5 days tour Marrakech to the Desert

Live the experience of nomadic life in the tents and ride camels in the desert through the dunes of Erg-Chebbi.

AVAILABILITY: Trips from Marrakech are available throughout the year. Contact us in advance for the best available prices.

CUSTOMIZE: It is possible to customize our Tours in Morocco depending on your budget and travel plans.

BOOK: Contact us to book and let us know how many people are traveling with you, date of travel and type of accommodation (standard or deluxe).

DAY 1: MARRAKECH - OUARZAZATE - ZAGORA

Following morning pickup from your Marrakech accommodation, head out of the city by air-conditioned minivan through the fertile Haouz Plain toward the High Atlas Mountains. Pass through rural Berber villages, where local farmers tend their goats, and take the Tizi-n-Tichka pass through the mountains. Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kasba Aït Ben Haddou, where locals have traded and socialized for thousands of years. Enjoy free time to visit the site at your own pace and soak up a bit of the atmosphere; then head to Ouarzazate for lunch. After lunch, the excursion will take you to the Oasis of Agdz to enjoy the view of Kasbah Tamnougalt, then continue through the oases and palm orchards of the Drâa Valley to Zagora. Meet up with your camel caravan before starting your 1-hour camel ride through the Zagora desert. Enjoy stunning views of the sunset on the way to the desert camp; then sit down to a traditional Moroccan dinner under the stars as the locals perform popular songs for your entertainment.

DAY 2: ZAGORA - MERZOUGA - ERG CHEBI

After an early morning ride to admire the sunrise over the sand dunes (optional), enjoy breakfast at the camp, then ride a camel back to Zagora. Meet your driver for the onward journey through the Anti-Atlas Mountains and lunar landscape to the town of Alnif, where you will stop for lunch. After lunch, continue to Merzouga, a small town in the immediate vicinity of the imposing Sahara Desert. Rejoin the camel caravan and as the sun begins its slow descent over the dunes, depart for Erg Chebbi where your lonely camp in the heart of the desert awaits. With the rhythms of traditional tamtam drums from the local nomads to entertain you, enjoy dinner and an evening under the stars before bed.

DAY 3: MERZOUGA EXCURSION AND CAMEL RIDE

Excursion in the Sahara desert.

DAY 4: MERZOUGA - DADES GORGES:

If you wish, you can make the most of your stay in the desert with an early morning walk through the dunes to enjoy the sunrise. After breakfast ride camel back to Merzouga and meet your driver. There, hop back on the bus and head to the city of Rissani, the former capital of the Tafilalt region and the birthplace of Morocco's royal family: the Alawite dynasty. Since the Middle Ages, this has been the traditional starting point for camel caravans crossing the Sahara Desert to Timbuktu. Next, take the famous "Road of 1,000 Kasbahs" to nearby Tinghir. Along the way, admire the many ancient mud citadels that line the road and listen as your guide explains their use in Berber culture. Take a walk along the river at Tinghir, then move on to the nearby Todgha Gorges and enjoy lunch at one of the local cafes. After lunch, you will continue through the Dadès Valley. Enjoy some free time to relax on top of the Dadès Gorge, as well as panoramic views over the Moroccan countryside. Afterward, continue to your hotel in Boumalne du Dadès for dinner and an overnight stay.

DAY 5: OUARZAZATE – MARRAKECH

After breakfast, the journey will take you through the picturesque Valley of the Roses to the oasis of Skoura, one of the largest in Morocco, and from there to Ouarzazate. After lunch (own expense) in Ouarzazate, drive through the High Atlas Mountains to your accommodation in Marrakech, where your 4-day Sahara Desert tour will end.