8 days trek on the footpath of desert caravansFar from desert tours that the most of companies arrange, this new itinerary allows you to discover the desert in its most varied aspects and in places that are still respected and secret... Ergs, regs, dunes, mineral plateaus, sumptuous wild landscapes, sacred places, rock engravings, but also isolated villages, meeting warm people. Ideal for an immersion in a desert rich in culture and surprising.
|
|
ITINERARY:
Day 1: Marrakech
Flight to Ouarzazate. Reception at the airport and transfer to a four-star hotel
Day 2: Ouarzazate - Aït Issfoul - Bougayir dunes
The road runs along the sumptuous Draa valley dominated by fortified villages (ksours), bordered by palm groves that shelter cultivated gardens in their shade. Many kasbahs (fortified houses) of ochre or red earth throw their crenellated towers towards the sky. Arrival at the village of Aït Issfoul (beautiful typical architecture). While crossing his palm grove, discover the complex irrigation system that supplies water to henna, barley, wheat, alfalfa and, of course, date palms. First stop in the direction of the dunes of Bougayir, where the camp is located.
- Transfer: 2 h 40 to 3 h.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 3: Bougayir Dunes - Tidri Dunes
Crossing the beautiful golden dunes of Bougayir, then a mineral plateau gives access, in the middle of the desert, to a fortified village (ksar). Magnificent typical adobe architecture, kasbahs, marabouts (tombs of holy men on which pilgrims come to meditate) mark the route to the zaouïate of Sidi el Madani, now abandoned, but whose ruins are still sacred. Zawiates are a kind of asylums where people inhabited by djinns come to live in community and heal themselves.
On a small hill, discovery of ancient tombs. On the other side, a small lake suddenly appears, still supplied with salt water. An unforgettable memory.... Swimming is tempting, but quite adventurous, given the amount of salt dissolved in the water. Camp between lake and dunes.
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening
Day 4: Tidri - erg Essahel
We cross the Draa wadi to reach the hills of Tidri. For information, because there is unfortunately nothing more to visit, this sector was formerly a famous site of rock engravings (in Morocco, there are more than 400 sites). Around 3000 BC, pastor-hunters carved animal representations, geometric drawings, hunting materials and letters from Libyan writing on rocks (usually sandstone). Erosion, time, but above all man's hand, have completely degraded the engravings.
Not far away, and on almost all the hills, there are tumuli, pre-Islamic tombs, which also attest that man was indeed present in the present desert. We continue due south, crossing a reg, stony plateau, to reach the most beautiful dunes of the erg Essahel. Lunch in the shade of a few tamarisk trees that still stand, then beautiful crossing on the crest of the dunes to reach the camp in the middle of the dunes, an ideal place for total isolation.
Progress in a magnificent desert: the dunes are elegant, the curves are gentle, the solitude is total. A very beautiful day!
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 5: Erg Essahel - Ras el Rrich well - Lanithie dunes
Superb day full of surprises. Advanced in the reg, a mineral plateau dotted with tamarisk and acacia trees that resist extremely dry climates. In the distance, the villages of Bourrou and Ouled Driss, and, due south, Mahmid. Rrich Ridge, beautiful view of the wide open spaces. At the well of Ras el Rrich, possibility of a "Berber shower". Camp in the dunes of Lanithie.
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 6: Lanithie Dunes - Ouled Driss
Always between ergs, these vast fields of dunes constantly shaped by the winds, and regs, these stone deserts, always between sands and oases... Crossing an old adobe village. Arrival in Ouled Driss, a palm grove renowned for the quality of its dates. Overnight in a Saharan camp: showers, toilets, khaimas (nomadic tents).
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: arranged camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 7: Ouled Driss - Ouarzazate - Marrakech.
Ascent of the beautiful Draa Valley. Return to Ouarzazate, the gateway to the desert, a green oasis in the middle of an arid plateau. Installation in a four-star hotel. Late afternoon and evening free to stroll around this charming little town and discover its medina, its lively alleys and traditional houses.
- Transfer: 3:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.
- Accommodation: hotel.
- Meals: morning, noon.
Day 8: Marrakech.
Transfer to the airport and return flight.
Day 1: Marrakech
Flight to Ouarzazate. Reception at the airport and transfer to a four-star hotel
Day 2: Ouarzazate - Aït Issfoul - Bougayir dunes
The road runs along the sumptuous Draa valley dominated by fortified villages (ksours), bordered by palm groves that shelter cultivated gardens in their shade. Many kasbahs (fortified houses) of ochre or red earth throw their crenellated towers towards the sky. Arrival at the village of Aït Issfoul (beautiful typical architecture). While crossing his palm grove, discover the complex irrigation system that supplies water to henna, barley, wheat, alfalfa and, of course, date palms. First stop in the direction of the dunes of Bougayir, where the camp is located.
- Transfer: 2 h 40 to 3 h.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 3: Bougayir Dunes - Tidri Dunes
Crossing the beautiful golden dunes of Bougayir, then a mineral plateau gives access, in the middle of the desert, to a fortified village (ksar). Magnificent typical adobe architecture, kasbahs, marabouts (tombs of holy men on which pilgrims come to meditate) mark the route to the zaouïate of Sidi el Madani, now abandoned, but whose ruins are still sacred. Zawiates are a kind of asylums where people inhabited by djinns come to live in community and heal themselves.
On a small hill, discovery of ancient tombs. On the other side, a small lake suddenly appears, still supplied with salt water. An unforgettable memory.... Swimming is tempting, but quite adventurous, given the amount of salt dissolved in the water. Camp between lake and dunes.
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening
Day 4: Tidri - erg Essahel
We cross the Draa wadi to reach the hills of Tidri. For information, because there is unfortunately nothing more to visit, this sector was formerly a famous site of rock engravings (in Morocco, there are more than 400 sites). Around 3000 BC, pastor-hunters carved animal representations, geometric drawings, hunting materials and letters from Libyan writing on rocks (usually sandstone). Erosion, time, but above all man's hand, have completely degraded the engravings.
Not far away, and on almost all the hills, there are tumuli, pre-Islamic tombs, which also attest that man was indeed present in the present desert. We continue due south, crossing a reg, stony plateau, to reach the most beautiful dunes of the erg Essahel. Lunch in the shade of a few tamarisk trees that still stand, then beautiful crossing on the crest of the dunes to reach the camp in the middle of the dunes, an ideal place for total isolation.
Progress in a magnificent desert: the dunes are elegant, the curves are gentle, the solitude is total. A very beautiful day!
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 5: Erg Essahel - Ras el Rrich well - Lanithie dunes
Superb day full of surprises. Advanced in the reg, a mineral plateau dotted with tamarisk and acacia trees that resist extremely dry climates. In the distance, the villages of Bourrou and Ouled Driss, and, due south, Mahmid. Rrich Ridge, beautiful view of the wide open spaces. At the well of Ras el Rrich, possibility of a "Berber shower". Camp in the dunes of Lanithie.
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 6: Lanithie Dunes - Ouled Driss
Always between ergs, these vast fields of dunes constantly shaped by the winds, and regs, these stone deserts, always between sands and oases... Crossing an old adobe village. Arrival in Ouled Driss, a palm grove renowned for the quality of its dates. Overnight in a Saharan camp: showers, toilets, khaimas (nomadic tents).
- Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.
- Accommodation: arranged camp.
- Meals: morning, noon, evening.
Day 7: Ouled Driss - Ouarzazate - Marrakech.
Ascent of the beautiful Draa Valley. Return to Ouarzazate, the gateway to the desert, a green oasis in the middle of an arid plateau. Installation in a four-star hotel. Late afternoon and evening free to stroll around this charming little town and discover its medina, its lively alleys and traditional houses.
- Transfer: 3:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.
- Accommodation: hotel.
- Meals: morning, noon.
Day 8: Marrakech.
Transfer to the airport and return flight.
