Marrakesh - Exotic Moroccan Saharan Desert to Atlantic Ocean – 5 days

Tours from marrakesh

Exotic Moroccan Saharan Desert to Atlantic Ocean – 5 days

Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Erg Chegaga, Taroudant, Essaouira, Marrakesh

5 days and 4 nights

All meals, accommodation, 4WD, petrol, and camel rides included

Journey through the arid desert to the refreshing sea air through the High Atlas Mountains, the Dra’a Valley, oases and kasbahs, high dunes of Erg Chegaga, to the historical coastal port of Essaouira.

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Itinerary

We pick you up from your hotel or riad in Marrakesh and depart at 8am to travel into and across the High Atlas Mountains. After a spectacular drive on the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, we take a side road to the Telouet Kasbah, a superb example of Moorish architecture, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family, and which now stands in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country following the departure of the French from The Kingdom of Morocco. From there we continue on to lunch at Ait Ben Haddou. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many films have been shot in Ait Ben Haddou including Gladiator, Prince of Persia and parts of the series Game of Thrones. Later we continue to Ouarzazate where we spend the night.
After breakfast we travel to Agdz where we explore the Kasbah Tamnougalte before taking the ancient caravan road between the river and the mountains. On the way we pass many villages, farms, palmeries and gardens. We then drive to M’hamid, the gateway to the Moroccan Sahara desert for lunch.
After lunch, we then make our way across another 60km through the varying features of the desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oasis to the Erg Chegaga dunes. These are the greatest dunes in Morocco and are approximately 300m high and 35km long. You will go via camel to the bottom of the dunes for a wonderful view of the setting sun, before returning to the bivouac at the foot of the dunes.
After breakfast at Chegaga, we travel the desert by 4WD, which takes us through a further 90km travelling by Lake Iriqui, the desert mountains and fossil sites. We travel through Foum Zguid, the first village after the desert, to the village of Taznakht, famous for its Berber carpets and rugs. We stop for lunch and visit a local Berber carpet cooperative where local female artists create their artwork and sell direct to the public. We then cross the Tizi-n-Ikhsane and Tizi-n-Tighatine passes and onto Taliouine famous for its production of saffron and one of the main exporters of this spice worldwide. We then travel the rest of the way to Taroudant and spend the night in either a riad or hotel.
After breakfast we visit the town of Taroudant known as “the little Marrakesh”. Taroudant is spectacular for its massive 7.5km ramparts and beautiful medina.
The road takes us along the Souss river valley on past the numerous argan trees on the slopes of the hill-sides to Agadir. We then travel along the coast to Essaouira. After arriving at your riad in Essaouira we visit the sea front where you can choose your lunch from a selection of freshly caught fish and seafood. After lunch we walk to the medina and begin to take in the sights.
After breakfast we continue to explore the wonderful and enchanting coastal city of Essaouira; the Portuguese ramparts and fortress, the fishing port, the medina, souks and beach are perfect for leisurely discovery interspersed with a relaxing lunch, unhurried coffee or fresh orange juice from the many colourful juice stalls.
After lunch we continue our journey back to Marrakesh. Along the way we stop to visit the women’s cooperative where argan nuts are processed by hand into one of the most versatile oils; used in skin care products as well as a delicious cooking oil. We reach Marrakesh by early evening.