2-Day Desert Tour from Ouarzazate to Erg Lihoudi Dunes

Your morning departure at 08.30 takes you south over the Tizi-n-Tinfifte pass in the Anti-Atlas Mountains to Agdez. Descending from the pass, you will be immediately aware of the expanse of the oasis below. These palm groves continue all along the Dra’a Valley; thousands in fact, producing an amazing 44 varieties of dates. The date harvest begins as early as September and lasts a couple of months, so during that period you can purchase the freshest ones here. You continue the drive away from the main road along the ancient caravan route. Later you will arrive at the village of Tinsouline, where you can drive a short way off-road to the fascinating rock carvings of animals, long extinct in Morocco. These carvings at Foum Chenna are about 4000 years old. Next comes Zagora, the largest town in the whole area and where we shall stop for lunch. As you leave the town, you can look back from a small pass to marvel at the extent of the Zagora oasis. In the afternoon we drive further south still, to M’hamid, the very gate to the desert and the end of the paved road. This is where the Sahara starts. Here a camel ride leads to the camp to enjoy an unforgettable sunset. After dinner, nomad music enhances the exoticness of the desert as you listen around a campfire. Overhead the stars twinkle down on you and you feel you can pull them out of the sky. A star-gazers app on your phone will help identify them. You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury desert camp with a private bathroom, king-sized beds, beautiful Moroccan furnishings and lamps tastefully arranged to enhance your enjoyment of the silence and beauty of the dunes. In the summer months, it can sometimes become very hot in Erg Lihoudi, and we would advise you to consider going to the Erg Chebbi dunes in Merzouga instead.

Rising early, you can catch the beautiful sunrise in the Sahara Desert, and watch how the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows slowly change. After breakfast, there will still be time for a long walk in the dunes before leaving the camp. After breakfast, you will rejoin the paved road and drive north to Tamegroute village. Here, you will visit the local pottery cooperatives, renowned for their distinctive green glaze pottery seen throughout the south and in Marrakech. It is fascinating to explore these workshops and learn how local clay is crafted into unique products, showcasing the region’s artisanal heritage. This village also has a small medina of covered desert streets and an ancient Quranic library with exquisite hand-written Arabic texts, which you could visit. From here, the road continues north to the Kasbah Tamnougalte, located just outside Agdez. This is one of the oldest Kasbahs in southern Morocco and the oldest in the Dra’a Valley. While some parts of the Kasbah are still inhabited, others, such as the Jewish quarter, are now crumbling and abandoned, reflecting its long and storied history. Back on the paved road, you cross the Anti-Atlas Mountains to arrive in Ouarzazate by the end of the afternoon. Your driver will transfer you to your hotel marking the end of your Saharan adventure.