2 days · 1 nightOuarzazate → Merzouga → OuarzazateEasyPrivate
From Ouarzazate to the dunes in one day through Skoura, the Dades and the Todra, a camel ride and a night in our camp, and the return through the Draa valley.
If you are staying in Ouarzazate, Ait Ben Haddou or Skoura and have only two days, this is the way to sleep in the Sahara. The first day is long but full of beautiful stops, and ends with the sunset camel ride.
The second day returns by a different road, through the black mountains of the Saghro and the palm groves of the Draa, so you see a completely new landscape on the way back.
Highlights
Skoura and the Valley of Roses
Todra gorge
Sunset camel ride
Night in our desert camp
Return through the Draa valley
Day by day
Day 1
Ouarzazate – Skoura – Dades – Todra gorge – Merzouga, camel ride and night in our camp
An early start from Ouarzazate along the 'road of the thousand kasbahs'. We pass the palm grove of Skoura, with its earth castles among the palms, and the Valley of Roses, and stop at the entrance of the Dades gorge for a view of its red cliffs. At Tinghir we walk for half an hour into the Todra gorge, where vertical walls of orange rock 300 metres high close over a clear river. After lunch we cross the desert plateaus through the oasis of Tinejdad and the town of Erfoud, and in the late afternoon the dunes of Erg Chebbi appear on the horizon. Your cameleer is waiting at the foot of the sand: the caravan walks into the dunes as the sun goes down and reaches our camp at nightfall, where dinner, Berber drums around the fire and your private tent with bathroom are waiting.
An early start to watch the sunrise from the top of the dunes, then breakfast in the camp and the camel ride back to Merzouga. We drive west by the southern road, crossing a wide desert of stone where nomads camp with their herds, to Alnif, famous for its fossils, and along the black volcanic mountains of the Jebel Saghro to the village of Nkob and its kasbahs. In the afternoon we reach the Draa valley at Agdz, where the river flows through an immense palm grove, and cross the Tizi n'Tinifift pass with a last view over the desert before arriving in Ouarzazate. Your driver leaves you at your hotel or at the airport in the late afternoon.
Included
Private air-conditioned vehicle
Local driver-guide
Pick-up and drop-off at your riad, hotel or airport
Nights in riads, kasbahs and guesthouses
Dinners and breakfasts
Camel ride with cameleer
Night in our desert camp in Erg Chebbi
Not included
Lunches
Local guides in the cities (on request)
Entrance fees to monuments
Tips
Good to know
Pick-up between 7:00 and 8:00 at your riad, hotel, airport or port. Bring a small bag for the desert night: big luggage stays in the vehicle. Hotels can be upgraded on request.
No payment is needed to book: you pay on arrival in cash (dirhams or euros). Free changes if the weather is not good.
Questions
Are the tours private?
Yes. Only your group travels in the vehicle, with your own driver, and the program can be adapted.
Where do the tours start?
Wherever you are: your riad or hotel in Marrakech, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Errachidia or Essaouira, or the airport or port when you land.
Which camp do we sleep in?
In our own camp in Erg Chebbi, with private tents, bathrooms with hot shower, dinner and breakfast, and Berber music by the fire.
Can I change the itinerary?
Yes, every tour is private and flexible: add nights in the desert, a quad or buggy ride, a different finishing city or better hotels. Just tell us when you write.
