MERZOUGA DESERT

There is no more characteristic landscape of Morocco than the desert with its undulating sand dunes and its ksour (adobe fortifications) rising majestically from a hidden oasis of palm trees. It is the ideal place to disappear in the company of a camel (nicknamed as “ships of the desert” in Arabic) and a guide with blue tunic, contemplate the sea of dunes and sleep in a nomad camp under a starry sky.

The Sahara desert (sahra means in Arabic “desert”) has more than 9 million square kilometres, and covers several countries. Because of its high tourist attraction and its millions of visitors annually, Marrakech is the main port of departure to visit the Moroccan desert.

No other region of Morocco illustrates in a such beautiful way the transition, both in human (berber villages) and physical terms, between mountain and desert as this trip from Marrakech, crossing the vast plains and lonely mountain ranges South of Tizi n’Tichka, through Draa Valley and Dades Valley (dotted with oases and adobe-builded palaces) and following the caravan routes to the two most important areas of the Moroccan Sahara desert: Zagora and Merzouga.

MERZOUGA (3 days/2 nights)

Day 1: Marrakech – Ait Benhaddou – Ouarzazate – Dades (311km – 5h)

Departure from Riad Aguaviva at 7AM.

We will cross the High Atlas, reaching Ait Benhaddou Kasbah. After a short visit we will continue the way to Ouarzazate, in the Skoura Valley, dotted with oases and palaces of adobe, known also as “Valley of the thousand kasbahs” because of that. From here we cross the Valley of Roses to finally reach the Dades Gorges, where we will spend the night (dinner and hotel accommodation included).

Day 2: Dades – Todra gorges – Merzouga (250km – 4h)

After having breakfast we will head towards the Dades Valley crossing the incredible Todra Gorges. After a stop we will continue our destination to Merzouga.

Once in Merzouga we will ride camel (1h) towards the Erg Chebbi Dunes, which change their shape reaching 160m heights and spark with an amazing light golden pink tone until the Sun dyes them into orange, pink and purple. Already in our Berber camp we will enjoy the sunset, have a traditional dinner and spend the night in an authentic Berber tent.

Day 3: Merzouga – Agdz – Ouarzazate – Marrakech (560km – 10 h)

If there is something that no one can miss is enjoying a sunrise in the Sahara, so it’s worthed waking up early. After contemplating this moment and having breakfast we will return on camels to Merzouga and head back to Marrakech.

We will cross the Draa Valley and have a short visit to Agdz.

We will reach Marrakech at arround 18-19h.

• Lunch, drinks at dinner, tickets and tips not included.