All the Deserts of Morocco

Long road day across the High Atlas via the Tizi n' Tichka pass until Ouarzazate.

If we left early, we could make at least a quick visit to the ksar Aït Benhaddou or the Kasbah of Taourirt in Ouarzazate.

Dades Valley route with the Skoura palm grove, Tinherir, etc.

Arrival for the briefing appetizer and meeting with the organizing team and other participants at the foot of the dunes of the erg Chebbi near Merzouga.

Meals: buffet included.

Accommodation: at the hotel camping at the foot of the dunes with pool, or with supplement in a room or comfortable campement.

Straight into action with driving on soft sand tracks to get around the impressive erg Chebbi and its ochre sand dunes.

Continuing through the desert area of the Kem Kem, alternating between soft sand passages, short more difficult crossings and very smooth sections among desolate but superb and varied landscapes.

At the end of the day, you have a choice of bivouac location, either near the organizing team in a sandy hollow at the foot of Tizi Ahanou, or more isolated on the pass itself with impressive views over a depression.

Meals: at bivouac prepared by yourselves or with a supplement by the organization, otherwise half board at your accommodation.

Accommodation: wild bivouac prepared by yourselves or with a supplement if by the organization; possibility to stay at your own expense nearby in a simple guesthouse or comfortable riad in Tafraoute des Kem-Kem.

We continue along the heavily guarded Algerian border by Moroccan armed forces, no worries!

Crossing the Tafenna pseudo crater is the highlight of the day, a stark contrast to the desert expanses we have already crossed.

Exiting the Kem-Kem desert at the level of the Tagounite palm grove allows us to resupply before heading to the beginning of the next desert zone.

Possibility of visiting a kasbah, camel trekking, swimming in a pool depending on our priorities…

Meals: by our own means or with a supplement provided by the organization, otherwise half-board at one of the solid accommodations in the village.

Accommodation: camping by our own means or with a supplement if provided by the organization; possibility of staying comfortably at your own expense in the camping hotel section or in one of the other hotels in the area.

A real treat awaits us with the crossing of a sandy gorge in a wadi tributary to the Akka N'ait Sidi gorge.

At Isarhinne, we can admire the still impressive remains of a kasbah and also those of a majestic agadir. In a mineral universe with curiously striated slopes, a few other curiosities await us.

A welcome return to tarmac for a series of optional visits to the surroundings of the small town of Tata, caves with stalactites, the old Jewish village of Tazart, etc.

Our organization has planned wild camping in a palm grove.

Meals: at camp by ourselves or with a supplement from the organization, otherwise half-board at our solid accommodation.

Accommodation: wild camping by ourselves or with a supplement if by the organization; possibility of staying with a supplement in a comfortable hotel in Tata.

Shopping trips to Tata.

An interesting stretch of road offering beautiful views of sandy ridges, ancient Berber hamlets, enclosed palm groves, a splendid photogenic minaret, strange erosion phenomena: we should plan to bring a high-capacity memory card for our camera!

And as if that weren't enough, we then have the opportunity to discover a large number of rock carvings of great diversity, which serve as pleasant stops along our journey.

We have an idyllic setting reserved for tonight's wild camping, among palm trees.

Meals: prepared by us at camp or with a supplement from the organization.

Accommodation: wild camping organized by us or with a supplement if organized by the tour operator; there are hardly any comfortable alternatives tonight!

There is little monotony in the landscapes crossed during this raid: today we are treated to a gorge dotted with beautiful palm trees, to other rock engravings sites and to the possible climbing of a rocky peak to visit a high perched Agadir.

Meals: provided by us or with a supplement by the organization, otherwise half-board at our accommodation in solid structures (Borj Biramane inn in Icht).

Accommodation: camping by us; possibility to stay at your own expense more comfortably in the hotel part of the Borj Biramane inn in Icht.

Our support team proposes several itineraries but we recommend trails galore and great variety connecting Foum El Hassan, Assa and Aouinet Torkoz.

Crossing depressions, acacia zones, mineral gorges: the kilometers follow one another but are not alike!

Meals: at bivouac prepared by us or with supplement by the organization.

Accommodation: wild bivouac prepared by us or with supplement if by the organization; there is hardly any comfortable alternative this evening!

Little driving on the program for this stage but we will have to get through the bumpy crossing of the Drâa wadi which originates far away in the Mgoun mountains in the High Atlas and flows into the Atlantic just as far away in the Tan-Tan region.

The idea is to have a good part of the afternoon to have fun in the Msied dunes area where we will set up our bivouac.

Meals: couscous by Hafida at bivouac organized by us, included in the base rate.

Accommodation: wild bivouac organized by us or with a supplement if organized by the company; there are hardly any comfortable alternatives tonight unless you drive all the way to Tan-Tan!

The day starts off strong with driving through an erosion zone that is as strange as it is captivating.

A few last rock engraving sites still deserve stops during the drive.

This is followed by a pleasant undulating route, gradually leading into the former Spanish Sahara. Immersion in the desert intensifies, encounters become even rarer! Spectacular wandering overlooking several vast depressions offering an endless succession of panoramic landscapes that are difficult to capture in our lens.

Meals: in bivouac by us or with supplement by the organization.

Accommodation: wild bivouac by us or with supplement if by the organization; it is also possible to enjoy comfortable accommodation by continuing to the town of Akhfenir where it will also be possible to eat.

The Coastal Sahara offers us a succession of natural sites that are both rocky and sandy but of real geological interest. Our tracks lead to exceptional places to experience without restraint! We're going to have a feast for our eyes…

The Khaoui Nam sebkha promises equally beautiful natural discoveries.

Access next to a desert of barchan dunes, these crescent-shaped dunes that move with the wind and form a real labyrinth from which you're sure never to exit the same way unless you retrace your own footsteps!

If the wind doesn't blow too hard, the bivouac site will be great, in the heart of the ochre dunes.

Meals: at bivouac prepared by us or with supplement through the organization.

Accommodation: wild bivouac prepared by us or with supplement if through the organization; it is also possible to treat yourself to comfortable accommodation by returning (but it would be a shame!) via a shortcut to the town of Akhfenir where it will also be possible to get meals.

The highlight is undoubtedly the Khaoui Nam gueltas, an impressive but also fun site to explore.

The tracks for this day should not present any driving problems, mostly very smooth, as long as you manage to navigate well! Another barchan dune area holds many surprises with each crossing, but everything will settle down on the arid plateau that follows.

The edges of the immense Tah depression will allow us to enjoy sumptuous viewpoints. The cliffs here display many different colors and consequently photo stops multiply!

Another smaller sebkha shelters an isolated camp in the desert area, the Bedouin Camp, which will mark your final stage in this 4x4 raid.

Meals: by us or with supplement by the organization, otherwise half-board at Bedouin Camp.

Accommodation: camping at Bedouin Camp by us or with supplement if by the organization; it is also possible to stay in permanent tents with real beds in the khaïmas of Bedouin Camp.

We have the choice, if we don't have our personal 4x4, between quickly returning by road to Marrakech to return the rental vehicle or, for an additional fee, leave the 4x4 in Laâyoune (20 minutes from the Bedouin Camp) to take the plane from there.