In less than a week, you can fulfill every traveler’s dream: to travel to the depths of the Sahara. And you’ll also have time to visit other places of great interest, both north and south of the Atlas Mountains. Discover it on this tour from Errachidia to the desert and Marrakech, where this tour ends and where you will have free time. You can buy it on this website and enjoy it privately, with the travel companions you want.
Who hasn’t ever imagined walking through soft sand dunes, stepping on the softness of its grains, guided by a caravan of noble dromedaries? That is one of the exciting experiences that you can live on this tour, which takes you from Errachidia to the Merzouga desert, where the Erg Chebbi dunes are located. In addition to the beauty of the landscape, especially at sunset and dawn, the magic lies in the feeling of peace that reigns here, where man has not yet significantly modified the environment, thanks to the nomadic tradition that remains the basis of life here.
If the landscapes are interesting on this trip, the local culture is no less so. At different times on this tour, we will take you to meet the sentinels of ancestral traditions, such as Gnawa music and nomadic life in the depths of the desert. These encounters with members of their communities will help us understand this. In addition, on your last day of the tour you will enjoy free time in Marrakech (depending on the flight schedule), which may allow you to take a walk through the medina of this city, where crafts continue to play a key role.
This tour is not circular but starts in Errachidia (airport or other agreed place) and ends in Marrakech 5 days later (4 nights). And all this, by road in a private vehicle, optimizing every minute of the trip. This is the route:
The Errachidia airport or any other place in the city will be the starting point of this 5-day tour to the desert. And it makes perfect sense: from here, the journey to Merzouga, a reference town, is shorter than from other cities. Therefore, as soon as we meet, our driver will head south through the Ziz Valley to start the route.
On the way, we will pass through Erfoud, a city famous because important dinosaur fossils have been found here. In addition, its subsoil is also rich in various minerals. Therefore, in the streets of the city, both are the main tourist attractions, not forgetting its appreciated dates, protagonists of a moussem in October.
Shortly after, we will arrive in Merzouga and you will check in to the charming hotel-kasbah that we have reserved for you: Berber atmosphere and total comfort, at the foot of the dunes and desert tracks, which we will travel in the following days.
If you choose this tour from Errachidia to the desert with Marrakech as the final destination, you will probably do so because it dedicates two days to discovering the deepest desert. And this is one of them, with natural and human attractions in equal parts.
One of the highlights is the visit to the village of Khamlia, called among locals the ‘black town’, as most of its inhabitants are of sub-Saharan origin, although they settled here centuries ago: their ancestors were former slaves brought by the desert caravan routes, but they did not abandon their traditions. And the best expression of this is the Gnawa music, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco. Its rhythmic component with importance of percussion will remind us of tribal music, as we can admire in a concert for us.
The other main event of the day will be with a nomadic or semi-nomadic family who, despite the inhospitable terrain, has decided to stay here to live. And for this, they continue to preserve the customs of their ancestors, who were based on itinerant activities such as grazing. With a tea in hand and with the hospitality of these humble people, we will chat and spend a pleasant time, totally opposed to what is offered by mass tourism.
Between one place and another, sand tracks that seem to have no end and that years ago were used by the Paris-Dakar rally. These sections, once timed, will take us through abandoned kohl mines and remains of Berber and French villages, from the time of the Protectorate. And we will not miss the opportunity to climb to a high viewpoint to, from above, contemplate the immense beauty of the Erg Chebbi dunes.
Precisely to them we will go in the final stretch of the day, but not in our 4×4, but in dromedary. This is how we will reach the heart of this great field of fine sand, shaped by the wind in gentle undulations. There will be located the camp of jaimas where dinner will be taken and rested, wrapped in silence and covered by an unparalleled starry sky.
Third day of the tour, second in the desert… and first in the rest of your life. For many, sleeping in the desert and waking up here means
In this valley, which is part of the so-called Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, is the detour that takes us to a natural corner difficult to forget: the Todra Gorges. This humble river has carved the rock for millennia to form the canyon that we will discover, narrow and with vertical walls, ideal for a short walk or even for a mythical climbing ascent, as it is a world reference place in this sport.
Back on the road, we will continue through the Dades Valley, between picturesque villages, adobe kasbahs and palm groves. In one of those towns, we will stop for accommodation and dinner, in a charming riad.
During the morning of the fourth day, we will complete the Dades Valley, with special mention to the Valley of the Roses, known for the numerous rose bushes that populate the land and that, as in Erfoud, star in a moussem, in this case dedicated to this flower in spring.
Shortly after we will arrive in Ouarzazate, world famous for its Atlas Studios, where scenes from important films have been shot, such as Lawrence of Arabia. But our attention will focus on the kasbah of Taourirt, one of the best examples of this architectural type: made of adobe, as is typical in Berber culture, its impregnable appearance is no coincidence, as it was the bastion of the El Glaoui family in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its delicate and beautiful interior reminds us, however, that it was also their residence, decorated according to the precepts of Islamic architecture.
The road awaits us again, this time to ascend through the High Atlas to the Tizi n’Tichka pass. Its panoramic views will deserve a stop to photograph the surroundings, as from here you can see the highest mountains in Morocco and throughout North Africa. After that, all that remains is to descend through the valleys located to the north of this mountain range, where we will see small villages embedded in the hillsides, with animal farms that continue to graze the people of the place.
Upon arriving in Marrakech, you will check in to the central riad to enjoy free time at the end of the day, a time that you can take advantage of to taste the gastronomy of the Red City and immerse yourself in the bustle of the historic center, such as in the Jemaa el-Fna square, always alive at nightfall.
This 5-day tour from Errachidia to the desert and Marrakech comes to an end in this last city. If the flight schedule allows, you can take another walk through the city to make pending purchases or discover new corners of the medina, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
At the agreed time, we will pick you up to proceed to the private transfer to Menara airport, from which you will fly home. There, at the foot of the terminal, we will say goodbye until, hopefully, the next tour with Tenere Tours through other regions of Morocco.
The following list shows the services that are included in this travel package, so that no detail is left to chance:
The following services are not included. The client must decide on them in due course:
Fill out the form with your information, be specific with the circuit you are interested in and also if you want to customize it in any way.
We will respond as soon as possible.