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4×4 tours oases kasbahs
Tour Overview
dades valley, erg chebbi dunes, draa valley & oases
Camp in the desert at Erg Chebbi dunes, en-route discover the Southern Oases and their crumbling kasbahs, earth-built villages and the mountain reliefs of the Anti-Atlas.
Included/Exclude
- 4×4 vehicle with driver for 4 days;
- 1 night guest-house accommodation with breakfast and evening meal in Dades Valley;
- 1 night guest-house accommodation with breakfast and evening meal at Zagora palm oasis;
- 1 night Berber desert camp at Erg Chebbi dunes with breakfast and evening meal, drinking water, hot drinks;
- guided camel-trekking to and from the camp (approx. 1 – 1.5 hour’s trek each way).
Morocco Itinerary
Get up early and go out of Marrakech. Take a car ride from Marrakech to Dades Valley. The highest primary road pass in Morocco is located in the High Atlas Mountains at an elevation of 2,260 meters. The journey travels through verdant valleys and through Berber settlements built in the traditional adobe style. Spend some time at Ait Ben Haddou, a World Heritage Site, on the way to Ouarzazate. The so-called "road of a thousand kasbahs" begins to the north-east of Ouarzazate and generally follows the Dades River. To the north of Boumalne Dades, the Dades River flows through a verdant valley filled with abandoned kasbahs perched on high cliffs. As the valley narrows, the river eventually cuts through the breathtaking Dades Gorge. Get a room at a local inn for the night.
From there, you'll set up camp in the Berber Desert (another striking natural canyon cleaved into the Atlas mountains, by the Todra River). The chance to get some exercise and stretch your legs. After eating, keep going until you reach Merzouga, the last town before the unpaved road ends and the Erg Chebbi dunes come into view. Outside of the warmest part of the day, your driver will drop you off at the rendezvous spot with your camel caravan, and you'll ride camelback for around an hour and a half to get to the Berber desert camp in time to settle in for the night among the sand dunes. After dinner, go out into the dunes and take in the night sky.
After waking up (optionally!) to see the sun rise over the desert, you may have breakfast before setting off on camelback to return to your car. Join the valley of the lovely Draa River today by heading west. Today you'll be traveling across the Anti-Atlas mountain range, namely the volcanic Jebel Sahro, before connecting to the Draa valley's path (flanked by vast palm oases, crumbling kasbahs, and imposing mountain ridges). You may spend the night in a kasbah-style guesthouse in the palm grove of Amezrou, only a short way south along the Draa at Zagora.
When you wake up in the morning, go north along the Draa Valley's path. It's worth your time to check out the ksar (earthen huts) of Tamnougalt, located not far from Agdz. There is a souk in Agdz, so you may purchase dates straight from the farmers. In order to reach the other side of the Anti-Atlas mountains from Agdz and the Draa, you must first gain height. The next day, return to Marrakech by the same route you took to Ouarzazate, which takes you over the High Atlas Mountains. You should arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon.
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