The Deep Moroccan South

Leaving Ouarzazate, we cross a small wadi, then grey, arid hills. At Agdz, 70 kilometres away, we discover a real masterpiece: the beginning of the Drâa valley, Morocco’s longest river, which rises in the snow-capped Atlas mountains and flows into the Atlantic Ocean north of Tan Tan, after feeding arid desert lands under palm trees. This paradox continues right to the end of the road: on the left, the magnificent landscape of the palm grove with its date palms, olive trees, fruit trees and market gardens, and on the right, relentless drought and arid land. The Drâa Valley is also renowned for its splendid adobe Ksour and Kasbahs, of which Tamnougalt stands out.

We arrive in Zagora, the regional capital, where an old sign welcomes us, pointing the way to Timbuktu, 52 days away. This encounter with the magnificent Sahara desert awakens deep emotions in us. Zagora was once the departure point for the great camel caravans that crossed the Sahara to Mali.

Our next stop is Tamegroute, a peaceful village renowned for its green ceramics and ancient Koranic library.

Just 90km south-east of Zagora, and just a few dunes from a vast desert leading to the Moroccan-Algerian border, we finally arrive at the peaceful oasis of M’hamid El Ghizlane (or M’Hamid des gazelles), where the road ends to make way for the desert. You will pass through the new M’Hamid, created as a garrison town during the French protectorate, and drive a few kilometres through the palm grove to discover the old M’Hamid, a ksar that has kept its adobe architecture intact and where life has gone on at the same pace since the dawn of time. As far back as the 16th century, M’Hamid was the departure point for Ahmed El Mansour Addahbi, who set off with his warriors, his camels and his entire tribe to conquer Timbuktu.

You will be staying in a kasbah between the palm grove and the desert, and will be able to admire the sunset on a nearby dune.

Typical dinner and overnight stay.

The next day, in the early afternoon, you’re off on a 4×4 adventure through the desert. After a crossing of around 2 hours between dunes, stony and rocky desert, you will see the great dunes of Chegaga.
Erg Chegaga is one of the two great dune deserts of the Moroccan Sahara, which can be reached after about fifty kilometres from M’Hamid. It is made up of several interlaced ergs, some forty kilometres long and fifteen kilometres wide, with some dunes reaching heights of 40 metres (equivalent to a 16-storey building) and a maximum altitude of 520 metres.

Once on the perfect fold, at the summit, the view of the waves of dunes in chiaroscuro is impressive. So many people feel the magic of the desert, through its silence, its geometric shapes that are at once so fluid, its changing colours, and then the infinite number of stars that cover you like a luminous protective cloak.

You can also take an optional camel ride around the dunes.

Dinner and a lively evening around the fire to the sound of nomadic music.

Overnight at the fixed bivouac “Le Charme d’Aladdin” at the foot of the great dunes.

Your camel driver will collect you from the kasbah and guide you along the path through the palm grove to the sand dunes. Discover the different aspects of the desert to the rhythm of the camels, accompanied by the captivating stories and haunting melodies of your guide.

As night falls, enjoy a delicious tagine and, conditions permitting, take part in the baking of sand bread. The evening will take place under a starry sky, offering you the chance to spend your first night in the desert, either in a tent or under the stars.

After breakfast, we take a different route back to Marrakech. As we leave the dunes, we cross the immense Lake Iriki, which is generally dry due to a lack of endemic rainfall and where the clay outcrops mirages. This is a mythical spot in southern Morocco, and only a few decades ago it was a favourite spot for the gazelles of the south. We get back on the tarmac road and head up towards the village of Tazenakh, which is a centre for Berber mountain carpets, known as “Ouaouzguites”, Ouzguiti or Gloui carpets, the most popular and best-selling carpets.

This village was home to a large Hebrew population, and even today there is a synagogue and cemetery here.

The N-10 road continues east through the Anti-Atlas plateau, an arid and sparsely populated area, before climbing the mountain range through the mountain ports of Ikshane and Tagatine, at 1650 and 1890 metres, and arriving in Taliouine, famous for saffron cultivation, and Ouarzazate. The return journey to Marrakech is via the Tichka Pass.

You will continue your journey by camel to a meeting point with our 4×4 which will take you to the great dunes of Chegaga and our Bivouac Confort Fixe “Le Charme d’Aladin”.