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Erg Chegaga desert dunes to Essaouira – overview:
How can you combine a desert with a tour to Essaouira on the Atlantic coast? This 4-day desert tour offers just that possibility. You spend two fabulous nights in the Moroccan Sahara; Erg Lihoudi, “the gate to the Sahara, and the remote dunes of Erg Chegaga.
The oldest Kasbah in the Dra’a Valley, south of Ouarzazate in Tamenougalte, showcases an enclosed habitation where families still live much as they have done for centuries. In Tamegroute, the famous green glaze pottery and the ancient Zaouia Naciria housing exquisite Arabic manuscripts in the Qoranic library are very special.
The highlights of any desert trip are the camel ride with a desert sunset, a delicious typical Moroccan dinner at the camp, and dancing to Berber music around a campfire. The nights of calm and serenity in these magnificent dunes are simply unforgettable experiences.
On the way west towards the ocean, you have opportunities to witness the ancient craft of Berber rug weaving and to purchase one from the co-operatives in Taznakht (if desired). In Talouine the small, government-run saffron museum explains how saffron is cultivated. In Taroudant, the splendid, intact city walls make the town famous.
At the end of this Ouarzazate desert tour, the blue and white fishing port of Essaouira awaits with yet more wonders to discover.
4-day desert tour from Ouarzazate to Essaouira – highlights:
- Travelling over the Anti-Atlas Mountains, through the Dra’a Valley’s palm groves, via numerous Berber villages
- Learning about traditional crafts in Berber villages, including the green glaze pottery in Tamgroute and rug-making Taznakht
- Enjoying a camel ride to see the magical sunset, experiencing sandboarding, and capturing memorable photos
- Enjoying dinners under the starlit sky, dancing to the rhythms of Berber music and staying in luxury camps
- Travelling through Talouine (saffron) and Taroudant (ramparts), and northwards along the Atlantic coast to Essaouira
What is included:
- Transport in a private air-conditioned vehicle; 4×4 Toyota Prado TX 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 Lihoudi and in Erg Chegaga with private toilet and shower, lamps, and traditional Moroccan furnishings
- All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner – with vegetarian and vegan options available
- A camel ride with a guide. And if you wish to do some sandboarding, just speak to the camp staff!
- Luggage service to the camp and all accommodation
- Berber drumming and music
- Free time to explore the sites such as Dra’a Valley, Kasbah Tamnougalte, 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 4-day tour from Ouarzazate to Essaouira:
- This Ouarzazate desert tour to Essaouira can be customised to be individual and special
- Activities such as day trips, a full day’s trekking, or an extra day in the desert in Erg Chegaga can be added to this Ouarzazate day trip to Essaouira
- If you want to start this tour from Essaouira, please visit desert tours from Essaouira
- 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 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
Erg Chegaga Desert Tour to Essaouira 4 days – itinerary:
1st day: Ouarzazate – M’hamid El Ghizlane
Kick off your Erg Chegaga desert tour to Essaouira from Ouarzazate at 8.30, we drive over the Tizi-n-Tinfifte pass to Agdz. Descending from the pass you will be amazed at the view of the extensive oasis and the number of palm trees, all indicating the beginning of the Dra’a Valley with its thousands of date palms, producing an amazing 44 varieties of dates. The date harvest starts in September and lasts a couple of months, so that is the best time to stop in Agdz for the freshest ones.
Shortly after this small town, you stop to visit Kasbah Tamnougalte, the oldest Kasbah in the Dra’a Valley, before taking the ancient caravan road between the river and the mountains for a short while. On the way, we pass many villages and gardens so that you can gain a better idea of the way of life in the life-giving oases.
Just before the police checkpoint in Tansikht, the driver can stop and show you the dinosaur footprints right at the side of the road. We come to the village of Tinsouline, from where you can drive just a kilometre or so off-road to the fascinating rock carvings of animals long extinct in Morocco at Foum Chenna, some 4000 years old. Zagora is the largest town in the whole area and where we shall stop for lunch.
Later we pass through Tamgroute, where a stop for the potteries famous for the green glaze, which you may have already seen in Marrakech, and also for its ancient Quranic library with exquisite hand-written Arabic texts.
In the afternoon we drive further south still, to M’hamid, the very gate to the desert and the end of the paved road. This is where the Sahara starts. Here a camel ride leads to the highest dune to enjoy an unforgettable sunset.
You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury camp with a private bathroom, king-sized beds, beautiful Moroccan furnishings and lamps tastefully arranged to enhance your enjoyment of the silence and beauty of the dunes.
2nd day: M’hamid El Ghizlane – Erg Chegaga dunes
After breakfast, you cross the frequently dry Dra’a River to reach the old village of M’hamid, where houses are made entirely of adobe. This traditional building material effectively keeps out the summer’s searing heat due to the thickness of the walls. As you explore the village, you will gain insights into life in this harsh yet beautiful environment.
In the afternoon, there is the departure for the Erg Chegaga dunes (300m) with 60km of off-road. This route passes different features of the desert; “erg” (dunes) and “ hammada” (stony desert), oases.
These dunes are far away from civilization, in the desert proper, where nomadic life is hard, subject to the vagaries of the wind, sandstorms and sparse rainfall. But the silence and the expanse of the sand are overwhelming. Here you could have a second camel ride if you wish.
Dinner and the night will be in a luxury camp, with all the amenities of the first desert night in Mhamid.
3rd day: Erg Chegaga dunes – Taroudant
Get up early to watch the sunrise from the peak of the dunes, followed by free time to wander the dunes. Head back to camp for breakfast before starting your adventure for the day.
We drive another 90 km across the Sahara over the stony desert, “reg” and “hammada” and across the now dried-up Lake Iriqui. In the middle of this lake, you are likely to experience a mirage and unless it has been raining hard, which is rare, and in which case we cannot cross due to the mud, we can assure you, that “water” really is not real. Here you can search for fossils; some lying loosely around but most fixed firmly into the rock.
At the edge of the desert at Foum Zguid, we drive north to Taznakht, famous for its Berber gelims and carpets, where we stop for lunch. After crossing the Tizi-n-Ikhsane and Tizi-n-Tighatine passes, we reach Taliouine, the heart of the saffron-growing region. The little government-run museum is interesting about saffron agriculture and as you enter the scent of saffron is delicious.
The road takes us on to Taroudant, where we stop for the night in a riad.
4th day: Taroudant – Essaouira
In the morning there is a visit to the town known as “the Little Marrakech”. It is spectacular for its massive ramparts and beautiful medina. From here you travel along the Souss River valley with all its argane groves, and banana and orange plantations as far as Agadir just in time for lunch.
The road then travels north up the coast driving through Taghazout, a surfer’s paradise, and along the Anti-Atlas Mountains with varying views of the sea and the tantalising coves. On arriving in Essaouira, you are accompanied to your riad, bringing your desert tour from Ouarzazate to Essaouira to an end!
Map of the 4-day desert tour from Ouarzazate to Essaouira:
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