Sahara at Chigaga from Marrakesh
Description of the tour
A route off the beaten track towards the M'Hamid area of the Sahara - the largest sea of dunes in Morocco.
If you are looking for peace and quiet -with an enveloping silence and spectacular starry skies, this is your route!
This trip through Morocco is a unique and unforgettable experience, with dromedary rides and magical evenings accompanied by Gnawa music played by drums that speak the language of the dessert peoples.
General information
- 3-day round trip
- 2 Night’s accommodation
- 1,005km
- Palm groves – desert - camels
- 4x4 exclusive private use
- Monuments (Kasbah) -Film museum - Crafts (rugs)
Itinerary
Day 1 MARRAKESH – Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou - Agdz
We will leave Marrakesh heading to the Gorges of Dadès crossing the High Atlas where, en route we will be crossing over the Tizi-n-Tichka, at 2,260m the highest in Morocco, and will stop to take in some spectacular views of the highlands with Berber settlements barely standing out from the rock they were hewn from, goatherds with their flocks, women carrying bales of hay and hillsides speckled with olive and lemon groves.
We will take a break on the way for a mint tea and visit a local cooperative which produces argan cosmetics and oils from the nut of the argan tree.
Once over the highest point, we will be descend into a more arid, desert landscape.
Shortly after we will take the road to the Kasbah Telouet, which we will stop to visit. Here was the site of the great Palace of the Glaoui clan, a jewel of Moorish architecture, built in the 18th century to control the salt caravan routes crossing from Sub-Saharan lands through the Drâa Valley onwards to the imperial cities.
We will continue our journey along the Unila valley, stopping for a quiet lunchwith typical Moroccan food,by the old Kasbah of Aït-Ben Haddou, UNESCO Heritage site, and location of countless films from Gladiator to The Mummy.
Finally, we head to Agdz passing by Ouarzazate,where we can visit the film studios “Atlas" and where movies such as; Gladiator, Asterix and Cleopatra, The Jewel of the Nile, and many other titles were recorded, before crossing the Aït Saoun Mountains and their lunar landscape.
Overnight in Agdz in the Drâa Valley
Day 2 Agdz- Zagora - M'Hamid –Sahara at Erg Chigaga
After breakfast we head towards the desert of Chigaga through the Drâa Valley, passing through Zagora until Tamegroute, a rock-hewn village with adobe houses with a beautiful Kasbah that can be visited and a madrasa (school) - the oldest in the area. It is also famous for the manganese and copper colours of its pottery.
We then continue to the M'Hamid, which is the last town to stop, eat and buy bottled water before the desert adventure.
After 2 hours entering the desert, we will arrive to the Khaimahs where we spend the night. Sunset camel ride through the dunes to see the sunset and festive evening and overnight at the desert camp.
Day 3 Sahara at Erg Chigaga - Marrakesh
After breakfast we will leave the camp heading to Foum-Zgit after another 2 or so hours of travelling the dunes of Chigaga. We will pass by the lake (Iriki 22km) which is dry due to the harsh droughts and stop at Foum-Zgit to rest a little and drink tea, then continue the route through the town of Berber carpets (taznakt), before returning through the High Atlas, reaching Marrakesh in the afternoon.