In the mountains

This road takes you from Marrakech over the High Atlas mountains, crossing the Tichka pass at 2260m. Keep going and eventually you will reach the Sahara desert. It's further than you think though, and a good 8 hour drive. The town of Ouarzazate and the kasbah of Ait Benhaddou (where they filmed scenes from Gladiator) are only about 200 km from Marrakech though, so possible to get there and back in a day.