Option to wake early to bake bread with some of the Berber neighbours in their home. Take breakfast and also sample the fresh bread once it is baked. (You won’t be able to do so if you stay at Riad Caravane guest house – you could instead take an early morning guided walk or explore Ait Ben Haddou before the crowds). Thereafter, set off for the day’s drive to Zagora to bypass Ouarzazate, and then cross the outer reaches of the Anti-Atlas mountain range to join the course of the Draa Valley at Agdz. The route follows the Draa southwards (the Draa is Morocco’s longest river, flanked by glorious palm oases & crumbling kasbahs). We suggest you overnight at Zagora palm grove to minimise the driving hours. Proposed guest house in Zagora is Dar Sofian. You will have chance to enjoy the pool on arrival and relax under the palms (tomorrow is an early start!).

After an early breakfast, drive south to the end of the tarmac road at the village of M’hamid El Ghezlane. Driving beyond M’hamid a short distance, you will rendez-vous with your desert guide and camel caravan. The camels will be loaded and then you will trek by foot in to the desert today and the following morning, aiming west towards Erg Chigaga Great Dunes. Your driver and vehicle will meet you the next day after lunch. Trekking duration today approx. 5 hours (and break for a leisurely lunch in shade).

Late afternoon, wild camp will be established in the seclusion of small dunes, a fire lit, dinner prepared, and, after dinner, some fire-side singing with your Berber hosts.

After breakfast, camp is struck and the morning’s trek will continue westwards. Trekking duration today approx. 3 hours, with break for lunch under the shade of Tamarisk trees. The terrain is ever-changing, with desert scrub and broad plateaux. Option to ride by camel-back during the trek.

After lunch, your driver and vehicle will collect you to transport you the remaining distance across the desert (approx. 90 minutes off-road drive) to a fixed desert camp at Erg Chigaga great dunes (either the rustic Berber camp, or a luxurious camp). NB: the Berber camp is at the foot of the tallest dunes in the Erg Chigaga, we encourage all our guests who stay there to hike to the ‘summit’ of the region before sunset.

Expect to arrive at the desert camp late afternoon with chance to freshen up before walking out on to the rolling dunes. Watch the sunset from a vantage point. Enjoy music next to the campfire after dinner. Overnight at the fixed desert camp for one night.

After breakfast, enjoy a relaxing morning and exploring the dunes by foot. Leave the camp and drive out of the desert in the opposite direction to how you arrived, i.e. north-west. Drive off-road across the desert for 90km to the town of Foum Zguid, via arguably some of the finest remote scenery in Morocco (including the vast dried salt flats, at Lake Iriqui, the imposing mountain ridges of the Jebel Bani and Madouar canyons, and acacia tree groves). You will also cross vast fossil beds, stopping to make a fossil hunt.

We’d suggest you take picnic lunch with you, to eat en-route, or take lunch at camp before setting off. Spend the night at Foum Zguid at Bab Rimal guest house.

From Foum Zguid, pass westwards through the Anti-Atlas mountains (the Jebel Bani) via dramatic and arid scenery, interrupted by palm oases and small settlements. Drive through the towns of Tazenakht and Taliouine (gateway to the Jebel Sirwa range and the main source of Morocco’s saffron production). Beyond Taliouine, gradually descend to the plain of the Souss River to reach the medieval walled town of Taroudant, you will spend the night just outside the town. We propose guest house Dar Zitoune. If time permits, we’d suggest a visit around the remparts in the early evening.

From Taroudant today return to Marrakech, via the adventurous route across the High Atlas mountains, crossing at approx. 2100m (at the Tizi n Test pass – weather dependent) through some breath-taking mountain scenery. The road is single-track in places and steep on the ascent. Descend via the villages of Ijoukak and Ouirgane, optional stop at Tin Mal mosque en-route. Leaving the alpine-like peaks behind, eventually reach the Marrakech plain by mid to late afternoon. NB: we are able to extend the trip with overnights in Ouirgane at a mountain hotel.