This is the classic Moroccan overland route, and the dunes at the end of it are the real thing: Erg Chebbi rises 150 metres out of flat hammada, and the camp sits in the middle of it, well beyond the reach of any light but the fire.
The driving is substantial — around eight hours on day one — but it is the point rather than the price. You cross the High Atlas at 2,260 metres, stop at the kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou, and follow the Dadès and Todra gorges through the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs.
On the second afternoon you swap the vehicle for a camel for the hour into the dunes, arriving in time for sunset from the ridge. Dinner is around a fire, and the beds are in proper canvas tents with real mattresses and shared bathrooms.
An early start to cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka, with stops at the pass and at viewpoints on the descent. Late morning at Aït Ben Haddou, the earthen ksar on the old caravan route, where a local guide walks you up through the village to the granary at the top. Lunch in Ouarzazate, then east through the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs and the Valley of Roses to the Dadès gorge, arriving in time for sunset over the switchbacks. Dinner and the night in a family-run hotel above the river.
Morning in the Todra gorge, where 300-metre limestone walls narrow to a ten-metre gap with the river running through it, and there is time for a level walk along the base. On through Tinghir's palm oasis and Erfoud to the edge of the sand at Merzouga, arriving mid-afternoon. At around 17:00 you meet your camels for the hour-long trek into the erg, reaching camp in time to climb the ridge for sunset. Dinner is tagine around the fire, followed by drumming from the camp team.
Woken before dawn for sunrise from the dune above camp, then camels back to the village for breakfast and a shower. The return crosses the Middle Atlas cedar forest with a stop at Midelt for lunch, then down through the Ziz valley and back over the Tichka to Marrakech, arriving around 19:00.
Exactly as described
Booked three things through Atlas Nomad in a week and every pickup was on time. The driver on the Agafay trip went out of his way to find us a quieter spot for the sunset.
Worth the early start
A long day but the guide paced it well and never rushed us. Being able to pay the balance on the day made booking from home much easier.
Très bien organisé
Organisation impeccable et guide passionnant. Le déjeuner n était pas inclus, ce qui est clairement indiqué, mais prévoyez des espèces.
Stony desert forty minutes from the medina: a camel ride along the ridge, mint tea as the light goes, then dinner under the stars.
Free cancellation
An hour from the city the air changes: walnut trees, a river, and a walk up to seven waterfalls stepped into the mountainside at Setti Fatma.
Free cancellation
Three hours west and twenty degrees calmer: a walled port town of blue shutters, gulls, grilled sardines and constant wind.
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