3-day Ouarzazate to Erg Chebbi desert trip – overview:
Explore the Moroccan Sahara on a 3-day desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga. Ideal for those eager to discover the hidden treasures of southern Morocco. The trip offers a deep insight into the life of the nomads and Berber people in the magnificent Sahara Desert.
This incredible adventure includes a drive through the stunning Atlas Mountains, visits to Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou & Telouet, the lush Dra’a valley with thousands of palm trees, the massive Toudgha Gorges, and the peaceful Merzouga Desert. You’ll ride camels to a luxurious nomad camp for an unforgettable overnight stay at the foot of the imposing dunes.
A desert experience to cherish in your memories for a lifetime!
Ouarzazate to Erg Chebbi desert tour 3 days – highlights:
- Tour the beautifully repaired Kasbah Amredhil in Skoura Oasis and discover the Valley of the Roses
- Explore the Dades Valley, hike the Toudgha Gorges, and uncover the fascinating “Khettara” water channel
- Stay in a luxury rural guest house and savour some of Moroccan cuisine’s best dishes
- Enjoy a camel ride at sunset, try sandboarding, take memorable photos & dance to Berber music
- Dine under a star full of stars and sleep in your private tent in a luxury camp among the big dunes
- Discover Dra’a Valley’s unlimited palm trees with its kasbahs and cross the Anti-Atlas Mountains
What is included desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga – 3 days:
- Transportation in a private air-conditioned vehicle, 4×4 Toyota Prado TX or deluxe van
- Experienced English, French, Spanish, Italian-speaking Berber/Nomad driver-guide
- Pick-up from and drop-off at your hotel in Ouarzazate
- Accommodation in air-conditioned rooms/suites with private bathrooms
- Overnight in a luxury desert camp in Erg Chebbi dunes: private tent with bathroom & shower, king-sized beds, mattresses, sheets, pillows, blankets, lamps & traditional furniture
- All meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner – with vegetarian and vegan options available
- Bottled water, tea, and coffee in the desert camp
- Sunset camel ride with guide plus free sandboarding if desired
- Possibility to go for short hikes in the midst of beautiful scenery
- Free time to explore sites of interest, for walks, photos and tea/ coffee breaks
- Entrance fees and local guides
- Luggage service to the desert camp and all accommodation
- Personalised service throughout the trip
What is not included:
- Drinks
- Tips
- Extras
Good to know about this 3-day desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga:
- It is possible to customise this tour to accommodate your areas of interest, preferred budget, and timetable
- For an authentic desert-themed experience, we suggest our 3-day desert tour to Erg Chegaga from Ouarzazate
- There is a 25% reduction for children under 12 years old & we do not charge children under 5
- We ask for a 30% deposit to confirm your booking. The balance can be paid to the driver or at our Ouarzazate office.
- We accept payment through PayPal, credit card, bank transfer, or cash(USD, Euro, GBP or MAD)
- These prices can be subject to an increase over the high season, Christmas and New Year’s Eve period
Price details
| Number of persons | 2 Persons | 3 Persons | 4 Persons | 5 Persons | 6 Persons |
| Price per person | 345 € | 315 € | 285 € | 270 € | 270 € |
| Total price | 690 € | 945 € | 1140 € | 1350 € | 1620 € |
3-day desert tour from Ouarzazate to Erg Chebbi dunes – itinerary:
1st day: Ouarzazate – Dades Gorges
After breakfast, you set out our your 3-day desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga as your driver picks you up at 08:30 from your riad. You follow the route of a thousand Kasbahs to Skoura Oasis. Here, you will stop to visit Kasbah Amridhil, which used to be featured in the old 50 dirham banknote. The kasbah has been beautifully restored and is well worth visiting; constructed entirely of adobe, an excellent building material that keeps room temperature cool in the summer and warm in the winter due to the thickness of the walls.
After lunch, you travel through the beautiful Valley of the Roses as far as Kel’aa M’gouna, where over 4000 tons of roses are harvested every spring from this desert oasis! Here, you can visit a local cooperative producing cosmetic articles from the valley’s abundant roses. These organic products are highly valued.
Having arrived in the Dades Valley, you will have time to walk in the valley, stroll by the fields and gardens and explore life in the oases. You will spend the night with dinner and breakfast in a beautiful guest house overlooking the valley.
2nd day: Dades Gorges – Merzouga
After breakfast, you continue your adventure southeast. In Toudgha Gorges, there are plenty of opportunities to walk alongside the river through the gardens or up the road on the other side of the gorges.
Next, you continue your desert trip alongside the Ziz Valley, which is very remarkable for its huge groves and fortified kasbahs standing tall among the palm trees. Between Tinjdad and Erfoud, you can stop to go down into “Khettara,” a fascinating underground water channel system deep below the earth, always cool and preventing the evaporation of water.
In Erfoud itself, you can stop at a local workshop to see the workings of thousands of fossils made into all sorts of artefacts. From here, we continue driving east as far as Merzouga, where sand dunes indicate the start of the mighty Sahara Desert.
At the campsite, you check into your tent and enjoy a relaxing glass of tea and Moroccan biscuits. Then, you take a camel ride up to the summit of the Erg Chebbi dunes (250 m). You will enjoy the sunset from the top of the dunes!
Back at the camp, dinner is served, followed by an evening of nomad music and drumming around a campfire. You spend the night in your tent, equipped with a private toilet & shower, king-sized beds, mattresses, sheets, pillows, blankets & carpets, lamps and beautiful Moroccan furnishings, all tastefully arranged to enhance your stay.
3rd day: Merzouga – Ouarzazate
If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an incredible sight. You will also have some time to wander the dunes and experience the tranquillity of this magical setting.
After breakfast, the drive back east to Ouarzazate takes us along the length of the Saghro Mountains via the villages of Rissani, Alnif, Tazarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’), and then N’Qob just in time for lunch.
After a visit to Kasbah Tamnougalte, you travel north via the Dra’a Valley’s unlimited palm trees and green oases along the ancient Caravans road. We rejoin the paved road in Agdez and reach Ouarzazate, crossing the Anti-Atlas Mountains and the pass of Tizi-n-Tinfifite (1660m). You arrive back in Ouarzazate by the end of the afternoon.
Your driver will transfer you to your hotel bringing your 3-day desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga to an end.
