Trips & Tours: Moroccan Sahara Escape

Joining day. The tour starts today in Marrakech. In the early evening your local guide/leader will be available to meet and brief you on arrangements and logistics for the forthcoming trip.

An early start from Marrakech takes you on a scenic journey into the High Atlas mountains on an ascent to the high point of your route today, the Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2260m). Berber villages cling to the steep red earth slopes and fossil traders vie for passing tourist trade. Your first major stop is at the spectacular ruined Ksar of Ait Benhaddou, scene of many a movie photoshoot, and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site of cultural significance. Here, crenelated towers are at one with the rocky hill upon which they were constructed and enlarged over several centuries. After a visit you head further east following the 'Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs', and the Dadés Valley, to El Kelaa M'gouna, a town famous for its roses. Finally you'll reach the famous Dadés Gorge where you camp for the night.

Today you follow a little-used route into the heart of the Jebel Saghro mountains. Here, the landscapes are spectacular in this true wilderness region: mother nature has shaped and sculptured an array of ancient volcanic mountains to create seemingly never-ending plateaux, mesas and canyons. The wild reliefs are scattered with tiny villages, clear signs of human presence. You cross the col at Tizi n'Tazazert (2,283 m) and make for the Tadaout n'Tablah mountains and an amazing upright rock pinnacle named 'Bab n'Ali' - translated as the 'Gates of Ali'. You spend tonight in this remote area of rock pitons and fairy chimneys - semi-mountain and semi-desert - with a superb view of Bou Gafer. What a place to spend a night!

You continue your adventure with a drive through the stunning Draa Valley. Lined with old Kasbahs, Ksour and palm groves, this is undoubtedly one of the most scenic journeys in Morocco. The River Draa starts in the High Atlas and has, over many years, cut a channel between the Jebel Saghro and the Anti Atlas mountain ranges, making sheer canyons famous for their colourful rocks. Arabs, Berber, Jew and descendants of Mauritanian slaves all live in the valley, which is scattered with old fortified villages, known as ‘Ksour’ where the villagers lived to protect themselves from marauding nomads. You pass through Zagora and continue south to the oasis village of Oulad Driss, a miracle of life in an arid environment. Explore the oasis on foot and head to the dunes to camp for the night.

Today you'll enjoy a thrilling desert drive through the harsh and unforgiving land of the Sahara as your 4x4 vehicles take you in search of the Erg Smar sand desert at Chegaga, the highest dunes in this part of Morocco. The scenery just gets better and better as you pass ergs, dune ridges and real sand mountains as far as the eye can see. Tonight you'll camp in the sands of Chegaga.

Another day of desert exploration takes you deeper into the Sahara. Hills of sand extend out to the horizon like an ever-shifting carpet, whilst smooth-sided, sharply-crested dunes, each much alike, resemble the constant waves of a sea. Spending the day driving through ever-changing desert scenery you'll cross a number of ergs including El M'hazil and El Ghoual and arrive at the large natural basin of Iriki. You'll also pass through a mineral-rich area where a closer inspection reveals an impressive quantity of fossils. Camp tonight at M’douer Seghir. After a hearty camp meal you'll enjoy a second night of silence, sleeping under a blanket of twinkling stars, in an African night-sky. Rather than sleeping in tents, you could choose to sleep out in the open to watch for shooting stars and enjoy the night sky.

Your Saharan adventure comes to a close as you continue towards Foum-Zguid from where you head north towards the dusty crossroads town of Tazenakht, crossing the Tizi Taguergoust (1640m) into a rugged landscape with a backdrop of high peaks. Finally you'll retrace your route back to Marrakech over the Tizi n'Tichka Pass and the High Atlas mountains. On arrival there is still time for further discovery of the city, exploring the streets of the médina or shopping in the souks or on the medieval square of Djemma el Fna.

Services end upon check out from your accommodation in Marrakech.