We have set a very special five days tour from Marrakech to Sahara through the High Atlas mountains to celebrate deep in the dunes of the Erg Chebbi. Spend a night under the winter stars in a Nomad camp. Visit Dades and Todra Valley and it's gorges and walks to explore the environments and villages of the desert.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Departure from Marrakech, and drive through the High Atlas mountains - Tizi Ntichka pass. We'll take time to stop and enjoy the impressive landscapes, have coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice breaks before visiting the Atlas film studios where many big box office adventure films were made (ie; The Mummy, Black Hawk Down, Cleopatra, Gladiator, Moses, and more) before stopping in Ouarzazate for lunch and to visit the Famous Kasbah Taourirt. The first night spent there.
Day 2: Next destination is a drive through the Valley of the Roses, and Dades gorges. We pass through many Berber villages and experience a culture unchanged for thousands of years in riverside oasis gardens and barren hillsides clustered with kasbahs. We visit dades gorges and spend the night in a beautiful hotel, local music with the evening meal.
Day 3: After breakfast we have a short drive to reach a massive fault dividing the High Atlas mountains. Todra Gorge sheer rock walls rises over 300m in its narrowest part, where you can wander with a guide through palmery villages, gardens, and kasbahs for a close look at traditional Berber ways of life. After lunch we drive to merzouga - the gate to the dunes. Along the way we pass through folded exposed rock slabs of fossils and can stop and explore.
Optional visit to a fossil factory where Sahara’s wonderful varieties of ancient life are available for a closer look. Further into the desert landscape the Erg Chebbi dunes appear on the horizon with all it's beauty and secret powers, spend the night in the Hotel Kasbah le Touareg with a Moroccan buffet dinners served around a fire place with local music and dances.
Day 4: After breakfast we take you to visit an old slave village and a lake animated by the Pink Flamengoes. Upon return form this visit you have lunch then your local guide will lead your camel caravane into the dunes to the bivouac (camp), where a traditional tagine dinner (vegetarians welcome) is prepared under the evening stars. Climb the dunes and watch the moon rise before retiring to your bed in a nomad wool tent.
Day 5: Return by camel at sunrise to the Kasbah le Touareg for breakfast and shower. Depart for the World Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou Kasbah. This village of clustered Berber Kasbahs has been used as a backdrop for more than 20 films and was one of the most important fortress strongholds on the old Salt Road where caravans brought slaves, gold, ivory and salt from Saharan Africa to Marrakech and beyond. The last night spent there.
Day 6: Back to Marrakech Around Midday.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Transport by Heated Vans
- Experienced English speaking guide
- Authentic hotels with breakfasts
- Lunches and dinners
- Extended exploration on foot through old kasbahs, Berber villages and oasis
- Camel trek to a desert camp and overnight there
- Christmas or New Year buffet dinner in a desert Kasbah, including whole roasted lamb with all the trimmings and traditional drumming and dancing. Vegetarian meals can also be served.
Also see tour packages in:
Africa
Morocco
Local Culture
Christmas/New Year Tours
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