4 days/3 nights: “From Essaouira to Marrakech: the desert of Erg Chigaga and the oasis of the Draa Valley”

You’ll depart from your riad/hotel in Essaouira in the morning. The journey continues south along the Atlantic Ocean to Agadir. From Agadir, we travel through the fertile Sous Valley and reach Taroudant.with its imposing city walls and charming old town. Dinner and overnight stay in the riad.

After breakfast drive continue east through the Sous Valley to Tazenakth and Foum Zguid, then into the desert. Off-road, you’ll take the old Paris-Dakar road to the Iriki Salt Lake, which is usually dry for many years before springing back to life during periods of increased rainfall. Then, you’ll reach the 40-km-long dune landscape of Erg Chigaga.The golden dunes reach a height of 300 meters, and our desert camp is located in the middle of them. Practice sandboarding on the dunes and enjoy the magnificent sunset from the back of a camel. Dinner and an overnight stay in a private tent at our comfortable desert camp, along with the romantic nomadic experience under the fantastic starry sky, await you.

After breakfast, you’ll drive off-road to the Iriki Oasis and then across sand dunes to Mhamid, once a secluded oasis and an important stopover on the old caravan routes. This is where the long oasis of the Draa Valley begins, formed from the waters of the High Atlas and stretching from Ouarzazate to Mhamid. The most beautiful part of the oasis, with millions of date palms, stretches from Zagora to Agdz. Dinner and overnight at the riad in Agdz.

After breakfast, you will drive north via the film city of Ouarzazate (visit the Kasbah Taourit and the film studios if you wish) to Ait Ben Haddou, a kasbah built of mud bricks. This, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is considered the most beautiful and famous kasbah in Morocco and has served as the backdrop for films such as “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Jesus of Nazareth,” and “Gladiator.” After the tour, lunch, and the journey continues over the High Atlas and the 2260-meter-high Tizi-n-Tichka Pass to Marrakech. The route offers stunning views and leads along a steep road lined with oak forests, nut and almond trees, past the mud and stone houses of the Berber villages and rushing mountain streams. Before Marrakech, we reach the Kasbah of Telouet; Located along the former caravan route, this was the seat of power of the El Glaoui family, hence sometimes called the Palace of the Glaoui. Arrival in Marrakech in the late afternoon.