If you’re short on time but still want to sample the stunning scenery and ambiance of the Sahara Desert, look no further than this incredible Taste of the Desert tour. With a convenient start and finish in Marrakech, this trip winds through some magical corners of Southern Morocco such as the High Atlas and the Draa Valley. Along the way, you will visit numerous typical Berber villages — where time seems to have stopped centuries ago — as well as the postcard-perfect Ksar of Ait Benhadou, one of Morocco’s truly iconic attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On this three-day adventure with Desert Luxury Camp, we will immerse you in South Morocco’s beautiful and diverse landscapes, its fascinating history, and its captivating culture. But as with our wider range of desert excursions from Marrakech and luxury desert tours from Fes, the highlight is a night spent under the stars in the Sahara at our Erg Chigaga luxury desert camp.
Read the full itinerary below and discover more about the adventures waiting for you! And please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions for the Desert Luxury Camp team.
Marrakech
This tour is accessible to all with no minimum age – though consider the driving distances for elderly people and small children. This trip doesn’t run in the summer months of July and August.
You do not need to bring any special equipment. However, if you are traveling in summer, please bring a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses. When riding camels, we recommend wearing longer pants rather than shorts/skirts. Consider wearing light sports shoes rather than sandals too as the latter can slip off.
Winter nights are cold out in the desert, so bring warm jackets and even hats for extra warmth. Remember, sand gets everywhere! If you have some expensive equipment, keep it safe from sand grains by storing it in zip-lock bags.
Have any questions for us? Please get in touch for the answers you need.
Your driver will collect you from your hotel or riad in Marrakech in the morning. We then head to the peaks of the High Atlas Mountains, crossing them on our way to Ouarzazate. This is a breathtaking drive with amazing landscape views and scattered Berber villages. We will travel along the Ounila route, visiting the Glaoui Kasbah of Telouet and the famous UNESCO-protected Ksar of Ait BenHaddou.
Passing Ouarzazate, we travel through barren gorges before reaching the Draa palm groves. We spend the night in the Draa oasis.
Today’s drive will take us along the Draa Valley towards the principal town of Zagora. Here, if you are interested, we can stop in Amzrou to visit the ancient medina where Jewish and Muslim people once worked and lived side by side. We can also visit a restored synagogue too. Then it’s onto Tamengroute, the famous green pottery center famous across Morocco. You can view the dish-making process, from mud on pottery wheels to burning in the earthy oven.
Then, as we approach Mhamid, the last town in the area, the palm groves will suddenly stop and the road will dissolve into nothing. We drive off-road for about two hours until we reach the wilderness of the Erg Chigaga desert dunes.
Settle into your tents and then head off into the desert for your camel trek, admiring the surrealistic landscape around you.
At nightfall, we enjoy dinner followed by a campfire and drum music.
We recommend waking up early to take in a memorable Saharan sunrise. After breakfast, we leave for Marrakech. We’ll head out on another off-road route, this time to the Fata Morgana lake of Iriqui to Foum Zquid. Here we meet with a paved road once again and travel along the Anti-Atlas Mountains to the Berber carpet capital of Morocco — Taznakht. A little further along the road, we meet with the High Atlas Mountains again, crossing them on our return to Marrakech.
