Sahara Desert Trek

Day 1. Outbound

Fly from London to Ouazarzate via Casablanca, arriving late in the evening and transfer to your hotel.

Day 2. Route des Kasbahs

One of the most scenic drives in Morocco takes you to Zagora, via Agdz and the famous 'Route des Kasbahs'. After lunch in Zagora, a short drive across a stony plateau takes you to your first camp at the foot of the Tizi Djinia in the Jebel Bani Mountains.

Days 3 to 7. Desert trekking

For the first five days you will be trekking through the rocky desert of the Jebel Bani, where craggy escarpments look down over dry wadis snaking through the wide valleys. Palm trees, pools and wells, nomad families and their tented encampments appear in the most unlikely places, providing relief (and entertainment) from the views of extensive wilderness that you will experience as you cross the cols. On day 6 you leave the mountains behind and descend to the stony plain, across which you will see the dunes of Chagaga in the distance. Stones are soon replaced by sand, which piles up in higher and higher mounds to their climax at Chagaga, the highest dunes in Morocco. Sunset and sunrise views from these dunes across the stereotypical sea of sand to the south are unforgettable.

Days 8 and 9. Chez Pacha

An exciting 4WD drive takes you on through the sandy, tamarisk tree dotted desert to the delightful tented auberge of 'Chez Pacha', situated in the palmerie on the banks of the Draa River, just a few kilometres from M'hamid. After six nights out in the desert this really is a paradise where the water (if a little salty) flows relatively freely, vegetables grow and you can relax in your private 'Bedouin style' tent on a real bed! You can enjoy a free afternoon of relaxation here, before transferring the following day to Ouazarzate where there will be time to visit the Kasbah, the market and maybe the nearby film studios at your leisure.

Day 10. Homeward

You catch the early morning flight to Casablanca and continue on to London.