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Out in the breathtaking desert dunes, where the imagination runs free
Marrakech dunes tour to Erg Chebbi & Erg Chegaga – overview:
The stunning sight of towering and majestic desert dunes is arresting; an otherworldly vista not soon forgotten. Honestly everyone should experience this at least once in their lives – going right out into the Sahara and leaving you spellbound.
Let us whisk you away to the best ergs (from the Arabic “arq” “/erg”, meaning a field of dunes) to get the full sense of true majesty in the desert. On this trip you will visit two of the major ergs in Morocco, the Erg Chebbi and Erg Chegaga. Just the sight of them as you approach is enough to take your breath away.
Being among and climbing to the summit of these wind-carved dunes, you’ll experience a thrill that will have you tingling all over. And this trip to Erg Chebbi and Erg Chegaga is designed to stretch over six relaxing and enthralling days with plenty of time for the unrivalled views of this expanse of African desert.
When you travel with Desert Majesty, you enjoy the comfort and luxury of 4×4 transportation and sumptuous tented accommodation. You experience the local Berber feel of life, and enjoy mouthwatering, delicious meals.
Ready to reserve your dream trip to Erg Chebbi and Erg Chegaga? Rest assured that Desert Majesty will provide you with a truly spectacular experience.
Marrakech dunes tour to Erg Chebbi & Erg Chegaga – highlights:
- Visiting the famous Kasbahs: Telouet, Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou, Taourirt and Tamnougalt
- Staying a calm and relaxed night in beautiful riads and traditional guest-houses along the way
- Exploring the potteries famous for their green glaze and the Qoranic Library in Tamgroute
- Spending the desert nights in luxury tents in Erg Chebbi in Merzouga and out in Erg Chegaga
- Riding camels, gazing at stars, sunsets and sunrises, Berber and nomad music round a campfire
- Searching for fossils in Iriqi Lake and discovering the ancient craft of Berber rug-making in Taznakht
- Wandring round the Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate with film sets of many Hollywood blockbusters
What is included on this 6-day tour from Marrakech to the Sahara Desert:
- Transport in a private air-conditioned vehicle; 4×4 Toyota Prado TX and fuel
- Pick up from and drop-off at your hotel or riad in Marrakech
- Experienced local English/French/Spanish/Italian-speaking Berber and nomad driver/guide
- Accommodation in air-conditioned rooms/suites with private bathroom
- The night in a luxury desert camp with private bathroom in Erg Chebbi and Chegaga
- All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner – with vegetarian and vegan options available
- A camel ride with a guide. If you wish to do some sandboarding, just speak to the camp staff!
- The option to go to and return from the camp by 4×4 in Erg Chebbi
- Luggage service to the camp and all accommodation
- Berber drumming and music round a camp fire after dinner
- Free time to explore the sites such as Ait Ben Haddou, and for walks, photos, and tea/coffee breaks
- The opportunity to ask the driver to stop when and where you wish
- Entrance fees and local guide
- Tea, coffee and mineral water in the desert
What is not included:
- Drinks
- Tips
- Extras
Good to know about a dunes tour to Erg Chebbi & Erg Chegaga:
- This Marrakech desert tour can be customised to be more personal and special
- Activities such as a full day trekking in Erg Chebbi or Erg Chegaga can be added to this tour
- You can always consult your driver about skipping some spots to spend more time elsewhere
- Here is a downloadable packing list to help plan for your Moroccan desert tour
- We require a 30% deposit of the total price to book the car, while the balance is payable to us in the office in Ouarzazate
- We accept payment through PayPal, bank transfers in Europe, by credit card, or cash (USD, Euro, GBP or MAD)
- We offer a 25% discount for children under 12, and one child under 3 per family travels free of charge
- These prices are liable to fluctuation according to the current exchange rate
- Our prices can be subject to an increase over the busy season, and, in particular, the Christmas and New Year’s Eve period
- This tour is designed to take you to both the Merzouga and Erg Chegaga deserts. However, the Erg Chegaga dunes can experience extremely high temperatures between June and September, and so most of the camps here close down during this period. In such cases, we might well need to adjust the itinerary by extending your stay in Merzouga, allowing you to experience the Sahara more deeply. We could also include alternative activities or destinations that provide unique cultural and natural experiences.
Prices per person
| No Days | Meals |
|---|---|
| 6 | All inclusive |
| Total price | |
| 2 PERSONS |
|---|
| 795 € * |
| 1590 € * |
| 3 PERSONS |
|---|
| 765 € * |
| 2295 € * |
| 4 PERSONS |
|---|
| 735 € * |
| 2940 € * |
| 5 PERSONS |
|---|
| 695 € * |
| 3475 € * |
| 6 PERSONS |
|---|
| 695 € * |
| 4170 € * |
Desert tour from Marrakech to Erg Chebbi & Erg Chegaga – itinerary:
1st day: Marrakech – Dades Gorges
The morning departure is at 8.30 from the reception of your hotel or riad in Marrakech driving south to the High Atlas Mountains. About an hour or so later, a side road leads to Kasbah Telouet, once the seat of the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family. However, these awe-inspiring edifices have been abandoned and are now exposed to the sky, wind and weather.
Sadly, the entire Kasbah is presently closed due to the destruction caused by the earthquake that hit Morocco in September 2023. Nonetheless, you can still enjoy the exterior with a local guide to uncover its fascinating history.
From Telouet, you follow the unique Ounila Valley lined with Berber fields and gardens, where the rock and soil colours amaze and smaller Kasbahs are clearly visible. The main crops sustaining the families consist of olives, almonds, and fruit trees.
This stunning road leads to the most photographed Kasbah in Morocco, Kasbah Aït ben Haddou, one of Morocco’s nine UNESCO World Heritage sites. The architectural style is intact and the earthen constructions perfect for the climatic conditions, blending in with the natural and social environment. Thought to originate in the 17th century, it is famous as the backdrop of many Hollywood blockbuster films.
Your route continues to Skoura, full of crumbling kasbahs and on to Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses. The cosmetic articles produced from the valley’s abundant roses are exceedingly popular in Morocco. You stop in the Dades gorge in a guest house for the night.
2nd day: Dades Gorges – Merzouga
Before continuing your journey to Toudgha and its very different gorges there, there is time to drive to the Dades Gorges and walk through them. At Tinjdad, you drive through the Ziz Valley, prized for its succulent dates. Along the road you will notice the long line of piles of sand marking the heads of the “khettarat”, the ingenious underground water channels. They have been fashioned to minimise evaporation and maximise irrigation. Down below the ground you can experience the cool atmosphere and wonder at the ancient engineering involved.
In Erfoud you can visit the museum of fossil finds and see how they are worked into attractive and useful artefacts. It is a source of wonder to witness the sheer numbers and beauty of these fossils.
In the afternoon at the edge of the dunes you take your camels to the luxury desert camp from where you can climb the nearest one to observe the sunset.
The luxury desert camp provides you with a private bathroom and king-sized beds – what a wonderful way to spend the night in the Sahara.
3rd day: Merzouga – Zagora
The sunrise, is definitely worth rising early for because the colours produced by the shadows on the sand are only visible at this time of day. The drive continues to the Dra’a Valley passing through Tazzarine and on to N’Qob where you will stop for lunch.
From here, the road continues to Zagora along the incomparable Dra’a Valley with all numerous kasbahs and where sometimes it seems that time has stood still.
In Zagora you will spend the night in a lovely, local riad on the edge of this desert town.
4th day: Zagora – Chegaga dunes
After breakfast, excitement and anticipation mount as the desert landscape becomes more and more apparent. You are bound to be interested in the stop at the potteries famous for its trademark green glaze. The ancient Quranic library with its exquisite hand-written Arabic texts is quite remarkable.
In the afternoon, we continue to M’hamid, the very gate to the desert, which marks theend of the paved road, with the massive Sahara on its doorstep. 60km of off-road driving passing the varying features of the desert; ‘erg’ (dunes), ‘hammada’ (stony desert), and oases leads you to the remote Erg Chegaga dunes. They are far away from civilisation, right out in the full desert, and where the silence and the expanse of sand are breathtaking.
You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury camp with your own private bathroom and glorious king-sized beds.
5th day: Chegaga dunes – Ouarzazate
After breakfast, another 90km of desert winds through unusual vegetation, and crosses the dried-up Lake Iriqui. In the middle of this lake, you may well experience a mirage, though that “water” is not real however much it shimmers. Here you can search for fossils; some lying loosely around but most immovable from the rock.
At Foum Zguid, the first village you reach outside the desert, we drive north to Taznakht, famous for its Berber rugs and carpets. From there we turn travel back past very barren countryside to Ouarzazate for the night.
6th day: Ouarzazate – Marrakech
Kasbah of Taourirt in Ouarzazate was a strategic location controlled by the Glaoui for the Saharan caravan route from beyond the Sahara. The Kasbah did not house the main Glaoui chiefs but rather their sons, servants, cousins, builders, and craftsmen. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Glaoui, who were the pashas of Marrakech, were the lords of the south and the High Atlas. Their power was granted them by the French colonialists in order to keep the southern tribes peaceful and non-threatening.
Inside the Kasbah, you feel you will get lost among the myriad of mysterious stairwells leading into a series of uniquely shaped and sized rooms lit up by low windows; reception rooms, harem apartments, and kitchens. The larger rooms have plasterwork decoration featuring floral patterns and a contrast to the white walls. The apartments are distinguished by well-preserved painted stucco and wooden cedar ceilings.
We also visit the Atlas cinema studios, where many sets from Hollywood blockbusters are on display, with new additions all the time as new films are produced. Among such films are The Kingdom of Heaven, Game of Thrones, Asterix and Cleopatra, the Jewel of the Nile, the Gladiator.
The High Atlas road takes you back to Marrakech, which you reach towards the end of the afternoon. Your driver will escort you to your hotel which marks the end of your Marrakech dunes tour to Erg Chebbi and Erg Chegaga.
Map of desert tour: Marrakech to Erg Chebbi & Erg Chegaga:
