Our Destinations
Two nights in the dunes instead of one is the point of this five-day tour. After crossing the High Atlas to the Draa Valley, you settle into Erg Chigaga (also spelled Chegaga) for a full extra day: time with a nomad family, a picnic in an oasis and an evening of music, before the old Paris–Dakar rally road leads back via Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou.
Tour highlights
- Two nights in nomad tents among the Chigaga dunes, with dinner and music
- A visit to a nomad family to see how desert life works, and a picnic in an oasis
- The Kasbah of Taourirt and the film studios of Ouarzazate
- The Draa Valley, Zagora’s old Jewish quarter in Amzrou and Tamegroute’s Koranic library
- The old Paris–Dakar rally road to Foum Zguid, across Lac Iriqui and past the fossil mountain
- Lunch in Taznakht, a Berber village known for its carpet makers
- Ait Ben Haddou and the old caravan road through Telouet on the way back to Marrakech
Good to know
- The tour starts at your Marrakech riad or hotel early on day 1 and ends back in Marrakech on day 5.
- It is a private tour: your own driver for the whole route, with a 4×4 on the desert tracks.
- Days 1, 2, 4 and 5 include long drives; day 3 stays in the desert around your camp.
- Night 1 is in a hotel at Agdez, nights 2 and 3 in nomad tents, night 4 in a hotel at Ouarzazate.
- 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.
Prefer a shorter trip? Compare the 3 day Erg Chigaga tour or the 4 day desert trek. Want more days? Look at the 6 day desert tour or ask us to tailor a route. You can also read what past travellers say or get in touch to reserve your dates.
Included and Excluded
- Private tour with your own driver, with a 4×4 on the desert tracks
- Pick-up at your Marrakech riad or hotel on day 1
- Night 1 in a hotel at Agdez, with dinner
- Nights 2 and 3 in nomad tents at Erg Chigaga, with dinner and entertainment
- A visit to a nomad family and a picnic in an oasis on day 3
- Night 4 in a hotel at Ouarzazate
- Anything not listed here – please confirm meals, drinks and entrance fees with us when you book
Tour route
- Marrakech – High Atlas – Ouarzazate – Agdez – Zagora – Tamegroute – M'Hamid – Erg Chigaga – Sacred Oasis – Lac Iriqui – Taznakht – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech
Itinerary
Your driver collects you early from your Marrakech riad or hotel, and the road climbs into the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with wide views of the mountains and Berber villages along the way. In Ouarzazate you visit the Kasbah of Taourirt and the film studios, then cross the volcanic Anti-Atlas and enter the Draa Valley. The day ends at the Agdez oasis, with dinner and the night in a hotel.
After breakfast you follow the Draa Valley to Zagora, with time in the old Jewish quarter of Amzrou and among the palm groves. On the road to M'Hamid you stop at Tamegroute for its Koranic library and underground kasbah. M'Hamid, where the Draa Valley ends, is the gateway to the Sahara and the place for lunch. In the afternoon you drive out to the Chigaga dunes, where dinner is served with live entertainment and the night is spent in a nomad tent.
A full day to explore the desert away from the main tracks. You stop to spend time with a nomad family and learn how they live, and picnic in an oasis. Back at the camp the rest of the day is yours in the dunes, followed by dinner and music and a second night in a nomad tent of woven goat and camel hair.
Watch the sun come up over the dunes, have breakfast and set off by 4×4 along the former Paris–Dakar Rally track toward Foum Zguid, crossing the Iriqui lake bed and passing the fossil mountain. Lunch is in Taznakht, a Berber village known for its carpet makers, before a direct drive to your hotel in Ouarzazate.
After breakfast you drive to Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO World Heritage ksar that has served as a film set for Gladiator and many other productions, and walk through its earthen alleys. Lunch is in a local restaurant. In the afternoon the road crosses the Atlas by the old caravan route through the village of Telouet and reaches Marrakech.
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