Morocco, Day 3 - Fes to the Sahara Desert.
Jen and I on a sand dune, watching the sunset, near Merzouga, Morocco, in the Sahara Desert.
The journey from Fes to the edge of the Sahara felt less like a drive and more like a slow unfolding of landscapes—each one more unexpected than the last. We had one more delicious breakfast at Riad Dar Bensouda and set off early, leaving behind the maze of the medina with the help of the hotel porter (check out the video and see how lost we would have been without him!) and climbing into the cool air of the Middle Atlas Mountains. Our first stop was Ifrane, a place so surprising it hardly felt like Morocco at all. With its alpine architecture, and crisp mountain air, it resembled a European ski town.
Our porter from Riad Dar Bensouda taking our luggage from the medina to meet Youssef at the car!
After a warm tea break, we continued on to the cedar forests near Azrou, where ancient trees towered overhead and Barbary macaques wandered freely. I forgot to take any pictures here too, so again, Ifrane and most of the drive on this day is documented by my travel pal Jen! (thanks Jen!).
By midday, the scenery began to shift. The mountains softened, the air warmed, and the road stretched out before us in long, winding curves. Passing through Midelt, we paused for lunch before continuing south toward the dramatic landscapes of the Ziz Valley. Here, the first signs of the desert appeared—vast stretches of land dotted with thousands of date palms, creating a striking ribbon of green against the surrounding earth tones. It was a photographer’s dream, the kind of place where every stop revealed a new composition of light, shadow, and scale. I called my family from the road, because tonight’s plans were jam packed with excitement: a sunset Sahara camel ride along the dunes.
By late afternoon, we reached Erg Chebbi, where the Sahara finally revealed itself in sweeping waves of apricot-colored sand. The transition was surreal—one moment rocky terrain, the next an endless sea of dunes rising high into the horizon.
To reach our desert accommodations for the night, the beautiful Kalimba Camp, we transferred into a 4x4 truck that seemed to glide effortlessly over the dunes. There were no roads, no visible paths—just an experienced driver navigating the shifting landscape as if by instinct. It was exhilarating and slightly surreal - almost like an amusement park roller coaster. Arriving at camp felt like stepping into a hidden oasis, tucked away in a remote stretch of the desert with sweeping views and a deep sense of stillness. We were met with mint tea and delicious treats, and shown to our camping “tent” (if you can even call it that, it’s more like a boutique hotel, but with sand?)
A tour of our “tent” at Kalimba Camp, Merzouga, Morocco.
From there, the adventure continued. We met our camels and guide, and set off into the dunes just before sunset, the slow, rhythmic pace giving us time to take in the vastness around us. Riding across the sand as the light softened into shades of gold and amber was, without question, a highlight of the entire trip. Long shadows stretched across the dunes, and for a while, everything fell quiet except for the gentle footsteps of the camels. After a trek into the desert, we stopped, disembarked the surprisingly tall camels, and climbed up a steep sand dune to watch the sunset, and take some photos of this unforgettable moment, with our guide (who was a bit of a photographer himself, as you can see!).
Once the sun dipped down to meet the sand dunes, we climbed back up onto the camels and made the trek back towards Kalimba Camp. The warm glowing lights of our home for the night guided our way through the last fading embers of day.
As night fell, the Sahara lived up to its reputation—not just as the largest hot desert in the world, but as a place of profound beauty and calm. Under a sky filled with stars, the day’s journey—from alpine towns to golden dunes—felt almost unreal, like a series of photographs stitched together into one unforgettable story. We had a beautiful meal in a dining tent, and then sat around a fire listening to the rhythmic beat of drums. What a day.
