Sahara Trek

Day 1 Marrakech: Early evening meet with your guide to share essential trip information, and so that your passport and insurance details can be collected.

Note: we leave early tomorrow for the start of our adventure, so you may want arrive a day earlier (or stay a day later) so that you can explore this unique city. After the meeting, perhaps head to the city’s main square – Djemaa El-Fna – for dinner.

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Day 2: Leave in the morning for the very photogenic drive through the High Atlas via the Tichka Pass (2260m), via Ouarzazate and the Draa Valley, on through Agdz, Zagora, and Tagounit to reach Ouled Driss on the edge of the Sahara desert. The night is spent in a traditional Berber camp with tents or 'Khaimas' which have been upgraded with certain western comforts such as hot showers.

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Day 3: The desert adventure begins. With our baggage loaded onto camels we set off and travel through palm groves to reach the edge of the sands. We'll be able to see the dramatic cliffs of the hamada of Draa to the south. After a peaceful lunch stop we will walk for around two hours to reach the holy shrine of Sidi Naji. (Total trekking time 7-8 hours)

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Day 4: Hike along the left bank of the Draa surrounded by a desert landscape shaped by the wind. The Sahara Desert has its own special vocabulary to describe the different forms. 'Wadi' is a dry river valley, 'hamada' a wind-swept stony plain whilst 'reg' is plain of gravel. The classic desert of everyone's imagination is a vast sea of sand rippled with sand dunes and known as 'erg'. Today we'll encounter all these forms as we walk from our camp towards the distant dunes of Erg Ez-Zahar. After a morning of walking we'll be joined by our camels as we head to Malga Ouedane - the meeting of Wadis and stop for lunch. After a leisurely break we continue through a vast empty expanse to reach the magnificent dunes of Zahar. (Total trekking time 4-5 hours)

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Day 5: This morning we head north and cross a wide bed of the Draa dotted with tamarisk and acacia trees, stopping for lunch in their shade before continuing through the desert to reach the smaller dunes of Tilhatine. Tonight we camp near a well which gives the camels a well-earned drink and us the opportunity to enjoy a wash if we wish! (Total trekking time 7-8 hours)

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Day 6: We start today on the right bank of a wadi which has remained dry for the past 35 years since the construction of the El-Mansour-Eddhabi dam near Ouarzazate. Before the dam and during desert rainstorms, the waters would reach Iriki Lake which supported a rich ecology of fish and birds. Today dunes block the passage of any water and the former lake is now a dry plateau. After lunch at Ras Nkhile taken in the shade of the palm trees, we will cross a dry river bed to walk on a plateau dotted with small dunes to find ourselves back at the camp in Oulad Driss. (Total trekking time 7-8 hours)

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Day 7: Another photogenic drive back to Marrakech, where your trip ends

Accommodation is in camp sites  (apart from the first night which is in a hotel). All meals are included once on the trek.