Tours: Kasbahs of the High Atlas and the Jebel Sarho

10 days, 9 nights

Day 1: Marrakech

Arrival in Marrakech, transfer to hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure in Marrakech.

Day 2: Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou

Travel up into the High Atlas over the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass (2200m). Detour along an ancient caravan route to visit Telouet Kasbah, former palatial residence and military stronghold of the powerful Glaoui tribe. Continue through dramatic mountain scenery to spend the night at Ait Ben Haddou. This hilltop village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with some of the best-preserved kasbahs in Morocco. It has been the setting for 20 films, including Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator.

Day 3: Ait Ben Haddou – Dades Valley

Explore Ait Ben Haddou in the morning, as the early sun highlights elaborate decorations on the Kasbahs’ red earth walls. Continue to Ouarzazate, with a visit to the Taourirt Kasbah, also built by the Glaouis. Pass through the village of Skoura and stroll through its famous palm oasis, with kasbahs dating back to the 17th century. After a picnic lunch, drive up into the Dades Valley, ‘the valley of a thousand kasbahs’, with its green fields and amazing rock formations. Stay for the next few days at a traditional auberge.

Day 4: Excursion to the M’goun Valley

Explore the dramatic valleys and mountains of the High Atlas. 3-hour walk with mules through dried river gorges and spectacular mountain scenery to the lush valley below the M’goun Massif. Picnic in the open air. Return to Dades Valley for the evening.

Day 5: Walking in the Dades Gorges

4-hour walk through canyons. Lunch with a Berber shepherd’s family. Later in the afternoon, possibility also of a walk (1½, 2 or 3 hours) at Ait Arbi to scramble up through the ‘Monkey’s Fingers’, a spectacular rock formation, beautiful photo opportunities. Return to your auberge for the evening.

Day 6: Excursion to the Valley of the Roses

A wonderful day out in some of the most beautiful scenery in the High Atlas, travelling off-road onto to mountain tracks. Picnic lunch at the Amjgag Gorge. Possibility of 1 or 2 hours walking through mountain villages and paths. Return to your auberge for the evening.

Day 7: Day at leisure in the Dades Valley

Relax and enjoy the calm of the Dades Valley. Possibility of 1-2 hours walking through the valley gardens, good for birdwatching too (over 100 species live or migrate through the valley). Dinner with a Berber family in the evening.

Day 8: Dades Valley – Draa Valley (Tamnougalt)

Cross the volcanic peaks of the Jebel Sarho (‘the dry mountains’), passing small villages, ruined kasbahs and maybe the black woollen tents of the Ait Atta (the last tribe to resist French colonisation). Drive off-road over the Tizi-n-Tazazert Pass (2283m) to the Draa Valley. View impressive kasbahs here: those at Tamnougalt, Timiderte and Ait Hammou Said are among the most elaborate, with opportunities to visit. Stay overnight at Tamnougalt.

Day 9: Tamnougalt to Marrakech

Before the return journey to Marrakech, a 2-hour walk through the palm groves of the Draa. Following the river via Agdz, pass more Kasbahs along an attractive riverside route before crossing the Tizi-n-Tinififft Pass (1660m) to Ouarzazate and the mountain road to Marrakech. Enjoy your final night in a riad.

Day 10: Marrakech

At leisure in Marrakech until your transfer to the airport.