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Agadir to Marrakech desert tour via Merzouga 5 days – overview:
This Agadir to the Erg Chebbi dunes desert trip offers visitors to the coast a chance to add a desert adventure to their beach holiday.
On the way, there is insight into Morocco’s great diversity – with Taroudant massive ramparts, Talouine’s saffron museum and Taznakht’s Berber rug-making co-operatives, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou outside Ouarzazate.
Kasbah Tamnougalt in Agdez and the drive down the Dra’a Valley will showcase rural Berber life in the oases. The highlights in the Erg Chebbi dunes are the camel ride before dinner and Berber drumming round a camp fire as well as the sunset and sunrise
The geology of the Dades Valley and the constantly changing rock formations will never cease to surprise. The underground irrigation channels will prove a fascinating stop. The High Atlas Mountains offer unforgettable panoramas whilst Marrakech offers a sightseeing tour of the main attractions of this Imperial city.
Desert trip: Agadir to the Erg Chebbi dunes 5 days – highlights
- Embarking on this Agadir to Marrakech desert tour via Merzouga 5 days for a truly unique adventure
- Photographing Taroudant’s famous intact city walls and visiting Talouine’s government-run saffron museum
- Stopping at one of Taznakh’s Berber co-operatives to witness the ancient art of rug-making
- Enjoying a sunset camel ride in Erg Chebbi Dunes to the camp where you witness the sunset
- Sharing an evening of Berber music and drumming around a fire camp after a delicious dinner
- Spending a peaceful night in a private luxurious tent in the camp at the foot of the dunes
- Descending the underground water channels near Erfoud to marvel at this clever form of irrigation
- Exploring Kasbah Aït ben Haddou, a World Heritage Site and backdrop to Hollywood blockbusters
- Enjoying a full day’s sightseeing tour of the main attractions of Marrakech according to your wishes
What is included in this desert trip from Agadir to Erg Chebbi:
- Transport in a private air-conditioned vehicle; 4×4 Toyota Prado TX or deluxe van and fuel
- Experienced local English/French/Spanish/Italian-speaking Berber and nomad driver-guide
- Accommodation in air-conditioned rooms/suites with private bathroom
- Overnight in a luxury camp in Erg Chebbi with a private toilet and shower
- All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner – with a vegetarian option available
- A camel ride with a guide. And if you wish to do some sandboarding, just speak to the camp staff!
- An option to go to and return from the camp by 4×4
- Luggage service to the camp and all accommodation
- Berber drumming and music
- Free time to explore the sites such as Ait Ben Haddou, 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 this desert tour from Agadir:
- This desert trip from Agadir to Erg Chebbi Dunes can be customised to be more individual and special
- Activities such as day trips or an extra day in the desert in Erg Chebbi dunes can be added
- To go to the Erg Chegaga dunes, please visit Agadir desert tour to Erg Chegaga Dunes
- You can choose to go to the camp either on camelback or by 4×4 (then you go for a camel ride from there)
- 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 the driver or 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 all children under 12, while, in any one family, one child below 3 can travel 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
Prices per person
| No Days | Meals |
|---|---|
| All-inclusive | |
| Total price | |
| 2 Persons |
|---|
| 645 € * |
| 1290 € * |
| 3 Persons |
|---|
| 615 € * |
| 1845 € * |
| 4 Persons |
|---|
| 585 € * |
| 2340 € * |
| 5 Persons |
|---|
| 545 € * |
| 2725 € * |
| 6 Persons |
|---|
| 545 € * |
| 3270 € * |
Sahara desert tour from Agadir to Marrakech 5 days – itinerary
1st day: Agadir – Taroudant – Taliouine – Agdez
Departure from Agadir at 8.30 by 4WD to Taroudant, known as “the little Marrakech”. It is spectacular for its massive ramparts and beautiful medina.
We continue to Taliouine, the heart of the saffron growing area of Morocco, where there is a little government-run museum about saffron agriculture. As you enter the scent of saffron is delicious. After crossing the Tizi-n-Tighatine and Tizi-n-Ikhsane passes, we arrive in Taznakht, famous for its Berber gelims and carpets.
From here the road continues to Agdez via the cobalt and copper mines of Bouazzer to spend the first night in the Dra’a Valley.
2nd day: Agdez – Merzouga
After breakfast, there will be a visit to Kasbah Tamnougalt, which is the oldest Kasbah in the Dra’a Valley and still inhabited by some 13 families, while the Jewish quarter has been abandoned and is slowly crumbling.
From here we drive south to Tansikht where our route crosses the Dra’a River. Just before you reach it, ask your driver to stop for you to look at the dinosaur footprints in the rocks at the side of the road! Now travelling east, we stop for lunch at a riad in N’Qob overlooking the mountains.
Later we pass through Tazzarine, featured in the film “Babel” and reach the bivouac in Merzouga, where you will be greeted with a glass of tea. After you have settled a little, you take a camel ride to watch the sun go down over the dunes.
You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury camp with private bathroom, king-sized beds, beautiful Moroccan furnishings and lamps tastefully arranged to enhance your enjoyment of the silence and beauty of the dunes.
3rd day: Merzouga – Tinghir/Toudgha – Dades Gorges
If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. After breakfast at the camp, we leave for Tinghir and the Toudgha Gorges.
On the way, you pass the water channels – “khettarat” – which you can descend into to appreciate the architecture and genius behind this form of irrigation which prevents evaporation in the summer heat. The channels start at a higher gradient at one end until they finally emerge at the surface of the soil where they are fed into the fields. You can find out more about these channels by reading Andrew Wilson’s work.
In the gorge and the valley, there are opportunities to walk beyond the gorge itself or by the village gardens and fields before you reach it. Later the itinerary continues to the Dades Valley. The area, which now forms the Dades Gorges, lay at the bottom of the sea millions of years ago. Great quantities of sediment were deposited around giant coral reefs, and over time this material became compacted into a variety of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone. Eventually, the movement of the earth’s crust caused the region to rise above the sea, forming the Atlas Mountains and surrounding landscape. The night is spent in a hotel or kasbah.
4th day: Dades Gorges – Marrakech
After breakfast, a visit to the Dades gorges and a short walk there is scheduled. We continue through the Valley of the Roses, famous for its Rose Festival in May. Cosmetics and toiletry items are produced from the marvelously scented damascene roses, and are valued throughout the country.
In Skoura and its oasis, Kasbah Amredhil waits for a very worth-while visit. The kasbah has been beautifully restored and gives a clear idea of multi-generational life within such housing. It is made entirely of adobe, an excellent building material; warm in winter and cool in summer, due to the thickness of the walls.
Our route goes on to Kasbah Aït ben Haddou, one of Morocco’s nine UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters. It is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and some of the buildings date back to the 17th century. The road continues over the High Atlas Mountains with unbelievably beautiful views. At the end of the afternoon, having crossed the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, we arrive in Marrakech.
5th day: Marrakech – Agadir
After breakfast, the morning is spent with a guide visiting the sights of your choice before returning to Agadir after lunch.
Recommended sights are the Madressah ben Youssef, the Saadian tombs, the souks, the Bahia Palace, the Majorelle Gardens which used to belong to Yves St Laurent. There is a famous special Majorelle shade of blue, which is used for the walls and the plants’ pots all over the gardens.
Not all of these sights are possible in one short morning but you could always add a sixth day! Your desert trip from Agadir to Erg Chebbi Dunes comes to an end as your driver escorts you to your riad.
