To the desert with the Three Wise Men

Flight and arrival in Morocco, Ziz Valley and Erfoud. Departure on a special direct flight to Errachidia and after less than two hours of flight, we will arrive at this small town in the south of Morocco where we will be welcomed with local folk music, in the purest Berber style. Once we have our luggage, we will depart in 4x4 vehicles heading south. Situated in the valley of the Ziz River, in the palm grove of Tafilalet, Erfoud is a small town in the middle of the desert, at the gates of the Sahara. During the journey, we will stop to admire, from above, the impressive panorama of the palm grove of the Ziz Valley, where we will recharge with a snack. After the stop, we will get off the SUVs to see the local houses before continuing to our destination. In this beautiful city, we will experience our first adventures. We will enjoy dinner at the hotel, where we will also spend the night.

We will start with a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel to gather energy for another day full of adventures. For moms and dads, it is time to try the famous Moroccan tea. In all the restaurants of the Xaluca hotels, during breakfast and dinner, you will always find tea in the traditional Berber style. You won't have tasted anything like it before — drink as much as you like! After breakfast, we will set out to enjoy an excursion with our 4x4 vehicles to the Jorf area, where we will discover a plain with a number of scattered wells. It looks like a lunar landscape. The wells, called "khettarat," is an ancient irrigation system known in ancient Persia for over 3,000 years. Next, we will head to Jebel Lamdawar, a magical place that has been the setting for several film productions like The Mummy, Sahara, Babel, or Hidalgo, and in June 2015, the largest explosion in film history took place there with the movie Spectre and the famous actor Daniel Craig (James Bond 007). We continue until we reach the hotel, where we will have free time. In the evening, we will enjoy a buffet dinner enlivened by folklore. After dinner, enjoy the hotel's chill out area.

We will start the day with a good buffet breakfast before heading out on the trails that today host some rallies, until we reach the fossil quarries where we can find, with our own hands, different types of fossils over 360 million years old. We will arrive in Rissani, a historic city built on the remains of the medieval city of Sijilmassa, an important commercial center in the 16th century. We will visit its typical and traditional market, which is held 3 days a week and is the largest in the area. The inhabitants of the surrounding "ksares" and the desert nomads come here to stock up. We will see the different ancient trades such as barbers, blacksmiths... Its donkey parking lot is a very curious place worth visiting. We continue our journey enjoying a wonderful landscape, seeing how the Berber nomads live, until we reach an oasis in the middle of the desert where we will enjoy lunch. We can rest and regain strength for the adventure that awaits us today. We proceed on our way to the great Erg Chebbi (Dunes Desert), with its fine sand, where we will change our 4x4 vehicles for the most famous animal-drawn vehicle of the desert, the dromedaries. We will delve into the dunes and from their heights we will be able to witness an unforgettable sunset. We continue by dromedary to our tented camp, where we will spend the night like true nomads. And finally, the moment we've all been waiting for will arrive! Their Majesties the Wise Men are passing through this area of the desert on their journey to the West. It will be a unique and special moment for the little ones in the family! We will have the opportunity to deliver our letters and receive a small preview of the gifts. Afterwards, we can enjoy dinner in the best Berber style with folklore before going to sleep under the incredible starry desert sky, in an authentic yet modern tent with a private bathroom.

When we sleep in the desert, it is advisable to get up early to walk to the top of the Great Dune and watch the sunrise. What better way to start our last day in this country of contrasts with such a special spectacle. Later, we will enjoy our last breakfast in Morocco before heading out in our 4x4 vehicles, surrounding the Erg, enjoying the dunes and thus saying goodbye to the desert. We continue our adventure today towards the abandoned village of Merdani, where only two families reside. And from there we will arrive at the Mines of M'Fis, which are currently almost abandoned and only a few military families live there, working at a checkpoint in the area. Our next stop will be in the Sudanese-origin village of Khamlia, where its inhabitants will treat us to their traditional dances and mint tea. We will take a tour of the kasbahs with the option to visit one that was a residence of the Alawite Sultan Mulay Hafid's family in the 19th century. Arrival in Erfoud where we will savor a delicious lunch in a pizzeria. Erfoud has an important souk and a market, next to the central square, near the river. Its Royal Palace is the only one in Morocco in the Sahara Desert. The rest of the afternoon will be spent at the hotel where the little ones will have games and adults can relax after the day in the desert with a good hammam (Turkish bath), a jacuzzi, a massage, or simply a swim in the hotel's heated pool. Dinner at the hotel with some surprises.

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Free time until the transfer to Errachidia airport for the direct flight back to Madrid. Surely we will return as experts in grains of sand, with multiple adventures and moments lived that we will keep in our memory and having experienced an unforgettable experience with Their Majesties the Three Wise Men under the stars...

Have a good trip!