3 DAYS DESERT STARGAZING TOUR FROM FES TO MARRAKECH

Sahar Stargazing Experience

3 DAYS DESERT STARGAZING TOUR FROM FES TO MARRAKECH

This is the most travelled desert route in Morocco, and the reason is simple: it takes you between the country’s two great cities and puts the Sahara in the middle rather than treating it as a detour. Three days is the shortest sensible way to do it.

The first day crosses the Middle Atlas, dropping through the cedar forests and down the Ziz Valley to Merzouga, where camels take you into the dunes for sunset and a night in a desert camp. The second runs west along the old caravan corridor to the Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley. The third climbs past Ait Ben Haddou and over the High Atlas into Marrakech.

You end up somewhere entirely different from where you started, having crossed mountains, oasis valleys, and open desert to get there.

Stargazing in the Merzouga Desert

Stargazing is one of the unforgettable experiences included in our Morocco desert tours. Rather than being a separate activity, it is part of your desert camp experience and takes place during your stay in the Erg Chebbi dunes, as outlined in your tour itinerary.

How Our Stargazing Experience Is Organized

After enjoying a traditional dinner at the desert camp, we gather together and take a peaceful 10-minute walk into the heart of the dunes. Away from any artificial lights, you’ll reach a quiet location where the night sky reveals thousands of stars in remarkable clarity.

Our experience begins with fascinating stories about the nomadic people of the Sahara and how they relied on the stars for navigation and orientation across the desert. You’ll learn about their traditions, legends, and their deep connection with the night sky.

Using a professional laser pointer, your guide will introduce you to the most prominent stars, constellations, and celestial objects visible above the Sahara. With virtually no light pollution, the Merzouga dunes offer one of Morocco’s most spectacular stargazing environments, making this a truly memorable part of your desert adventure.

Duration: 3 days / 2 nights

Start: Fes

End: Marrakech

Tour Style: Private

Stargazing Experience : Merzouga Desert

HIGHILGHTES:

– Ifrane and the alpine architecture of the Middle Atlas
– Barbary macaques in the cedar forest near Azrou
– The Ziz Valley palm corridor
– Camel trekking into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset
– A night in a luxury desert camp with Berber music around the fire
– A guided stargazing session in the dunes
– Sunrise over the Sahara
– The Todra Gorge and its 300-metre limestone walls
– The Dades Valley and its rock formations
– The Roses Valley at Kalaat M’Gouna
– Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
– Crossing the High Atlas via the Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 metres

TOUR Itinerary

Your guide collects you in the morning from your riad or hotel in Fes. The road climbs south into the Middle Atlas almost immediately.

The first stop is Ifrane, a small town whose pitched roofs and cool climate look nothing like the rest of the country. Beyond it lies the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques live in and around the trees along the roadside. This is one of the few places in the world the species can be seen in the wild, and it is worth stopping properly rather than in passing.

Lunch is taken along the route, usually at Midelt, which sits roughly halfway. The afternoon carries you through the Tizi n’Tilghmt pass and down the length of the Ziz Valley, a long green corridor of date palms running through otherwise bare rock. The contrast between the irrigated valley floor and the terrain on either side is one of the more striking transitions on the drive.

You reach Merzouga, at the western edge of the Erg Chebbi dune system, in the late afternoon. Camels and a guide are waiting. The trek climbs into the dunes and pauses on a high crest for the sunset before continuing to the camp, where you are met with tea and shown to a private tent. Dinner is served, followed by Berber music around the campfire.

STARGAZING EXPERIENCE – MERZOUGA DESERT

After dinner, we gather together and walk for about 10 minutes into the dunes to a quiet, dark location where there is no light pollution.

We begin with an introduction to the mythology of the nomads and explain how they used the stars they observed at night to navigate during the day.

Using a professional laser pointer, we guide you through the night sky, introducing the most important stars and constellations.

An early start is worth it. The light coming up over the dunes is the single image most travellers take home from Morocco. Breakfast follows at the camp, and you leave either by camel again or by 4×4, whichever you prefer.

If the day falls on a Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday there is the option of stopping at the souk in Rissani, the historic seat of the Tafilalet and still a working regional market rather than a tourist one.

The route then runs west to Tinghir, with a stop at the viewpoint above the palm oasis and the Berber villages built along its edge. From there it is a short drive up the Todra river to the gorge itself, where the canyon narrows sharply and the limestone walls rise around 300 metres above the riverbed. There is time to walk the gorge floor.

The day ends in the Dades Valley, a landscape that sat under the sea millions of years ago and is still thick with sediment layers. Before checking in you stop at the viewpoint over the switchback road that climbs the valley wall.

The final day begins after breakfast with the drive west through Kalaat M’Gouna, the centre of the Roses Valley, where the fields turn colour in spring and rose products are made and sold year-round.

At Ouarzazate you have the option of visiting Atlas Studios, one of the largest film production facilities anywhere and the reason a great deal of desert cinema has been shot in this part of Morocco.

A short distance further on is Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified earthen village on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a textbook example of southern Moroccan construction, built from packed earth and straw with walls thick enough to hold the heat out. There is time to walk up through the ksar to the granary at the top.

From there the road climbs the High Atlas and crosses the Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 metres, with stops along the switchbacks for the views. You descend into the Marrakech plain and are dropped at your riad, where the tour ends.

– Pick-up from your accommodation in Fes
– Private air-conditioned vehicle with fuel
– English-speaking driver, or a driver and a separate tour guide
– Two nights accommodation as listed
– Private room in the hotel, private tent at the desert camp
– Meals: 2 breakfasts and 2 dinners
– Camel trekking experience in the Erg Chebbi dunes
– Sandboarding
– Stargazing experience in the Merzouga desert
– Drop-off at your accommodation in Marrakech

– Lunches
– Drinks and beverages
– Entrance fees where applicable
– Tips

Please fill out the form below to contact us, and we will respond as soon as possible. For a faster response please send a WhatsApp: +212661144620 message or call us at +212661144620 . We look forward to connecting with you. Email: saharastargazing@gmail.com

How to pay for the tour?

Our payment process is simple and hassle-free. To confirm your booking, we require a small deposit, which can be easily paid via PayPal, bank transfer, or Wise at the time of reservation. The remaining balance is to be paid in cash to your driver or guide on the first day of the tour, in euros, US dollars, or the equivalent amount in Moroccan dirhams.

What currency is used, and how do I get money?

The currency in Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham (MAD). Credit cards are accepted in many hotels and larger businesses, but cash is needed in many smaller towns and markets.

Is it possible to customize the tour itinerary?

The currency in Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham (MAD). Credit cards are accepted in many hotels and larger businesses, but cash is needed in many smaller towns and markets.

What are the camps in the desert like?

You’ll spend the night in a traditional Berber desert camp featuring private tents. The camps offer essential comforts such as comfortable bedding, shared or private bathroom facilities (depending on the camp type), warm blankets, and a communal dining area for meals and relaxation.

Price & Booking Policy

As a staying guest of our hotel ,hotel KASBAH mohayut, we offer you a guided observation of the starry sky after dinner until midnight, seeing conditions permitting,
at 200
Dirhams per person.
As a non-staying guest of our hotel we offer a 3-course dinner with guided stargazing after dinner at 350 Dirhams per person. Only valid with a firm reservation and upon confirmation by hotel mohayut.
For passing through guests: Price: 350 Dirhams pp. Parking of the car and a guided observation after dinner for about an hour and a half .upon firm reservation confirmed by the hotel.
Occasional drive-by’s will not guarantee stargazing at SaharaSky.
Cancellations please 2 days before arrival date as confirmed by the hotel either by email to saharastargazing@gmail.com or by SMS to 0661144620 .

How Our Stargazing Experience Is Organized

Walk through the tranquil Erg Chebbi dunes under a sky filled with stars.
Witness the spectacular Milky Way in a pristine dark-sky environment.
Learn how Sahara nomads navigated using the stars for centuries.
Guided constellation and planet tour with a professional laser pointer.
Discover ancient Berber legends and celestial mythology.
Perfect opportunity for unforgettable night photography and astrophotography.
A romantic, peaceful, and unforgettable experience in the heart of the Sahara Desert.