Our Destinations
Three days is enough to leave Marrakech behind and spend a night among the dunes of Erg Chigaga. This private 4×4 tour crosses the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass, follows the Draa Valley south to M’Hamid, sleeps in a nomad tent in the dunes of Erg Chigaga (also spelled Chegaga) and returns along the old Paris–Dakar rally track.
Tour highlights
- Crossing the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass
- Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed earthen ksar on the old caravan route
- Lunch at Kasbah Tamnougalte and a drive through the palm groves of the Draa Valley
- Tamegroute’s Koranic library and underground kasbah
- About two hours on camelback into the Sahara
- Lunch at the Sacred Oasis, a palm-fringed water source where nomads bring their herds
- A night in a nomad tent among the Chigaga dunes, with dinner and entertainment
- The old Paris–Dakar rally road to Foum Zguid, across Lac Iriqui
Good to know
- The tour starts at your Marrakech hotel early on day 1 and ends back in Marrakech on the evening of day 3.
- It is a private tour: your own driver and 4×4 for the whole route.
- Days 1 and 3 are long road days; day 2 is the desert day.
- Night 1 is in a hotel or a bivouac near M’Hamid, night 2 in a nomad tent at the dunes.
- Nights in the desert can be cold in winter and days hot in summer, so pack layers, a scarf and sun protection.
- Send us your dates and group size and we will get back to you with availability and a quote.
Want more time in the dunes? Look at our 5 day nomad desert tour or the 4 day Erg Chigaga trek, or ask us to tailor a route. Not sure whether Erg Chigaga or Erg Chebbi suits you better? This comparison of the two dune fields will help, and you can read what past travellers say before you get in touch.
Included and Excluded
- Private 4×4 with driver throughout
- Hotel pick-up in Marrakech on day 1
- About two hours by camel on day 2
- Night 1 in a hotel or bivouac near M'Hamid
- Night 2 in a nomad tent at Erg Chigaga, with dinner and entertainment
- Anything not listed here – please confirm meals, drinks and entrance fees with us when you book
Tour route
- Marrakech – Tizi n'Tichka – Ait Ben Haddou – Draa Valley – Tamegroute – M'Hamid – Erg Chigaga – Foum Zguid – Taznakht – Marrakech
Itinerary
Your driver collects you from your Marrakech hotel early in the morning and the 4×4 climbs into the High Atlas, crossing the Tizi n'Tichka pass. The first long stop is Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed ksar of earthen towers and one of the best-known kasbah villages in Morocco. Lunch is at Kasbah Tamnougalte. In the afternoon the road follows the Draa Valley, a ribbon of palm groves and old kasbahs, with a stretch on unpaved track. Beyond Zagora you stop at Tamegroute to see its Koranic library and an underground kasbah, then carry on to M'Hamid, where you spend the night in either a hotel or a bivouac.
The morning begins on camelback: about two hours riding out into the Sahara. The 4×4 then takes over for the drive across open desert to the Sacred Oasis, a small stand of palms around a water source where nomads bring their herds, and lunch is served there. In the afternoon you reach Erg Chigaga, a wide field of high dunes. Tonight you sleep in a nomad tent among the dunes, with dinner and entertainment.
After breakfast the 4×4 leaves the dunes and follows the former Paris–Dakar Rally track toward Foum Zguid, crossing the Iriqui lake bed on the way. Lunch is at Taznakht, and you are back in Marrakech by early evening.
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