Down the Draa Valley to M'Hamid, where the tarmac stops, then by 4x4 across open desert to a camp among the dunes of Erg Chegaga.
Erg Chegaga is the quieter of Morocco's two great dune fields. There is no road to it: at M'Hamid, the last village of the Draa Valley, the tarmac ends and a 4x4 takes you across stony desert to the sand. Three days give you Aït Ben Haddou and the palm groves of the Draa on the way down, a night in M'Hamid, and then a night at a camp in the dunes, with a camel ride at sunset and a climb to the crest for sunrise.
We collect you at 7:00 am, cross the Tizi n'Tichka and visit Aït Ben Haddou. The road continues through Ouarzazate, home of the Atlas Film Studios, and down the Draa Valley past the palm groves of Agdz and Zagora to M'Hamid, the last town before the open desert. Dinner and the night are in M'Hamid.
≈8 h · ≈460 km
After breakfast you change to the 4x4, because the road ends here. The crossing runs over open desert and stony plains strewn with fossils, past the odd nomad camp, and reaches the edge of Erg Chegaga around midday. A camel ride takes you into the dunes to the camp. You watch the sun set over the erg, then eat dinner under a sky with no light from any town.
3–4 h (4x4) · ≈60 km
Up before dawn to climb the crest of a dune for sunrise, then breakfast at camp. The 4x4 takes you back across the desert to M'Hamid, and from there it is the long drive north through Zagora and the Draa Valley and over the High Atlas. You reach Marrakech by 7:30 pm.
≈8 h · ≈460 km
Starts from: Marrakech — your hotel or riad
PrivateSix days on foot beside a camel caravan, from the palms of the Draa Valley through the dunes of Erg Chegaga to M'hamid, sleeping in a different camp each night.
PrivateA private loop from Marrakech to the Erg Chebbi dunes: two gorges on the way out, a camel ride at sunset, a night at camp and a quieter road home.
PrivateThe Marrakech to Erg Chebbi loop paced for families: shorter driving days, hotels with a pool, a family camp in the dunes and camel rides at both ends of the day.
PrivateAn evening in the stony desert outside Marrakech: an hour on a quad, a camel ride at sunset and dinner at a desert camp.
