The Gates of Sahara
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Footprints across the Erg Chebbi dunes towards a desert camp at golden hour, Merzouga, Morocco

31°05′N 4°01′WErg Chebbi, Merzouga

The Sahara, privately.

Private desert journeys for two, starting in Marrakech, Fes, Rabat, Casablanca or Agadir. In Erg Chebbi, the tent waiting at the end of the day has its own bathroom and a heater. Planned and guided by the team behind Marrakech Eco Tours.

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Desert
Erg ChebbiMerzouga
Shortest private trip
3 days€760 for two
November, day and night
23° / 10°Caverage high and low
Sunset in November
18:18Moroccan time, on average

Start from a month, or from a desert.

Every trip below is private: your guide and your car, priced for your group.

When are you travelling?
How many of you?
2 travellers

Our story

Born in the Atlas. At home in the Sahara.

This story didn't start with us. Our father, Lahsen Aitidar, was among the first licensed Berber mountain guides in the High Atlas, leading travellers through the valleys long before Morocco had a tourism industry. He learned every route by walking it, and he taught us the same way.

We grew up on those trails, and in 2010 we turned a family calling into a tour company, Marrakech Eco Tours. The Gates of Sahara is its desert side: the same family, the same team on the road, and the one rule our father lived by.

Treat every guest as you would your own family.

Smail and Mohamed Aitidar
Since
2010
Based in
Imlil, High Atlas
Travellers
1,000+ with Marrakech Eco Tours
Read who we are

The Sahara from any city

Wherever you are in Morocco, the road to the dunes starts there.

We start desert journeys from six cities. This is the shortest way to the sand from each of them.

FromShortest trip to the dunes
Marrakech2 daysZagora
Agadir2 daysZagora
Casablanca5 daysErg Chebbi
FesPlanned with you
RabatPlanned with you
TangierPlanned with you
Anywhere elseTell us where you are and we plan the road from there

Our flagship journey

The Journey of Contrasts

Thirteen days from the Atlantic to the Sahara and back over the High Atlas: the whole of Morocco in one unhurried line, travelled privately with our own team.

Route
Casablanca → Marrakech
Length
13 days / 12 nights
Travelling
Private, your party only
Price
Price on request
See the thirteen daysAsk us on WhatsApp
Middle AtlasCasablancaRabatMeknesVolubilisChefchaouenFesMideltErg Chebbi, MerzougaTodra GorgeM'GounSkouraAït Ben HaddouMarrakech
About 1,650 km by roadRoads © OpenStreetMap contributors. Coastline: Natural Earth.

The journey in six landscapes

  1. Days 1–2The Hassan Tower and the rows of columns on its esplanade, Rabat, MoroccoThe AtlanticCasablanca, Rabat, Meknes
  2. Days 3–4A blue-washed lane in the medina of Chefchaouen, MoroccoThe RifVolubilis, Chefchaouen
  3. Days 5–6The minaret of the Al-Qarawiyyin lit at dusk above the roofs of Fes, MoroccoFesThe old medina, the tanneries
  4. Days 7–8Footprints across golden dunes at sunset in the Sahara, MoroccoThe SaharaMiddle Atlas, Midelt, Erg Chebbi
  5. Days 9–11A walker on the floor of the Todra Gorge between its rock walls, MoroccoThe valleysTodra, M'Goun, Skoura, Aït Ben Haddou
  6. Days 12–13Jemaa el-Fna square at dusk seen from a rooftop, Marrakech, MoroccoMarrakechJemaa el-Fna, the medina

Every journey, with its price for two.

No “from” prices that only apply to a group of six. Each card shows what two people pay, travelling privately, and how many nights you sleep in the desert.

6 of 24

Starting in Fes or Rabat? We run desert journeys from there too. Tell us your dates and we plan the route from your city. Plan your trip

The night sky over a dune at Erg Chebbi, Merzouga, Morocco
31°05′N 4°01′WThe sky over the dunes of Erg Chebbi, Merzouga.

The night you came for.

On our Erg Chebbi journeys you sleep at Sahara Garden Camp, our partner camp among the dunes. It is the part of the trip people ask about most, so here it is plainly.

Your tent
Private, for the two of you
Bathroom
Your own, with a shower
Heating
A heater in the tent for winter nights
Meals
Dinner and breakfast at the camp
January night
4 °C on average at Merzouga, so the heater matters
Guests and guides around the campfire under a black desert sky, Sahara, Morocco
Around the fire after dinner, in the Sahara.

Not every month is the same desert.

Ten years of daily readings, averaged by month. Turn the dial to see the day you would ride out and the night you would sleep through.

November in Erg Chebbi. Warm days and cool, comfortable nights.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECNovember23°10°DAY · NIGHT · SUNSET 18:18

Average high Average low

Monthly averages of daily highs, lows and sunset, 2015–2024. Open-Meteo historical weather (ERA5). Sunset in Moroccan time (UTC+1), an hour earlier during Ramadan.

The map

Where our roads go

Every place our desert and cultural journeys reach. Choose one to see the trips that go there; the gold line is our flagship journey.

The Journey of Contrasts, 13 daysRoads of our other journeys

PlacesTrips

Before you go, read the desert.

Written by our team from the trips we run: when to go, what the camp is really like, and which dunes suit you.All journal notes

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