Tour Guide, Fez, Morocco
| 4 mins read
There are many ways to experience the magic of the Sahara desert. You can rent a car and arrange everything yourself. You can hire a private driver or book a private desert tour. The first option is more for adventurous travellers who have experience driving on twisty mountain roads. The private driver is expensive, more for those who like luxury experiences. For budget or solo travellers, I always recommend the Sahara tour option with Gouraud Moroccan Travel through tourHQ.
On the first day, our Sahara tour from Marrakech began at 7.20 am. Our driver picked up all travellers with a comfortable minibus and explained the day's itinerary. Even though the trip started early, there was no time for sleeping. How could you see the breathtaking scenery of the High Atlas mountains? Until we reached the fortified village called Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, dating to the 12th Century. A Unesco Heritage site, the village is one of the most iconic Morocco monuments. All houses in the Kasbah were made of earthen clay because the rain melted with time. Ait Ben Haddou is still inhabited by three families, while the rest of the villages move to the other side of the river.
After visiting the Berber house and having lunch, we continued our journey northeast. The change in the landscape was dramatic. We left behind vast valleys and small villages and encountered the strangest ways to transport people or animals. Our journey continued through the Valley of Roses, which manufactures products of rose water for the whole of Morocco. The driver made a few short stops to rest and see how the rose water was distilled. Before the sunset, we reached our hotel in Tinghir. Many travellers were surprised by how nice and clean was the hotel; even better, some of them were staying in Marrakech. We had a huge dinner.
On our second day, we started driving to Todgha gorges, where we met our local guide. He showed the surroundings of Todgha gorges, the Palmeraie, and explained how locals harvest plants. After, we continued to see the famous Todgha gorges – a series of limestone river canyons, some of which are up to 400 metres high. The last 600 metres of the Todgha gorge are the most spectacular and attract many travellers. There the canyon narrows to a flat stony track, in places as little as 10 metres wide, and rock walls up to 160 metres high on each side. I didn't witness it, but the gigantic rock walls magically change colours during the day.
After lunch, passing the cities of Erfoud and Rissani, we were on the way to Merzouga. First, we arrived at the guest house, where we had a welcome tea. Our desert guides showed us how to tie our scarves and the Touareg turbans (I bought my beautiful yellow 5 m scarf at Ait Ben Haddou shop for 200 DH, around 20 euros). Almost comfortably sitting on camel backs, we had a slow walk to the desert. We passed the sands of Erg Chebbi, a massive sea of dunes of the Sahara Desert. Camels dropped us near the high dunes, where we had some free time to explore the mesmerising scenery. Slowly climbing the highest dune, we met our sunset and enjoyed the scenery of endless dunes. In some places, the dunes of Erg Chebbi reach up to 150 meters high, twenty-two kilometres long and five kilometres wide.
After meeting the sunset of the highest dune, we jumped on the camels back to the desert camp. We had an evening full of tagines, tea and drum music there. Even though it was November, it was not cold to sleep in the tents; we had many blankets.
The third and the last day was the hardest; we had a long drive back to Marrakech. After many stops, we came back home in the evening. Even though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep. My head was full of emotions, sand and this strange experience of seeing the desert dunes.