3 days désert tour erg chegaga from Marrakech

Day 1: Marrakesh to Draa Valley zagora

The 3 days to Chegaga dunes start by picking you up from your Marrakech hotel at 8 o’clock in the morning for departure to The High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi-n-Tichka pass at 2260m. We will leave the main road for a journey to the Kasbah at Telouat, which belonged to the Basha of Marrakech from the Glaoui family. It now stands in glorious ruins after the last Pasha fled. From there, we follow the Ounilla Valley to reach the historic Kasbahs of Ait Ben Haddou, the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site. We lunch at a restaurant along the newly asphalted connecting road. Afterward, we continue south to Agdez, where the Draa Valley begins, and lodge in camel ride and over night stay for the night.

Duration: 6 hours drive

Meals included: Dinner

camel ride

Accommodation: camp

Day 2: Draa Valley to Erg Chegaga Dunes

After breakfast, you can explore the rest of the camp before we take the ancient caravan road between the river and the mountains. We pass many villages and fields typical of life along the valley. We drive to M’hamid, known as the gateway to the desert, where we stop for a lunch of traditional Tagines. The last stretch to Erg Chegaga is 60km of off-road driving into the famed Sahara Desert. When we arrive, a two-hour camel ride is scheduled into the dunes to watch the sunset. Experiencing the Erg Chergaga dunes is magical. You are far away from civilization and the silence and the expanse of the sand are overwhelming. Dinner and lodging are provided in nomadic tents under an expanse of stars.

Duration: 6 hours drive

Meals included: Dinner

Accommodation: Desert camp

Day 3: Erg Chegaga Dunes to Marrakech

Our final day starts with an off-road drive through another 90km of the desert with varying scenery, including expansive mountains, Lake Iriki, and a visit to an area renowned for its ancient fossil beds. Here you’ll find extraordinary fossils from the Paleozoic Age, nearly 540 million years ago when Morocco was an ancient sea. Lunch will be in Foum Zguid, the first village after the desert, where you can also freshen up with a shower. The return to Marrakesh is along a comfortable paved road passing the village of Taznakht, famous for its Berber carpets. Many tourists take advantage of and find a rug perfect for their home. At last, we pass back along the High Atlas Mountains and reach Marrakesh arrived afternoon around 18:00