4-day Chigaga dunes tour from Marrakech via Boumalne Dades and Zagora. Two nights in the deep Sahara, 4×4 or camel transfer, luxury desert camp options.
This extended version of our Chigaga tour adds the spectacular Dades Valley to the outbound route and allows for two full nights in the deep desert. One of these nights is spent at a private or luxury camp deep within Erg Chigaga, offering an intimate and exclusive Sahara experience.
Ideal for honeymooners and travellers seeking the ultimate in comfort, privacy, and adventure, this journey combines dramatic landscapes with an unforgettable stay in one of Morocco’s most remote desert regions.
Leaving Marrakech behind, the road climbs into the High Atlas Mountains and crosses the dramatic Tizi n’Tichka Pass, the highest paved mountain pass in North Africa, with sweeping views over Berber villages clinging to the slopes. A stop at the crumbling Telouet Kasbah reveals the faded grandeur of the Glaoui dynasty, while a short detour to Ait Benhaddou — the UNESCO-listed fortified village famous from Gladiator and Game of Thrones — is a highlight for photography lovers. After lunch in the former garrison town of Ouarzazate, the route continues along the Skoura palm oasis and through the fragrant Valley of Roses before reaching Boumalne Dades at the entrance to the dramatic Dades Gorges, where the night is spent in a kasbah-style guesthouse.
Leaving the Dades Gorges, the route crosses to the Draa Valley, Morocco’s longest oasis, passing a succession of earthen kasbahs and palmeries before reaching Zagora, famed for its historic camel-caravan signpost pointing the way to Timbuktu.
The road continues south through Tamegroute, known for its green pottery and ancient Koranic library, to M’Hamid El Ghizlane, the last village before the true Sahara. From there, a 4×4 or camel convoy crosses into the vast, untouched dunes of Erg Chigaga for an overnight desert camp.
After a desert sunrise and breakfast at camp, the 4×4 or camels return travellers to M’Hamid, from where the tarmac road retraces the Draa Valley through Zagora, Agdz and Ouarzazate, crossing the Tizi n’Tichka Pass back to Marrakech in the late afternoon or evening.
Ideal for: Honeymooners, anniversary trips, and travellers who want an exclusive desert camp far from the main tourist circuit.
