3-Day Erg Chegaga Desert Tour from Marrakech

This erg chegaga desert tour is for travellers who want real Saharan dunes but would rather not share them with a hundred other camels. In three days you drive from Marrakech over the High Atlas, down the Draa Valley to the end of the road at M’Hamid, then leave the tarmac behind for two hours of piste to Erg Chegaga, the largest and least visited dune field in Morocco. It is a fast itinerary with a lot of road in it, and we would rather say so now.

Tour overview

You travel privately with your own driver and vehicle, picked up from your riad or hotel in Marrakech. The first day covers the classic southern route as far as Zagora; the second day is the adventure, with the 4×4 crossing to the dunes, a camel ride at sunset and a night under very large skies. Day three is the long journey home. If you prefer more time to stop and look around, the relaxed 4-day Erg Chegaga itinerary spreads the same distance over an extra night.

Highlights

• The Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 m, with views back over the High Atlas
• The fortified ksar of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Off-road crossing from M’Hamid to the dunes, roughly 60 km of piste
• Camel ride and sunset over Chegaga dunes rising to around 60 m
• A night in a desert camp with no town lights on the horizon
• Return across the dry bed of lake Iriki towards Foum Zguid

Itinerary

Day 1: Marrakech – Tizi n’Tichka – Aït Benhaddou – Ouarzazate – Draa Valley – Zagora

Pick-up around 7:30. The road climbs steadily into the mountains and reaches the Tichka pass after about two and a half hours,. Around midday you arrive at Aït Benhaddou: walk up through the old ksar to the hilltop granary, then lunch. After a short pause in Ouarzazate you head south over the Tizi n’Tinififft into the Draa Valley. The palm groves around Agdz are at their best in late-afternoon light. You reach Zagora or the Tamegroute area between 18:00 and 19:00, after around seven to eight hours on the road including stops. Dinner and overnight in a kasbah-style hotel or guesthouse.

Day 2: Zagora – Tamegroute – M’Hamid – 4×4 piste to Erg Chegaga

A gentler morning. Leaving at about 9:00, you can stop for half an hour in Tamegroute to see the green-glazed pottery workshops before the 1.5-hour drive to M’Hamid, the last village before the sand. After lunch the asphalt ends. The 4×4 piste to Erg Chegaga takes around two hours across stony plains and small dunes; it is bumpy. You arrive in mid-afternoon, settle into camp and then ride camels into the dunes for sunset, roughly an hour each way, or walk if you prefer. Dinner in camp, then drumming by the fire under the stars.

Day 3: Erg Chegaga – lake Iriki – Foum Zguid – Marrakech

Sunrise from a dune, breakfast, and away by 8:00. Most days we exit west across the flat, cracked bed of lake Iriki to Foum Zguid, around two and a half to three hours off-road, then continue on tarmac via Tazenakht and Ouarzazate back over the Tichka. The alternative is to return the way you came through M’Hamid and Zagora. Either way, this is a long drive day: count on nine to ten hours with stops, arriving in Marrakech in the early evening. It is the price of reaching dunes this remote in three days.

Options and prices

The total combines a private vehicle with driver for three days, which is shared by everyone in your group, and accommodation charged per person per night for the two nights in Zagora and the desert camp. Choose your date and group size and the live price for your group, date and option is shown in the booking form below. You secure the booking with a 10% deposit by card or PayPal and pay the balance on the day. For a luxury camp or a different return route, ask us for a free quote through our contact page.

What’s included

Included

• Hotel or riad pick-up and drop-off in Marrakech
• Private air-conditioned vehicle with an English- or French-speaking driver
• 4×4 transfer between M’Hamid and Erg Chegaga, and on to Foum Zguid
• One night in Zagora or Tamegroute, one night in a desert camp
• Two breakfasts and two dinners
• Camel ride at Erg Chegaga
• Fuel, tolls and parking

Not included

• Lunches and drinks
• Local guides at Aït Benhaddou or Tamegroute (optional)
• Tips for driver and camp team
• Travel insurance

Good to know

Bring a warm layer whatever the season, a headscarf or cap, sunglasses, sun cream and a torch. No special fitness is needed, though the piste is rough and not ideal for anyone with back problems or for babies. Children from about five upwards cope well. Desert nights are cold from November to March, and from June to August the heat is intense, so spring and autumn are the most comfortable; our guide to the best time to visit Morocco has the month-by-month detail. Still deciding which desert? Our overview of Erg Chegaga desert tours and the Merzouga vs Agafay comparison explain the differences, and the wider Sahara desert tours page lists every route we run.

Frequently asked questions