From Marrakech to the Dunes of the Sahara

Tour Overview

 This Morocco trip from Marrakech to the dunes of the Sahara is a combined Marrakech-desert.

With a stay in a charming riad in the medina of Marrakech and 4X4 circuit in the Moroccan desert and the dunes of the Sahara, punctuated by stops between authentic kasbah in an oasis of the immense palm grove of the Draa valley, and comfortable camp in the wildest and largest dunes of the Moroccan Sahara, the dunes of Chegaga

In southern Morocco, nature hoists its colors: bunches of yellow dates hanging from palm trees, oleander bushes along the wadis, brown-colored mountains rooted in ocher earth, and the massive silhouette of a ksar glimpsed at the bend. An oasis. These fortress villages enclosed by blind walls are pure architectural masterpieces.

Ten drive to the desert. The roundness of the dunes, the endless immensities, the sunsets, the starry night, and the silence, Erg Chegaga will enchant you. Its relatively difficult access has kept a still wild and authentic beauty due to its imposing surface. This short stay in the dunes of the Sahara already allows you to understand in a strong and simple way this great desert that is the Sahara.

Itinerary:

Day1: MARRAKECH.

Pick up from the airport and transfer to the riad.

Day2: FROM MARRAKECH TO THE DRAA VALLEY

Meeting with your driver-guide at 8 am and departure to southern Morocco crossing the High Atlas by the beautiful Tizi N’Tichka road (2260m) to descend to Ouarzazate where we will have lunch before continuing to the small village of Agdz which is also the beginning of the Dràa Valley. We will stop in the heart of this immense palm grove at the ksar Tamnougalt. We enter the ksar through the door of the caravanners. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Take a walk in the palm grove. You will meet its inhabitants busy cultivating their small plots where mint and henna grow in the shade of palm trees. You will also discover the clever irrigation systems, “the séguias” connected to the Wadi Draa and which crisscross the palm groves.

(300 kms / 5H drive) (Accommodation: hostel / kasbah)

Day3: THE DUNES OF THE SAHARA

This morning, the road to the Sahara. We will stop at Tamgroute where you can visit the oldest and most famous pottery workshops in Morocco, which have existed since the 16th century. Seven families work there, or 260 people. Potters still work in the traditional way. They extract their clay in underground galleries and prepare their slip by treading it underfoot. They cook their pottery in traditional earthen ovens heated with palms and dry bushes. The ceramic of Tamgroute, a subtle green, between reseda and fir, is very famous throughout Morocco.

We will continue to the ksar Ouled Driss, a Saharan village founded at the beginning of the 17th century by nomads from the Carib tribe. We will have lunch with our camel driver, before heading to your camp in the middle of the Sahara. Bivouac and night under the sky of the great south in the largest dunes of the Moroccan Sahara. Dinner and overnight in a camp.

(190kms / 3H of road + 90kms of track) (Standard camp accommodation)

Day4: DJBEL BANI & KSAR AÏT BENHADOU

Be early in the morning to watch the sunrise. And to prolong the “dessert effect” take the time to take a camel ride in the huge dunes of Erg Cheggaga (OPTION).

Then departure to the oasis of Foum Zguid through the djebel Bani, the natural border between the Sahara and the Atlas. We will descend to the ksar Ait Benhaddou, through a string of green mountain oases, offering a superb spectacle with the tormented relief of the surrounding mountains, with brown-mauve hues. Picnic on the way. Arrive in Ait Benhaddou installation at your guest house.

(270kms / 5H drive) (Accommodation: guest house)

Day5: RETURN TO MARRAKECH

After breakfast visit, this splendid fortified complex, classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, has been one of the region’s major economic and cultural hubs since antiquity.

Then we will cross the beautiful valley of Unila and its fortified villages which once hosted the caravans of goods that supplied the caravanserais of Marrakech. A region painted many times by Majorelle, the painter of the kasbahs. A short stop in Telouet to visit the Glaoui kasbah, and we will return to Marrakech and its colorful medina in the afternoon. Drop off at your accommodation. END OF OUR SERVICE