Fes to Merzouga
Roughly 470 km and 6.5 to 7.5 hours through the Middle Atlas, the cedar forests and the Ziz Valley. Shorter and gentler than the Marrakech route — and, we think, more beautiful.
Why this route is easier
It is about 90 km shorter than from Marrakech, and crucially it has far less of the tight mountain switchback driving. You climb steadily through the Middle Atlas rather than grinding over a single high pass, which makes it easier on drivers and on anyone who gets carsick.
The route, with what is worth stopping for
Fes → Ifrane → Azrou → Midelt → Ziz Gorges → Errachidia → Erfoud → Rissani → Merzouga
- Ifrane (~60 km) — a mountain town built in the 1930s that looks startlingly like an Alpine resort, at 1,650 m. Good coffee stop.
- Cedar forest near Azrou — the famous Barbary macaques live here. They are wild; feeding them is bad for them.
- Midelt (~200 km) — the standard lunch stop, roughly halfway, and where the landscape starts becoming arid.
- Tunnel du Légionnaire & Ziz Gorges — the road drops through a tunnel and then follows the Ziz river through a canyon lined with an enormous palm oasis. The single best stretch of the drive; there is a viewpoint above it where everyone stops.
- Errachidia → Erfoud → Rissani — increasingly desert, then the last 40 km to us.
Doing it in one day vs two
One day is genuinely feasible on this route if you leave Fes by eight in the morning — you arrive mid-to-late afternoon, in time for the sunset camel trek. Many of our guests do exactly that.
Two days lets you overnight in Midelt or the Ziz valley and take the gorges slowly. If you have the time it is a nicer trip, but unlike the Marrakech route, one day here is not punishing.
Options
| Option | Notes |
|---|---|
| Private transfer | Most common. Door to door, stops where you want. Ask us for a quote |
| Shared 3-day tour | Fes → desert → Marrakech is a popular one-way route; you end up in a different city |
| Supratours / CTM bus | To Rissani or Erfoud, then we collect you |
| Self-drive | Straightforward. Fill up in Midelt and again in Errachidia |
Many visitors do Fes in, Marrakech out (or the reverse), with Merzouga in the middle. It avoids backtracking and both drives are worth doing once. We arrange transfers in both directions.