Camel Trek Private Immersion from Marrakech

After breakfast this morning, you and your driver will depart from your riad in Marrakech to begin your odyssey to the Sahara Desert. Your day will start with crossing over the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, reaching an altitude of nearly 7500 feet above sea level. They say that life is about the journey and not the destination and this is certainly true when you are on this road. There will be plenty of stops for tea and photographs as you take in the breathtaking vistas before arriving in Ouarzazate.

Upon your arrival to the city known both as the “Door of the Desert” and the “Hollywood of Morocco”, you will visit the former palace of the Glaoui clan, Kasbah Taourirt, OR, if you are a movie buff, you may enjoy a backlot tour of one of the active film studios here.

After your visit, you will take the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Valley of Roses and into the breathtaking Dades Valley where you will stop for the night. You’ll have a little time to freshen up and relax before enjoying dinner at your accommodations.

After breakfast, you will depart your accommodations in Dades and continue your journey towards the dunes of Merzouga. Your first stop of today will be the oasis city of Tinghir. You’ll enjoy a guided walk in the palmeraie here before transferring to nearby Todgha Gorge where you will have an opportunity to walk through the most impressive part of the canyon. In this narrow section of the gorge (as little as 33 feet wide), the rock walls climb straight up 525 feet on either side.

After you’ve stretched your legs, you will continue your journey into the desert region where you will have a chance to search for fossils in the wild and visit a small fossil museum with an impressive collection of specimens found in Morocco.

From here, you will complete the final leg of the journey to the big dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga. When you reach the edge of the dunes, you will transfer to your next mode of transportation, a camel, and begin your trek into the dunes to your luxury Berber camp for the night. Dinner will be served at camp followed by traditional music. After the entertainment, the lights will be turned off and if the night is clear, you’ll have the opportunity to gaze at the gazillion stars in the desert night sky. When you are ready, you can retire to your cozy and comfortable tent for a good night’s sleep.

This morning, you’ll want to wake up early to watch the sand change colors as the sun comes up (be sure to set your alarm!). Grab a cup of coffee and climb up the nearest dune to watch this spectacular show. After this nearly transcendental experience, you will have breakfast at camp and time to prepare for your day.

When you are ready, you’ll take to your camels once again to the edge of the dunes where you will meet your tour manager and transfer back to a more conventional mode of transportation. Note: 4×4 transfer is available if one camel ride was enough! Before you leave the desert region, you’ll have a little more time to explore the area. You can stop to visit the village of Khamlia which is inhabited by Gnaoua musicians. Gnaoua literally translates to “from Ghana” and is the name given to the spiritual based music that arrived in Morocco from sub-Sahara Africa via the caravans. Many arrived as slaves and the metal instruments used are meant to represent the chains that kept them bonded. Many young people live here to learn from the master musicians and to keep this art alive. Based on the practices of Sufism, the music is rhythmic and trance-inducing. Here you will enjoy a glass of mint tea and a short concert. We dare you to listen without moving your body.. it is just about impossible!

After this visit, you can head to the nearby city of Rissani. If today happens to be a market day, you will see this quiet and dusty city ransformed into a bustling metropolis where people from all over the region come to buy and sell their produce, livestock, and wares. No visit to the market day would be complete without a stop at the “donkey parking” lot which also triples as the “used donkey sales lot” and the “donkey repair” shop. At the very least, it is interesting to contemplate that so many people in this region still use donkeys as their main mode of transport. Of course, whether it is the market day or not, you will have an opportunity to try the local culinary specialty, Medfouna, also known as Berber Pizza.

When you have completed your visit here, you’ll bid the desert region au revoir and make your way into the Draa Valley of Morocco. This fertile river valley located in the Saghro (or Black) Mountain range is known as the Valley of a Million Palms and it is easy to see why. Here, you will come upon Kasbah Tamnougalt, another important stop along the old salt caravan route. Although no one knows exactly when this was built, it dates back to at least the 18th century. Parts of the ksar (collection of kasbahs) have melted away with the rain over the centuries, but parts of it are currently being restored. You’ll have a guided visit of the Kasbah and the adjacent gardens. After your tour, you’ll make your way to your nearby accommodations where you will have a chance to relax before dinner is served.

After breakfast, today, you will begin the final leg of your journey back to Marrakech. You’ll continue along the Draa Valley until you once again reach Ouarzazate. From here it is just a short drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ait Ben Haddou. If this impressive ksar looks familiar, it may be because it starred (or at least served as a backdrop) for many films and TV shows such as Gladiator, Jewel of the Nile, Lawrence of Arabia, and Game of Thrones.

Upon your arrival here, you’ll stop first for a panoramic view of this “mud city” and then head in for a closer look. You’ll cross the riverbed to the entrance and then climb the steep and winding streets to the granary, or “bank” at the top for amazing panoramic views of the whole region.

After admiring the impressive views, you’ll make your way back down to your vehicle and travel once more over the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’ Tichka pass reaching Marrakech by the early evening. Your tour manager will drop you off at your accommodations in Marrakech and, once you are safely delivered, will bid you au revoir until your next trip to Morocco.