Erg Chigaga Desert Tour & Essaouira – 07 Days

This Morocco Desert Tour will prove that Morocco has it all. In only 7 days, you will be able to see snowy mountains when you drive through the High Atlas Mountains, leaving Marrakech on the first day. You will also be able to see the Sahara desert, ride camels and spend the night under the stars in Erg Chigaga Desert, and the nicest thing is to end this Morocco Desert Tour at one of Morocco’s most charming coastal cities, talking here about the wind city or more precisely, the beautiful Essaouira.

Travel by private vehicle and driver throughout, with nights in a kasbah-style hotel in the Draa Valley, a private boutique camp among the Erg Chigaga dunes, and a riad in Essaouira’s medina.

Day 1: Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Agdez

The driver will meet you at your accommodation at 8 AM. Leave Marrakech behind to take on the Atlas Mountains and their dense forests through one of the most winding and dramatic routes in Morocco. Reach the Tizi n Tichka pass at 2200 meters high to enter the Great South. Stop and visit the UNESCO World Site Ait Benhaddou to later skirt through Ouarzazate and then cross the Draa gorges and reach 1700 meters high, from where the panorama of the legendary Draa Valley unfolds.
Reach Agdez, here it is worth visiting the Black people’s village and the ksar of Tamnougalt. Reach the hotel early evening. Dinner and accommodation at a Kasbah/Hotel.

Day 2: Agdez – Zagora – M’hamid – Erg Chigaga

After breakfast, a dusty off-road will take you to local prehistoric rock engravings in Foum Chenna before you continue your way to Zagora to discover the nearby village of Amezrou and its Jewish heritage – the old adobe synagogue and the silver jewelry craft. Further on, the stoves of Tamegroute cast the emerald glaze so easily identified on mosque tiles, dishes, and pots across Morocco. The nearby Nassiria library holds a 10th-century-old gold-engraved Koran and various treaties on astronomy, medicine, and Arab poetry, among other gems. Before leaving the tarmac behind and taking on the Sahara, we recommend visiting a traditional ksour and having lunch in M’hamid. From M’hamid, across various types of desert, you will reach the dunes of Erg Chigaga, the last bit by camel. Dinner and accommodation in private boutique tents with an ensuite shower and toilets.

Day 3: Erg Chigaga Desert

Today is more of a relaxing day. After breakfast, your driver will take you to visit some of the local nomads in order to see their style of life and get to interact with them while drinking a cup of tea that they will be happy to share with you. Visit also the sacred oasis of Oum Laalag, then go back to have lunch in the camp and ride the camels in the afternoon to go up the highest dunes in order to watch a marvelous sunset. Dinner and Accommodation are as per the previous night.

Day 4: Erg Chigaga Desert – Foum-Zguid – Tazenakht – Taroudant

Wake up early to admire the sunrise and stroll around the dunes. Later on, you will take on the hamada (rocky desert) and cross the dry lake Iriki. Have tea with the nomads, pry out fossils, and later join the tarmac again at Foum Zguid. Have a tasty lunch by the pool at Bab Rimal or opt for the more formal choice of a kefta in the village. Take the route west and soon reach the village of Tazenakht, very famous for its huge selection of Berber rugs, and it’s the destination of different merchants who sell rugs in other Moroccan cities. Reach Taroudant at the end of the afternoon. Dinner and accommodation in a beautiful hotel at the Medina or the Palm Grove nearby.

Day 5: Taroudant – Agadir – Essaouira

After breakfast, have a caleche ride around the city walls and/or browse the souks for the best argan oil or honey in Morocco. Or, arrive rather early in Essaouira to make the best out of your time there. You don’t have to plan anything ahead, but rather decide on the day. Follow the Atlantic coast all the way to Essaouira and admire the goats up in the trees as you approach the wind city. Dinner and accommodation at a beautiful riad in the Medina.

Day 6: Essaouira

After breakfast, spend the day wandering around the stunning medina with its whitewashed houses, art galleries, fishing port, food stalls, European fortifications, and its all-around farniente vibe. Accommodation as previously, dinner on your own.

Day 7: Essaouira – Marrakech

Spend the morning on a deserted beach in the surroundings of Essaouira. In the afternoon, return to Marrakech. End of your Morocco Desert Tour.