Morning:
We meet between 07:30 and 08:00 at your riad or hotel in Fes. This is where the early start is important, the whole crossing is in daylight and you have time to get to the dunes before sunset. In the first hour you will climb into the Middle Atlas and drive through Ifrane, a town built in the European alpine style with steep-roofed stone houses, often called “Little Switzerland”. Tip: Pack a light jacket for this leg – Ifrane is over 1,600m and mornings are cool even in summer.

Noon:
Midday you will stop in the cedar forests around Azrou where wild Barbary macaques often come up to the road looking for food. From there the route heads south to Midelt, a mid-point town where most tours stop for lunch (own expense) before the scenery changes from forest to arid plateau. Tip: pack some small snacks with your almonds or fruit for the monkeys but never feed them bread or processed food, it makes them dependent on tourists and aggressive.

Afternoon/Evening:
Past Midelt the road climbs down into the Ziz Valley and Ziz Gorges, a canyon of date palm oases that marks the transition to pre-Saharan Morocco. Arrive by vehicle by late afternoon at your desert camp on the edge of Erg Chebbi where you can check in and drop off your luggage. From here you will ride on camel into the dunes to watch the sunset before returning to camp for the evening. Dinner is a traditional Moroccan meal in the camp, followed by live Gnawa-style drumming around the fire before sleeping in a private Berber tent.

Tip: Desert nights can be cold, even in summer, so pack a warm layer, socks and a beanie.