Tour Marrakech - Ait Ben Haddou- Erg Chegaga

Departure in the morning from your hotel in Marrakech with our private driver. You will go south by taking the Tizi N Tichka pass which will allow you to pass through very varied landscapes, from the mountains of the Atlas to the plateaus that overshoot Tazenakht, the capital of the Berber carpets and the palm grove of Zguid. After 6 hours driving in these immense scenery, you will reach Foum Zguid where you will be welcomed in a charming riad.

You can freely walk in Foum Zguid, walk in the palm grove, around the old kasbah which is even more beautiful at sunset.

You will dine at the riad with a traditional Moroccan meal followed by an overnight stay in a comfortable and quiet room.

After a hearty breakfast at the riad, we leave by 4x4 towards the Erg Chegaga from Foum Zguid. We will cross the vast plains of the dried-up lake of Iriki by making a stop in an oasis that offers a magnificent view of the mountains of the Moroccan colorado. Then we will take you to see a very surprising site of prehistoric marine fossils in the middle of the desert expanses.

After crossing the now dry Lake Iriki, we will arrive at the dunes of Chegaga where your tent awaits you in a comfortable bivouac. You can have lunch at the bivouac and enjoy the whole afternoon in the heart of the dunes to relax, walk around and admire the beautiful landscapes. The bravest will be able to climb to the top of the highest dune in Morocco, which culminates at 300m and makes the fame of Erg Chegaga. Up there, you will have a 360° view of the sandy sea, the dunes of the Sahara as far as the eye can see.

At sunset, you will go for a camel ride to admire the flamboyant colors of the sun that illuminate the dunes. A magical moment to live.

After a delicious dinner, you can sit by the campfire and share a time in music with the team of nomads, the sound of derboukas that resonates in the desert.

Take the time to watch the stars before enjoying a good night’s sleep in your tent, with the silence of the desert.

Early risers can enjoy the spectacle of the sun rising behind the dunes and feel its progressive heat. Then after a breakfast served in the open air, we will go back by 4x4 towards Foum Zguid. We will make several breaks in the middle of Lake Iriki for unusual photos facing these immense expanses.

Once in Foum Zguid, you will go to Tazenakht where you can have a lunch break and admire the carpets exposed in front of the cooperatives.

You will continue your route to reach Ait Ben Haddou to visit this magnificent ksar listed as a World Heritage site. This setting of adobe walls has been used for many international film shoots such as Gladiator. You can stroll through the small streets to the top of the ksar and its hill overlooking the valley. You have the opportunity to call on a local guide for a guided tour of the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou who will show you the inside of the houses and explain how life was conducted for the families that lived there, while meeting some families that still live there.

You can then go to rest in the hotel located near the ksar for dinner and sleep there.

Take the time to have breakfast on the terrace and admire the rising sun on the ksar before heading back towards Marrakech.

We will pass by Telouet which houses a beautiful and old kasbah, also called kasbah of the Glaoui. The Telouet kasbah is a treasure of architecture with rich interior decorations. Once popular with the great personalities, it is now neglected but you can visit it for these testimonies of Moroccan architecture.

You can have lunch on the way back to the pass of Tizi N Tichka then you will arrive in Marrakech after a total journey of 2h30 to 3h between Ait Ben Haddou and Marrakech.

We will drop you off at your hotel in Marrakech or at the airport of your choice.