3-Day Desert Tour from Marrakech to Merzouga with Erg Chebbi Camp

The journey

Trip highlights

• 01 Visit the famous Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou
• 02 Travel through the splendid landscapes of the Atlas Mountains, kasbahs, and oases
• 03 Cross the dunes of Erg Chebbi on a camel at sunset
• 04 Spend the night under the stars at an isolated Sahara desert camp
• 05 Hike through the gorges of Dades and Todra

Enjoy an amazing desert tour from Marrakech to Merzouga while admiring the splendid landscapes of the Atlas Mountains, kasbahs, and oases. Try camel trekking across the Erg Chebbi sand dunes as you watch a colour-changing sunset, and spend the night under the stars at a Sahara desert camp built in the middle of nowhere. This 3-day journey also takes you to the famous Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, Dades Valley, Todra Gorge, and Merzouga.

Try camel trekking across the Erg Chebbi sand dunes as you watch a colour-changing sunset, and spend the night under the stars at a Sahara desert camp built in the middle of nowhere.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 3 Days

Tour type Shared

Activity level Easy

Accommodation Included · Budget

Transport Included

Wheelchair access Not applicable

Cities Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Tinghir, Merzouga, Todgha Gorge, Rissani, Aït Benhaddou, Atlas Mountains, Erg Chebbi, Dadès Gorges

Languages English

Day by day

The itinerary

1

Day 01

Marrakech to Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, and Dades Valley

• Hotel pickup from Marrakech.
• Depart from Marrakech at around 07:00 hrs in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• Travel over the Atlas Mountains to reach your first site, Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, and explore this historic area when a local guide joins you to guide you around the kasbah.
• Following the route, arrive at Ouarzazate, the gateway to the desert and the Moroccan city known for Hollywood movies being located and filmed here. Top Hollywood blockbusters have been filmed in Ouarzazate, including The Gladiator and Game of Thrones.
• After visiting Ouarzazate, continue along the route through the Dades Valley. Once in Dades, head to the guesthouse for the night. The Dades Valley guesthouse includes private rooms with air-conditioning/heating and private en-suite bathrooms.
• In the evening, a meal is served. The following morning, breakfast is served.
• The overnight stop in Dades Valley gives you your first experience of clearer skies, where you can witness millions of stars usually unseen in urban areas.

2

Day 02

Dades Valley to Todra Gorge, Merzouga, and Erg Chebbi

• After a traditional Berber breakfast, start your journey towards Erg Chebbi. The route takes you through the Dades Gorge and on to Todra and Todra Gorge, with an approximate journey time of 2 hours. Take a break here, where a local guide joins you for a walk around the massively impending gorge rising over your heads.
• After the walk around the gorge, travel onwards and stop for a chance to purchase lunch locally. Then continue through Rissani and on to Merzouga, with an approximate journey time of 2 hours. The tour usually arrives in Merzouga in mid-afternoon and must be there in good time to start the camel trek before sunset.
• Then meet the camels and the camel trek leader, who will guide you on your camels through the desert dunes of Erg Chebbi at sunset to arrive at the Berber desert camp where you will spend the night.
• The camel trek, depending on the exact route taken, generally lasts between 1.5 and 2 hours. Your stay at Erg Chebbi includes accommodation in a standard desert camp located in the middle of the desert.
• The camps are rather isolated in their location so that you can enjoy the true immensity of the desert and the surrounding dunes.

3

Day 03

Sunrise Camel Trek and Return to Marrakech

• After breakfast, the camels meet you again for another trek - a sunrise ride through the dunes back to Merzouga - where you meet the vehicle for the day's journey back to Marrakech.
• Return to Marrakech, arriving at around 18:00 hrs or 19:00 hrs.

The route

Where you'll travel

The fine print

Trip details

What's Included

• Complimentary airport transfer to your Marrakech hotel/Riad

• Pickup from your Marrakech hotel/Riad on the tour day

• A/C modern minibus with an English/French-speaking driver/guide

• Overnight at a hotel in Dades Valley (private room with en-suite shower and toilets) with dinner and breakfast

• Camel trekking in Erg Chebbi

• Overnight in your private tent at the Erg Chebbi camp with dinner and breakfast

What's Not Included

• Lunches on the way

• Beverages

• Local guides (approximately 2 euros in Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou - optional)

Logistics

Meeting & route

Meeting point

Marrakech, Morocco

Tour start

Marrakesh, Morocco

Tour ends at the same location as the start point.