the idea of the city. Evening light lies flat and long over rooftops.
Day 8 – Marrakech
Cross the High Atlas once more. Lunch in a roadside café above the valleys. By evening, the red city returns — loud, bright, alive — the echo of clay still lingering in the mind.