Sahara Desert Tour (Day 3)

Day 3

After a terrible night of sleep in our tent (since there is no air circulation and the temperature didn’t cool down), we woke up around 5:30am to catch the sunrise. While we were excited to see another epic sunrise in Morocco, the haze didn’t dissipate and we didn’t get to see the orange sun and sky. We decided to spend this time walking around and enjoy the magnificent vast Erg Chebbi.

After breakfast, we packed our bags and instead of riding camels back to our driver’s pick-up location, our host offered to drive us over the sand dunes in an economy SUV to meet him instead. I never thought an economy SUV could navigate sand dunes so effectively but we were so wrong. Once he started driving, I immediately felt like I was riding a roller coaster. While Chris was laughing and having the time of his life, I was screaming and bouncing in the car (because I forgot to put on my seatbelt.)

Surviving our sand dune adventure, we finally arrived at our pick-up location. I asked our driver to let us take a couple more photos of the empty road and get one last look of the magnificent desert before we leave Merzouga.

Valley of Ziz

We continued our drive to Fez and we stopped by the valley of Ziz where we could overlook the oasis of Aoufous in the Tafilalte region. It used to be a river but now it has become vegetation.

It was a long drive up to Fez. We only reached the half way point around lunch time. We stopped by another valley to stretch for a quick moment and we were back in the car.

Cedar forest near Azrou 

On our way to Fes, we drove through the cedar forest near Azrou to see the Barbary apes (monkeys). Luckily Chris had packed a couple granola bars for our trip and he was able to feed them. These monkeys are not shy at all! This is touristy spot so they usually hang out here because when people stop by here it’s buffet time.

Ifrane

Our last stop before reaching Fes was Ifrane, a town in Morocco’s Middle Atlas Mountains. It’s known for its alpine-style architecture, nearby ski slopes and forests. A stone statue of a lion near leafy Parc la Prairie is a well-known landmark.

Final thought on the Tour

Finally, we arrived safely to Fez’ riad. Overall, I would say it was a decent tour. If you are looking for someone who will guide you the whole way through, this tour might not be for you. I was hoping we would have a guide who would elaborate on the history of the attractions but he was very soft spoken. He acted more as a personal driver who would get you to well-known landmarks safe and sound for a couple photos. I would also recommend having a 4 day tour instead of the 3 day one since we spent a lot of time in the car on the last day. (The desert is also pretty far!) Other than that, this is one of the most memorable trips for us. Riding camels through the Moroccan desert and stargazing in the Sahara really made us feel like we are in One thousand and One nights. Definitely a must if you are going to visit Morocco!