4-Day Marrakech to Erg Chigaga Desert Tour

Overview

The longer way round to Chigaga: over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, stopping at Aït Benhaddou, then down the Draa Valley past the pottery workshops of Tamgroute to the dunes. A night at camp, about three hours on camels, and the return across the stony plain of Lake Iriqui and the carpet workshops of Taznakht.

Photos

Route

1. 1Marrakech←→
2. 2Aït Benhaddou←→
3. 3Ouarzazate←→
4. 4Draa Valley←→
5. 5Erg Chigaga←→
6. 6Lake Iriqui←→
7. 7Taznakht

Highlights

• Aït Benhaddou and the Draa Valley on the way in
• A night at a camp on the Chigaga dunes
• About three hours on camels, with a picnic out on the sand
• The return across Lake Iriqui and the carpet workshops of Taznakht

Day by day

A representative plan. Every trip is adjusted to your dates, your pace and what you want to see.

1. 1

   Day 1

   Marrakech, the Tizi n'Tichka and Aït Benhaddou

   An early start, south out of Marrakech and up the Tizi n'Tichka — one of the highest paved passes in Morocco — through the Berber villages and terraced fields of the High Atlas. Telouet comes next: the kasbah of the Glaoui family, who once held the trade routes through here. Whether you go inside depends on the day, but the drive down the Ounila valley to Aït Benhaddou is worth the stop on its own.

   Aït Benhaddou is the ksar on the old caravan road, a UNESCO site of rammed-earth houses stacked up a hillside, and familiar from films. You walk the narrow paths, then continue to Ouarzazate in the afternoon. Riad or hotel that night.

2. 2

   Day 2

   Ouarzazate, the Draa Valley and the road to Erg Chigaga

   The road south follows the Draa river through Agdz and its palm groves: mud-brick villages, ksour and the dry riverbed, with the oasis running green against the plain. Tamgroute is the stop for the green-glazed pottery and the old Islamic library, then Tagounite for lunch on the edge of the Sahara.

   In the afternoon you leave the tarmac: a 4x4 takes you the last stretch onto the dunes of Erg Chigaga, wide and quiet compared with the camps further north. Sunset on the sand, dinner at camp, and the kind of dark sky you only get this far from a town.

3. 3

   Day 3

   Camel trek, picnic, and across Lake Iriqui to Foum Zguid

   After breakfast, about three hours on camels through the dunes with local guides, at a walking pace and stopping wherever the shade is. The trek ends at a quiet spot under trees for a picnic lunch, well away from any road.

   Your 4x4 picks you up and you cross Lake Iriqui National Park — stony plains, rocky plateaus and a seasonal lake basin that looks entirely different depending on the rains — to Foum Zguid, a small town at the edge of the desert. Hotel that night, and a shower after the sand.

4. 4

   Day 4

   Taznakht, the High Atlas and back to Marrakech

   Taznakht first, for the carpets: a town whose workshops and cooperatives keep the Berber weaving traditions, patterns and techniques handed down for generations. You can watch the work and buy direct if you want to.

   Then the High Atlas again, with lunch at a guesthouse over the mountains near Taliouine, and on to Marrakech by late afternoon or early evening. Drop-off at your riad; the tour ends there.

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