Detailed Itinerary

Expedition Type: Desert Trek

Day 1
Arrive in Marrakech airport early to be met by your Trekforce staff and the rest of your group. We transfer immediately from here to 4X4 vehicles and drive east into the Atlas mountains. After a four hour drive we arrive at our accommodation for the night. Here we organise our kit and equipment for the trip.

Day 2
We continue in our vehicles, driven by experienced staff, into the Atlas mountains and after a short journey we leave the main roads and drop into steep valleys that can only be visited by off road vehicles. Driving down dry river beds we eventually reach a small spring, where we will camp for the night under canvas, or if the weather is good, under the stars.

Day 3
We continue our off road adventure into the mountains, and we may pass some nomadic Berber families en route to new pastures. If invited, we will stop for tea. After a long drive we begin to emerge out of the mountains into the Hamada, the stony desert, where we will camp again.

Day 4
From our remote camp we will head directly into the desert in our vehicles using old trails, aiming to join up again with the road that will take us south to Merzouga and the beginning of the Erg’s – the sandy dunes that characterise the Sahara. We arrive at Merzouga late, and camp at the foot of the dunes in a small guesthouse.

Day 5
At our camp at the foot of the dunes we meet our guides and our camel drivers, who will begin to teach us about the desert and our journey. We will cover some basic first aid lessons with our medics and learn survival skills from our leaders and teach some basic navigation using compasses and the stars. At the end of the day we will share a meal with our hosts and pack our equipment for the trek to come.

Day 6
We are joined by our camel drivers and camels which we will load up before dawn and begin our trek into the Hamada. Each day will be characterised by a very early start, often pre dawn, in order to escape the heat of the day, followed by a rest as it becomes hotter, and a final push in the evening to reach a camp before nightfall. Nights can be spent in the open, or under shelter, or round the camp fire with our guides.

Day 7 – Day 14
Continuing the trek through the desert, experiencing the variety of landscapes and scenes that the desert offers, following river valleys, crossing dunes and resting with your camels in the beautiful desolate wilderness.

Day 15
We arrive triumphantly at Zagora, having followed the old caravan route around 200 miles through the desert. Here we will meet our transport that will take us straight to Marrakech, where will check in to a luxury riad to recover, have a hammam, and eat some amazing food.

Country Info

Morocco

A country of unparalleled contrasts, vast horizons and extreme challenge, Morocco is an evocative cultural mix of North Africa, the Arab world and Europe. Modern cities are still dominated by medieval souks and traditional hospitality, and nomadic Berber and Touareg families still eke out a living in the arid mountains and in the west, the gateway to the Sahara....

Safety & Support

This expedition has a difficulty rating of 3 out of 4.

For more information on Trekforce Worldwide's safety & back up click here.

Photos