Five days through the Dades gorges and the Draa valley, with a night in a desert camp.
Photos from the route of this private tour over 5 days: Marrakech, Dades, Zagora, Erg Chigaga, Ouarzazate and Marrakech.
Private Morocco tours Dades Gorges, Draa Valley, Night Desert Camp
Based on traveler’s requests, we designed this Marrakech desert tour to allow you to combine Erg Chigaga dunes with the best Sahara desert destination and the wildest one – exploring Dades Gorge and Todra Gorge. The first day of this private desert tour will be like the 1st day of Erg Chebbi desert tour. You will spend the the 1st night in the beautiful and unique canyon of Dades Gorge. The next day you will go through Todra Gorge and drive to Zagora via Tazarine. Your 2nd night will be spent in Zagora to reduce driving time. The 3rd day of your Marrakech desert tour will most exotic. You will drive through Draa Valley to the last village before the big Sahara desert.
Your stay in Erg Chigaga dunes will be in our Chigaga desert camp at the foot of the biggest dunes in Morocco. Your private tent has everything you will need to allow you to have a great night sleep. The Erg Chigaga desert camp has toilets and hot water showers.
Your days in Erg Chigaga desert camp will be full of desert activities like camel trekking, sandboarding, desert walking, and Berber music around the fire under stars at night. You will be invited to not miss the sunset and sunrise from the top of the dunes. Generally they are the most beautiful moments in the Sahara desert.
Day-by-day plan of this private tour from Marrakech and back, over 5 days.
Morning departure at 8 o’clock from your hotel or riad in Marrakesh to cross the High Atlas Mountains. After the Tichka pass, the highest pass in Africa, you reach Ouarzazate, the largest town in the area, and continue through the Skoura Oasis, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees. From here, the route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, with a stop to see cosmetic articles locally-made from the valley’s abundant roses. You stop in the Dades gorge in a guest house for the night.
Overnight: Guesthouse in Dades Valley
After breakfast, we go south, through the Saghro mountain range to the village of N’Qob for lunch. From here our route takes us to the Dra’a Valley, which we join at Tansikht and where we turn south to Zagora. The road follows the ancient caravan route between the Dra’a River and the mountains and gives a view of the gardens and kasbahs in the valley. We stop just south of the town in the Zagora dunes, where you will have a camel ride and dinner in a bivouac of nomad tents.
Overnight: Desert camp at the dunes near Zagora
The next morning we continue to M’hamid and Erg Lihoudi, where there is an opportunity for a camel ride of about one and a half hours. Lunch is in M’hamid itself after which we make our way across another 60km through the varying features of the desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oases, to the Erg Chagaga dunes. These are the greatest dunes in Morocco and are approximately 300m high and 35km long. These dunes afford a wonderful view of the setting sun, before returning to the bivouac at the foot of the dunes for dinner and a night’s rest.
Overnight: Desert camp at Erg Chigaga
After breakfast, the road crosses another 90km of desert, passing Lake Iriqui and the mountains as well as fossils, for enthusiasts. The first village beyond the desert, Foum Zguid, is the place for lunch and a refreshing shower. We travel north past hills and oases of palm trees until we reach the town of Taznakht, a small Berber town famous for its rugs and gelims. You will have lunch here before continuing to Ouarzazate for the night in a riad.
Overnight: Hotel or riad in Ouarzazate
After breakfast, we continue on to visit the famous Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou. This site has frequently been used as the background for some memorable scenes in many film masterpieces, such as "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Gladiator". We visit the Kasbah and have lunch before driving on to Kasbah Telouet, the palatial residence of the one-time Pasha of Marrakesh, Thami Glaoui. It now stands in ruins after he fled the country following the departure of the French. After visiting the Kasbah, we drive across the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and back to Marrakesh, which we reach by the afternoon.
Price per person for your own private tour. The larger your group, the less each person pays.
1–2 people
€570
per person
100% Private Tour3–4 people
€513
per person
100% Private Tour5–6 people
€485
per person
100% Private TourMore than 6 people
€467
per person
100% Private TourWhat the price of this tour covers, and what you pay for separately.
Recently booked my trip through Private desert trip. had a 4X4 for a 5 day tour to desert including off-road circuit from Merzouga to tafraout sidi ali,tamnogault.
The drive was excellent. Ibrahim, our driver was just amazing. the agency was nice too overall. A bit expensive but did organise everything including all the places I wanted to stay..didn't feel rushed either..the desert camp was basic..rest was great
WIR - yes
Amazing trip, with amazing staff.
Abidene was very communicative throughout the booking process.
Our guide driver Mustafa was amazing - so generous, kind and incredibly experienced and responsible. He managed the timeline very well so we managed to see all the amazing stops and did everything to make sure we all had a wonderful trip.
Ismael was also great!
Highly recommended!
My partner and I stayed in Morocco for 12 days in January 2023 and discovered Private Desert Tours only a week before we were due to arrive. The 5 day tour slotted in perfectly with our gap in the middle of our holiday. It was the last thing we booked, and anytime we visit Morocco again, a tour with Private Desert Tours will be the first thing we book. It was honestly brilliant!
Our guide/driver Ismail met us at our Riad in Marrakech and could not have been more helpful. He was welcoming, chatting to us about places we were passing, teaching us phrases and we wouldn't have seen even a fraction of Morocco if it wasn't for Ismail. He really made this trip such a wonderful and relaxed experience.
The highlight for me was camel riding and visiting the desert as it was truly magicial and it's somewhere I will go back again and again.
If you're thinking of doing a tour I cannot recommend Private Desert Tours enough, communication was exceptional, if we had any questions we could ask via whats app and get a quick response. It felt like they really cared about giving us the best experience. (And we really did).
We cannot thank Private Desert Tours and Ismail enough for giving us the best experience and best start to 2023. Thank you for the incredible memories!
This was a unique experience which me and my family will cherish for the rest of our lives. Thank you Abidine for making it possible. Your prompt response to all my queries helped me plan my trip better. A million thanks to Ismail (our guide) who made sure we had a wonderful time through the trip. We feel like we made a great friend in him. From introducing us to local music, to tirelessly driving the 4 days, to taking us to these amazing riads run by the most wonderful people, to showing us the main sites to see along the way - he was simply amazing. This tour helped us experience Morocco in a way that no other tour could. We met amazing families who hosted us. The desert camp was spectacular. I was worried that being a vegetarian and not being able to speak arabic or french would be major hurdles - definitely not so. This tour made it so easy to manage. This is something I would recommend to anyone planning on spending time in Morocco.
Private Desert Tours made our 5-day journey from Marrakech to Chefchaouen truly memorable. The itinerary was perfectly planned, with highlights including the High Atlas Mountains, Ait Ben Haddou, a magical night in the Sahara, and the stunning blue streets of Chefchaouen. The guide was knowledgeable and attentive, and the accommodations were excellent throughout.
Highly recommend this tour for anyone seeking a mix of adventure, culture, and breathtaking scenery!
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It is a private tour. Only your own party travels in the vehicle with your driver-guide, there are no fixed departure dates, and no other travelers join along the way. Every tour on this site runs this way.
It takes 5 days. Pickup on day 1 is at your hotel, riad or the airport in Marrakech. On the last day you are dropped back at your hotel or the airport in Marrakech. Our driver meets you at the pickup point between the departure time and 30 minutes after it.
The price is per person and depends on the size of your group: EUR 570 for 1 or 2 people, EUR 513 for 3 or 4, EUR 485 for 5 or 6, and EUR 467 for 7 or more. A solo traveller pays the 2-person price and children count as full travellers. A 30% deposit confirms the booking; send us your dates and we confirm within 24 hours.
Cancel more than 50 days before the departure date and you get a full refund. Cancellations less than 50 days before departure, and no-shows, are not refunded. Tickets for events or attractions and airport transfers are non-refundable. The full booking terms are on our Terms and Conditions page.
Most days are spent in a private vehicle, with stops for short walks in kasbahs, gorges and villages. The camel ride to the desert camp takes about one to two hours; if you would rather not ride, tell us when booking. Tell us about any mobility, dietary or medical needs in writing before you confirm and we plan the days around them.
Yes. The day-by-day plan on this page is a starting point. You can add a night, swap a stop, change the pace or combine it with another route; we confirm the changes and the price in writing before you book.
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