Trekking the Sahara

Marrakech - Ait Benhaddou - Ouarzazate. Arrive into Marrakech Airport and meet your guiding team before setting out towards Ouarzazate. Travel over the High Atlas Mountains via the scenic Tizi n’Tichka Pass, with dramatic views across valleys and traditional villages along the way.

En route, visit the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Morocco’s most striking fortified villages, renowned for its mud-brick architecture and appearances in numerous films and television productions. Continue onwards to Ouarzazate and transfer to your hotel.

Ouarzazate - Draa Valley - Mhamid. Travel south along the Valley of the Draa, a long ribbon of palm groves and fortified villages that follows one of Morocco’s historic caravan routes. The valley’s oases and kasbahs provide a striking contrast to the surrounding arid landscape as you journey towards the edge of the Sahara.

Near Mhamid, meet your camel team and join the camel train for a 2 hour walk into your first desert camp, experiencing the quiet and vastness of the dunes as you arrive. Overnight in a desert camp near Mhamid.

Mhamid - Ait Oumir. Your first full day of trekking (3.5 - 4.5 hours) takes you deeper into the desert landscape, walking past scattered palm trees and tamarisk groves that survive in this arid environment. The route leads towards the small dunes of Ait Oumir, where the sand begins to rise gently from the surrounding plains.

The pace of the day allows you to appreciate the quiet rhythm of desert travel and the vast open scenery that characterises this part of southern Morocco. Overnight in a desert camp.

Ait Oumir - Erg Zaher. Today’s walk (5 - 6 hours) takes you across stretches of rocky desert and smaller dunes, gradually approaching the impressive dunes of Erg Zaher. The landscape becomes increasingly dramatic as higher ridges of sand rise from the surrounding plains, shaped by the wind into soft curves and sharp crests.

If you wish, you may climb one of the larger dunes to watch the sunset, when the light shifts across the sand and the desert takes on deep golden tones. Overnight in a desert camp.

Erg Zaher - Sdrat. Today you cross low dunes and areas of shifting sand, following the natural contours of the desert towards the ridge of Erg Smar (4-5 hours). The scenery alternates between open stretches and rising sand formations, offering wide views across the surrounding landscape.

Continue onwards to Sdrat, where your camp awaits, set within the quiet expanse of the desert.

Sdrat - Oued L’Attach. Today’s trek (3.5 - 4.5 hours) leads you through further stretches of sand dunes before the landscape opens into flatter desert terrain. Along the way, you pass small patches of tamarisk, hardy shrubs that thrive in this arid environment and provide rare touches of green against the sand.

Continue towards the wadi of Oued L’Attach, a dry riverbed that marks a natural resting point in the desert, where your camp is set for the night.

Oued L’Attach - Bougharn - Ouarzazate. The walking (3-4 hours) is easier today as you cross a mix of sand and rocky desert towards Bougharn, with wide open views and a final stretch through the quiet desert landscape.

At Bougharn, your transport meets you, marking the end of your time in the desert. Travel north, passing ruined kasbahs and the long palm groves of the Draa Valley, which follow the course of one of Morocco’s longest rivers. Continue onwards to Ouarzazate.

Ouarzazate - Marrakech. Travel over the High Atlas Mountains, crossing the scenic Tizi n’Tichka Pass, where the road winds through dramatic mountain scenery and traditional hillside villages. Descend towards the plains and continue on to Marrakech.

On arrival, the afternoon is free for you to explore the city at your own pace, perhaps returning to the medina, browsing the souks or relaxing at your riad after the journey.

Your tour comes to an end after breakfast. Check-out and take an included transfer to the airport.