The short answer
A lot: the Tizi n'Tichka pass over the High Atlas, the UNESCO-listed ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, the Skoura palm grove, the Dadès gorge, the high walls of the Todra gorge, and the date-palm country around Erfoud and Rissani. That road is why we plan Merzouga as a trip of 3 days or more.
In more detail
The first morning is mountains. The road climbs out of the Haouz plain through Berber villages to the Tizi n'Tichka at 2,260 m, then drops into the dry south. Aït Ben Haddou, a fortified mud-brick village near Ouarzazate, is worth an hour on foot, and it has been a film set many times over.
Beyond Ouarzazate the road follows what guides call the valley of a thousand kasbahs, through the palms of Skoura and the rose country near Kelaât M'Gouna. The Dadès gorge is known for its folded rock formations. The Todra gorge narrows to a corridor of sheer limestone walls you can walk into.
The last stretch crosses open pre-Saharan plain past Erfoud, in date-palm country, to Rissani and finally the dunes of Erg Chebbi rising from the flat. On a two-day run you see these from the window. With three days or more you can stop.
Good to know
- Aït Ben Haddou: aim to arrive before the midday groups.
- Rose country: May is the rose season.