Erg Chigaga Desert Tour From Casablanca

Your private driver will pick you up at your accommodation in Casablanca to start this exciting Morocco desert tour. Cross the wonderful landscapes of the High Atlas Mountains. Get a taste of history at the Kasbahs of Glaoui and Ait Benhaddou. Take a refreshing walk through the palmeraie of the Draa Valley. Pay a visit to the authentic Berber villages along the way and make necessary breaks for refreshments and meaningful pictures. A camel trek through the dunes to watch the sunset over the Sahara. Let our chef surprise you with a flavourful dinner made with local products. Share a moment under the starry sky with your loved ones, and don’t forget to wake up early to greet the sun over the sand dunes.

Day 1: Casablanca – Marrakech – Tizi n’Tichka Pass – Ait Benhaddou Kasbah – Zagora

Departing directly from your hotel (or airport) in Casablanca, set off south, crossing Marrakech and continuing over the Glaoua Plain to explore the High Atlas Mountains via the fabulous Tichka Pass at 2220m. An optional stop for a Berber tea in the rarefied air on top of the pass to admire the scenery before descending alongside the Oued Ouarzazate, visiting the remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ksour of Ait Ben Haddou. A stop at this most famous location in all of Morocco to take lunch overlooking the kasbah.

In the afternoon, your journey continues southwards through the surprising and dramatic valley of the Oued Draa until you arrive at the oasis town of Zagora.

Day 2: Zagora – Tamegroute – Kettoua Oasis -Tagounite -Erg Ch’Gagga

Breakfast was tucked away after an incredible sunrise. Your morning sightseeing includes a visit to Tamegroute – this ancient village has been a seat of learning since the 11th Century, and its incredible library contains 13th-century illuminated Koranic scrolls written on gazelle hide, some works of Pythagoras, some original maps of Alexandria, together with some very early mathematics textbooks. After that, you will visit the pottery co-operative to see pottery being produced in the simplest of manners, with an emphasis on the famous green glaze associated with Fez’s tiled roofs.

Afterward, cross the Foum Takkat gorge and into the Kettoua palmeraie with its ancient Jewish Kasbahs of Nesrat, Beni Hayaoun, and Beni Sbih. Continuing on to the village of Tagounite and crossing through Tizi Ben Salman to arrive at the nomad encampment in the palmeraie of Oulad Brahim for your picnic lunch under the welcome shade of traditional Bedouin tents.

Following lunch and a welcome break from the midday sun, your adventure continues into the harsh and naked countryside as you arrive at the famous and more impressive dunes of Ch’ggaga and your Nomad encampment in “the middle of nowhere”. Whilst dinner is being prepared, you might take time to stretch your limbs, and set up your photo shoot for the oncoming sunset as the rarefied heavens turn from bright blue to cobalt, to yellow to gold, to purple and black, (the sands and stones change their color too, in step with the lowering rays), or take a shower & simply crash out! Your dinner for the evening is prepared to be enjoyed under the immeasurable canopy of the starlit heaven in a calm, amazingly quiet solitude.

Day 3: Erg Ch’Gagga – Lake Iriqui – Foum Zguid – Tazenacht – Marrakech

Early birds can witness the sunrise*. Then, after an early breakfast set off by camels for a journey through the fantastic dunes. Afterward, it is time to rejoin your 4WD for the drive to the dried bed of Lake Iriqui, once an important meeting place for thousands of migratory birds. After passing along part of the Paris-Dakar rally track and through the village of Zaouiate Sidi Ben Abdenbi, you reach the old military outpost town of Foum Zguid. 

From Foum Zguid, you rejoin the asphalt roads heading north on a quiet route over the Taguergoust Pass to the small town of Tazenahkt, renowned for the production of distinctive Berber carpets. Your pre-packed picnic lunch can be taken at a place of your choosing, your driver will be happy to make a few suggestions. In the afternoon, continue through Amerzgane and cross back over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech.

Day 4: Return to Casablanca

End of tour by a direct transfer from Marrakech to Casablanca through the highway.