The Journey

Friday 2nd March: London – Ouarzazate
Depart London bound for Ouarzazate via Casablanca; transfer to hotel. Ouarzazate (pronounced ‘Wazzazat’) lies just below the High Atlas Mountains and is on the edge of the desert. Night hotel.

Saturday 3rd March: Ouarzazate – M’Hamid – Dune Camp
After an early breakfast, we have a detailed briefing and then leave for the five-hour drive to M’Hamid, our starting point. Our drive takes us over the low mountains of the Jebel Sarhro and down the ‘Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs’ into the desert. We have a brief stop in Zagora to buy a shamla (native headscarf) and have our last cold drink before the heat of the desert. On arrival at our start point, we have lunch while the cameleers load up the camels. Our late afternoon trek takes us firstly across flat open plain and then into Erg Lihoudi, our first taste of small dunes. We make camp at the edge of the dunes for the night. Night camp.
Trek 3 hours


Sunday 4th March: Dune Camp - Well Camp
The full colour of the landscape erupts as the sun rises. Hot coffee and a good breakfast set us up for a good day’s trek. We break camp, load the camels and head off across Erg Lihoudi. We walk across the small dunes and around the larger ones. Amongst the dunes are small tamarisk trees that manage flourish in this harsh environment. Continuing through small dunes, we can see the Jebel Bani Mountains to the north and dunes to the south. After a good four-hour trek we stop for lunch in the shade of large tree. During the afternoon we walk out of the dunes and onto a flat rocky plateau where we make camp near L’oued L’autruche close to a well. Night camp.
Trek approx 6 hrs



Monday 5th March:  Well Camp – Bluff Camp
Leaving camp behind us, we walk across flat, open country with the camels not far behind. The surface is firm and stony with tough grass poking through in places. After around 4km we come to the edge of some low dunes. Skirting to the north of the dunes, we walk on both soft sand and stony plateau where you can find the occasional fossilised sea creature. The hottest part of the day is spent having lunch in the shade, time to relax and refill the water bottles. In the afternoon we head across lots of beautifully-formed low dunes to an area called Bougarnne, where there are several large dunes and clumps of palm trees. The walking is tough and tiring. Sand fills our boots and our feet sink into the small dunes. After an hour we see the large dunes in the distance and head for them. Distance is hard to gauge in the desert and it takes a further two hours to reach the dunes and our campsite perched on a bluff overlooking
Night camp.
Trek approx 7 hrs


Tuesday 6th March: Bluff Camp – Chgaga Camp
After a good breakfast we head off down a gully onto the desert floor. We spend the morning crossing hamada, or stony flat desert. We have several short climbs and cross dry and dusty plains. There is very little vegetation around but we manage to find the only tree for miles to have lunch under. When the hottest part of the day has passed we set off across more hamada until we cross a ridge and have a spectacular view of Chgaga, the largest sand dune of the region. We camp below the dunes for the night.
Trek approx 7 hrs