7 Days Morocco Desert Tour to Erg Chegaga & Essaouira

  • Duration

    7 Days
  • Tour Type

    Private Desert Tour
  • Location

    Sahara Desert
  • Daily Departures

  • 4.9 Excellent

Overview

This Morocco Desert Tour proves that Morocco has it all. In only 7 days
you will see snowy mountains driving through the High Atlas, the Sahara desert with
camel rides and a night under the stars at Erg Chigaga, and finish at one of Morocco's
most charming coastal cities — the windy, beautiful Essaouira.

Included/Exclude

  • High Atlas Mountains & Tizi-n-Tichka pass

  • Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate & Agdez

  • Zagora, Tamegroute & M'hamid

  • Camel ride and two nights at Erg Chigaga

  • Nomad visits & Lake Iriki

  • Taroudant, Agadir & the argan coast

  • The coastal wind city of Essaouira

Tour Plan

Day 1 Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Agdez

The driver meets you at your accommodation at 8 AM. Leave Marrakech to take on the Atlas Mountains and their dense forests through one of the most winding, dramatic routes in Morocco. Reach the Tizi-n-Tichka pass at 2,200 m to enter the Great South. Visit the UNESCO site of Ait Ben Haddou, skirt through Ouarzazate, cross the Daraa gorges at 1,700 m where the panorama of the legendary Daraa Valley unfolds, and reach Agdz to visit the village and the ksar of Tamnougalt. Dinner and accommodation at a kasbah/hotel.

Day 2 Agdez – Zagora – M'hamid – Erg Chigaga

After breakfast, a dusty off-road takes you to the prehistoric rock engravings of Foum Chenna, then on to Zagora to discover the village of Amezrou and its Jewish heritage — the old adobe synagogue and silver jewelry craft. Further on, the kilns of Tamegroute cast the famous emerald glaze; the nearby Nassiria library holds a 10-century-old gold-engraved Koran and treatises on astronomy, medicine and Arab poetry. Visit a traditional ksour and have lunch in M'hamid before leaving the tarmac. Across various types of desert you reach the dunes of Erg Chigaga, the last stretch by camel. Dinner and accommodation in private boutique tents.

Day 3 Erg Chigaga Desert

A relaxing day. After breakfast, visit some of the local nomads to see their way of life and share a cup of tea. Visit the sacred oasis of Oum Laalag, return to the camp for lunch, then ride camels in the afternoon up the highest dunes for a marvelous sunset. Dinner and accommodation as the previous night.

Day 4 Erg Chigaga Desert – Foum-Zguid – Tazenakht – Taroudant

Wake early to admire the sunrise and stroll around the dunes. Take on the Hamada (rocky desert) and cross the dry lake Iriki, have tea with the nomads and pry out fossils before rejoining the tarmac at Foum Zguid. Lunch by the pool at Bab Rimal or a kefta in the village. Head west to Tazenakht, famous for its Berber rugs, and reach Taroudant by late afternoon. Dinner and accommodation in a beautiful hotel in the Medina or the nearby palm grove.

Day 5 Taroudant – Agadir – Essaouira

After breakfast, take a calèche ride around the city walls and browse the souks for the best argan oil or honey in Morocco. Follow the Atlantic coast all the way to Essaouira, admiring the goats up in the argan trees as you approach the wind city. Dinner and accommodation at a beautiful riad in the Medina.

Day 6 Essaouira Sightseeing

After breakfast, spend the day wandering the stunning medina with its whitewashed houses, art galleries, fishing port, food stalls, European fortifications and all-around *farniente* vibe. Accommodation as before; dinner on your own.

Day 7 Essaouira – Marrakech

Spend the morning on a deserted beach in the surroundings of Essaouira. In the afternoon, return to Marrakech. End of your Morocco Desert Tour. ## Highlights - High Atlas Mountains & Tizi-n-Tichka pass - Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate & Agdez - Zagora, Tamegroute & M'hamid - Camel ride and two nights at Erg Chigaga - Nomad visits & Lake Iriki - Taroudant, Agadir & the argan coast - The coastal wind city of Essaouira ## Gallery ![](images/01.jpg) ![](images/02.jpg) ![](images/03.jpg) ![](images/04.jpg) ![](images/05.jpg) ![](images/06.jpg) ![](images/07.jpg) ![](images/08.jpg)

Book This Tour