Sahara desert
The Authentic Morocco tour
A couple of days after our arrival in Marrakesh, we went on ‘The Authentic Morocco’ tour to see the highest and most spectacular sand dunes in Morocco and to experience a camel ride in the desert.
We booked the tour with a local travel company well in advance; the duration of the Morocco tour was three days and two overnight stays were included for a total price of EUR 120 per person (we paid in advance a deposit of EUR 70 per person).
To sum it up, this Morocco tour was very good value for money and we were completely satisfied with this trip. Below, are more details about this trip.
Day one – crossing High Atlas mountains
We met our driver-guide near the hotel at 8 AM and boarded Toyota Land-cruiser where other people were waiting for us to join the trip; there was a driver and six passengers in total, including us – just enough space for such a long trip.
The destination of our first day was Dades Gorge, a small village in the middle of nowhere. We travelled over the impressive Tizi n’Tichka Pass (2260 m), observed the Berber Villages on our way, stopped for lunch and sightseeing at the World Heritage site of Ait Benhaddou, which is famous for being used for filming more than twenty widely watched films. I even do not know how much time we spent there, however, that was enough to have lunch, walk around enjoying stunning scenery and visit the famous village.
Before arriving at the hotel, we went through Ouarzazate, continued towards the Valley of Roses, the Dades Valley, Skoura oasis, the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs and reached the Dades Gorge. The hotel was very quiet, the hosts provided good food and we were able to relax before continuing our trip on the next day.
Day two – camel trip and dinner with nomads
After breakfast at the hotel, we continued our trip and stopped at the Todra Gorge, which is one of the most impressive rocky creations of nature I have seen – a massive fault, rising to 300 m in a narrow valley. After lunch, we continued our trip to the final destination – the great sand dunes of Erg Chebbi; the town is located in the East of Morocco, only about 20 kilometres away from the Algerian border.
After arrival, we had a short break and left our baggage at the hotel. Before sunset we got our camels to continue the trip to Nomadic Berber tents where dinner, campfire, drum party and overnight stay were organised for us. The camel ride took about two hours with a break halfway. It was exciting, although that long ride on camel was a bit exhausting.
The evening party in the desert was amazing; we got a chance to play drums ourselves, although those only looked easy to play. In fact, you should practice a lot to be a proper drummer. Among many other things, dinner was outstanding.
Day three – back from Merzouga to Marrakesh
Early in the morning, we went back to our camels and returned to the hotel in Merzouga. After a short stay there, we started our way back to Marrakesh, stopping for lunch in Ouarzazate.
I believe that was the only occasion during the Morocco tour when we paid for our food, everything else was included in the price. We continued by driving over the High Atlas Mountains and arrived in Marrakesh in the evening.
On our way back, we asked the driver to stop at a local cooperative shop to purchase some Argan oil and other local produce for taking those back home; our request was kindly accepted. I have to mention that the organisers’ promise to avoid souvenir shops was kept and we did not have to face annoying salesmen during our whole trip.