3-Day Tour from Errachidia: Merzouga Dunes & Todra Gorge
3 days · 2 nightsErrachidia → Merzouga → ErrachidiaEasyPrivate
From Errachidia airport to the dunes: the Ziz valley, two nights in our camp in Erg Chebbi and the return through the oasis of Tinejdad and the Todra gorge.
Errachidia is only two hours from Merzouga, so this short tour gives you a lot of time in the desert: two nights in our camp with a free day in the dunes, without any long drive.
The return takes a beautiful loop through the oases of Tinejdad and the spectacular Todra gorge before bringing you back to the airport or the bus station of Errachidia.
Highlights
Pick-up at Errachidia airport
Ziz valley and Rissani
Two nights in our desert camp
Ksar El Khorbat in Tinejdad
Todra gorge
Day by day
Day 1
Errachidia – Ziz valley – Erfoud – Rissani – Merzouga, camel ride and night in our camp
Your driver meets you at the airport of Errachidia, at the bus station or at your hotel. We leave the town and drive south along the Ziz valley, stopping at the viewpoint of the Source Bleue of Meski, a natural pool among the palms, and at the panoramas over the canyon, where thousands of date palms grow along the river below the old ksour of Aoufous. In Erfoud you can visit a workshop where marble full of fossils is cut and polished, and in Rissani we walk through the market and see the ruins of the medieval city of Sijilmassa. We arrive in Merzouga in the afternoon, and before sunset your cameleer takes you into the dunes of Erg Chebbi. After an hour and a half of riding and a sunset from a high crest, you reach our camp for dinner, drums around the fire and a night under the stars.
Day 2
A second day in the Sahara: free day in the dunes and second night in our camp
Today there is no car waiting for you: the whole day belongs to the desert. After the sunrise and a slow breakfast in the camp, you can climb the highest dune nearby, the Big Dune, for a view over the whole sea of sand and, on clear days, the Algerian border. Many guests choose a sandboarding session on the soft slopes, a visit to a nomad family who live with their goats and camels in the hamada, or a quad or buggy ride with our guides. Others simply rest in the shade of the lounge tent with a book and endless mint tea, listening to the silence. In the late afternoon a short camel ride takes you to a crest for another sunset, and the evening brings a new dinner cooked in the camp, drums around the fire and, if the moon allows it, a short stargazing session with your guide. Second night in your private tent with bathroom.
After the sunrise from the dunes and breakfast in the camp, you ride back to Merzouga and we drive west across the desert to the oasis of Tinejdad, where the ksar of El Khorbat, a fortified village restored as a small museum, explains how life worked in the oases, with their underground channels of water called khettaras. We continue to Tinghir and walk into the Todra gorge, between walls of orange rock 300 metres high, with time for lunch by the river. In the afternoon we return east by the road of Goulmima, an old fortified village of earth among the palms, and arrive in Errachidia in the late afternoon, where your driver leaves you at the airport, the bus station or your hotel.
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
Visit to a nomad family
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.
