Atlas Mountain & Sahara Desert Trek

Spend 7 days trekking in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco

Get off the beaten track on this seven-day guided holiday trekking in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. You’ll visit traditional Berber villages, hike through the desert sands, and feast on delicious Moroccan meals.

A trip to Morocco isn’t complete without trekking deep into the High Atlas Mountains and visiting the ethereal Erg Chebbi sand dunes, so leave the hustle and bustle of Marrakech behind and get lost in a landscape of Saharan sand dunes, barren hills and verdant valleys. Just outside the city lies the Atlas Mountain range. It stretches across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia for about 1500 miles and the patch just outside Marrakech is easily accessed and great for trekking. Hillsides are studded with Berber villages and Kasbahs, and gorges like the Todra Gorge create huge dramatic rifts in the landscape.

This seven-day tour offers the ultimate combination of trekking in the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert. Whilst most trekkers head to the Toubkal National Park just outside Marrakech or head straight out on a long drive to the Arg Chebbi Dunes in the Sahara this tour offers the best of both worlds. You will break up the long journey to the Desert with stunning trekking in the Jbel Sarho and Todra Gorge. Both areas are as equally stunning as the Toubkal National Park but typically a lot quieter. And of course, you'll get the chance to stay in nomadic campsites, gaze across vistas of rolling sand dunes at Erg Chebbi, and explore hillside Kasbahs and Berber villages.

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Itinerary / Highlights

Day 1: Marrakech – Kasbah Telouet – Aït Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate
Early morning departure (9.00am) from Marrakech into the Western High Atlas mountains and Aït Ourir Taddert to the peak of the Tizi n'Tichka. You’ll then start the descent from the Tizi to the Assif Telouèt and the Glaoui kasbah, where you’ll stop for a visit of this dramatic red-earthen eyrie, fast crumbling under the attacks of wind and sun. You'll picnic by a spring before continuing on via the Assif Ounila Valley until you reach the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aït Ben Haddou. Here you’ll stop to visit various kasbahs. Many Hollywood films have been shot here, including Laurence of Arabia. From here you’ll continue south to Ouarzazate for dinner and overnight accommodation in the Hotel Drâa or similar. Should you feel up to it, you can take a stroll around the town.

Day 2: Ouarzazate – Kasbahs of Taourirt, Amerhidle and Aït Youl – Dades Valley and Gorge.
After breakfast around the pool, you'll drive to the 100-year-old kasbah Taourirt before setting out towards the east into the magnificent valley of a 1000 kasbahs - the Dadès Valley. Stop to visit the kasbah of Amerhidl before stopping for a picnic lunch in an auberge restaurant in the Skoura oasis. Afterwards, you’ll continue along this Valley of the Roses, through El Klâa des Mgouna, where thousands of small, pink roses, first planted by French settlers, are grown to make rose oil essence. You’ll then head up to the ksour of Aït Youl for a brief visit. It’s then time for dinner and overnight in bivouac around Aït Youl.

Day 3 : Aït Youl – Dades Gorge – Todra Gorge – Tineghir.
Today you’ll hike from the Dadès Gorge to the Todra across the High and Middle Atlas ranges. After a typical Moroccan breakfast, you’ll set out for a 45-minute drive via Aït Arbi, past a region known by the local Berber people as the "Hills of a Thousand Bodies". You’ll climb over a little Tizi to Aït Oufi where the red cliffs of thegorge narrow quite dramatically. You’ll eventually reach Msemrir where you’ll start your five-and-a-half-hour hike east to the Tizi n'Ouano (2800m) where you’ll stop for a picnic. Afterwards, you’ll continue down to the village of Tamtatoucht at the end of the Todra Gorge to rejoin your car. You’ll now drive to the Source Des Poissons Sacrées - a pool where the Berber womenfolk come to bathe, seeking a cure for sterility - to the palmeraies of the Oued Todra and the main village of Tinerhir for your dinner and campsite on the outskirts.

Day 4: Todra Gorge – Tinejdad Valley – Erfoud – Merzouga
After breakfast you’ll set out further east along the Tinejdad Valley to the vast palmeraie of El Jorf. From here you’ll continue to Erfoud, a Berber village at the end of the Assif Ziz Valley to enter the desert to picnic with some dromedary camel breeders. You’ll then set out for a hike through the desert to the high dune of Erg Chebbi. You’ll have dinner at camp and spend the night in nomadic tents in a palmeraie near the centre of Merzouga.

Day 5: Merzouga – Rissani – Ainif – Tazzarine – N’Koob
After a typical Touareg breakfast, you’ll set out northwards to the quiet village of Rissani. Stop to visit the Zaouia of Moulay Ali Cherif - the original stronghold of the Alaouite - and the 19th-century Ksar Akhbar, a grandiose ruin which was once a palace. From here you’ll head west between the Jbel Ougnat range and the Chorea Hammada, passing through Tikkert n'Ouchchane, and the natural ford at Ainif, eventually reaching Aït Sâadane, with its small ksar. Here you’ll turn west and on to the village of Tazzarine. Finally, you’ll reach the pleasant sand-coloured town of n'Koob, set in the foothills of volcanic peaks and the black rock of the Jbel Sarhro. Here you’ll stop for a picnic lunch before visiting the waterfall and the Kasbah. Return to n'Koob for dinner and overnight accommodation under canvas.

Day 6: N'Koob – Bab N’Ali – Er-Assoun
Set out for a six-hour hike up into the Jbel Sarhro through a forest of basalt pitons to visit the Berber village of Hann Dour. You’ll then continue along the Assif Taoudach through banks of barley, corn, potato and fruit trees up to the village of Trif d'Assine where you’ll stop for a picnic under the shade of palm trees. In the afternoon you’ll hike up to the impressive ‘gate’ in the Jbel - Bab n'Ali - two sandblasted basalt pillars in between basalt pitons. It’s then back to dinner and the campsite in Er-Assoun.

Day 7: Er Assoun – N’Koob – Agdz – Ouarzazate – Marrakech
After an early breakfast and camp struck, set off back to n'Koob to rejoin your 4WD to drive towards the south-east and the village of Tansikht. You’ll then head up through the Drâa Valley to the blood-red village Agdz to visit its kasbah and stop for a picnic. You’ll then head north via the Tizi n'Tinififft towards Ouarzazate and up over the Tizi n'Tichka to arrive finally at Marrakech around 8pm.


Getting there
Flying from the UK.... Marrakech has an international airport (RAK) which is serviced by several airlines flying direct from the UK.
- From the South East: The majority of direct flights to Marrakech leave from Gatwick. Easy jet & Royal Maroc have daily departures and Thomson fly several times per week. Ryanair fly several times a week from Luton. From March 2011 Ryanair will fly twice weekly from London Stansted to Marrakech.
- From the North West: Easy jet and Thomson both have departures from Manchester, with several departures per week.
- From the South West: Ryanair both has several departures each week from Bristol.
- From Scotland: Ryanair fly direct from Edinburgh airport several times per week.

From within Morocco.... If you are planning on visiting Fes before or after your trip, there is an excellent train service linking the two cities. Your tour guide can help you buy tickets at the station.
If you are planning to visit Essaouira, there are regular buses between the two cities - it takes about three hours and costs around £10

Joining Instructions... You will be picked up by local taxi from your hotel in Marrakech at 9.00am on the morning of your departure. If your flight arrives in Marrakech around 9.00 you can be picked up from the airport instead. Please remember to let us know where you are staying so that we can confirm these instructions. The tour will finish at around 5.00pm in Marrakech. Pick up and drop off times can be adapted to meet incoming / outgoing flights.

Comfort level
Down to earth (hostels, camping, huts)

Experience required
A reasonable level of fitness and interest is all that is needed

Travellers should bring
General: Sleeping Bag – (Or you can rent one. If you do decide to rent one, we suggest that you bring a sleeping bag liner with you, Small day-pack, Sunglasses, Sun tan lotion, Towel, Ziplock bags (for keep valuables dry in case you are trekking in heavy rain), Book, Small torch / flash-light (small bicycle lights make good travelling torches)

Money & Valuables: We recommend you bring sufficient cash in Moroccan Dirham for incidental purchases during your trek plus emergency cash in Euros. Please note, there are no bank ATM machines in the Mountains so you will need to bring it from Marrakech. You will need to provide your passport number when you check into the accommodation. Tips are not included in the price of your tour, but are appreciated from your guide and driver. Your bags will be loaded on your mule each day and will not always be in your site (the mule and muleteer tend to walk ahead to set up lunch etc.) so we recommend to keep your valuables (wallet, passport, camera etc.) with you in your day pack. We have never had a problem with any of our clients, but it is best to play it safe.

Clothing: Waterproof jacket, Hiking boots or hiking shoes, Lightweight long trousers, 2-3 T-shirts, Long sleeve t-shirt or shirt (protection from sun in hot weather), Woollen sweater or fleece layer, Sun-hat, Cotton scarf or sarong (doubles as a wash cloth)

Personal: Moisturiser / lip balm with sunblock , Soap / shampoo / toothpaste / toothbrush etc, Wet-wipes

First aid: (Note, Make sure you use water proof labelling when re-packaging), Disinfectant cream / gel (Polysporin), Plasters, Ibuprofen (for pain, swelling), Diarrhoea medication (Imodium), Anti-histamine tablets, Aloe Vera gel (for burns), Cold medication – Tylenol / Echinacea / zinc lozenges, Tweezers

Clothing in the Winter Months: If you are trekking in the Atlas Mountains between November and April you must be prepared for winter conditions. We recommend you bring ample layers including a base layer (top and bottom), fleece layer and an insulated shell layer. You won’t always need all the layers, but it is best to come prepared.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

You’ll be staying mainly in tents and traditional bivouacs. There is one night’s hotel stay and that’s on the first day – it’ll be at Hotel Drâa or somewhere similar.In terms of food, you’ll get breakfast and dinners prepared for you – expect traditional Moroccan meals. Lunch, meanwhile, is yours to sort out – so make sure you budget for a bit extra.

Departure Dates, Options & Prices

7 Days / 6 Nights Atlas trekking + Desert 4x4 (from £759 per person)

From 15 Sep 2011 to 31 Dec 2011, there are departures everyday.

If you are traveling alone, please contact us as we can usually arrange for you to join another group (and pay the reduced group rate)

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