2-Day Desert Tour Ouarzazate: Camel Ride to Chegaga
The camel ride crosses the dunes at sunset, then you sleep in a tent in the middle of the desert.
This 2-day desert tour from Ouarzazate crosses the Anti-Atlas mountains and the Drâa Valley to reach the Chegaga dunes, with a camel ride to a bivouac camp and visits to fortified kasbahs along the way. The route changes scenery every hour (mountain passes, Berber villages, palm groves, and open desert), and includes breakfast and dinner both days, an air-conditioned vehicle, and a guide who speaks English, Spanish or French. You return to Ouarzazate on day two after exploring M'Hamid and the carpet workshops of Taznakht.
Compare the 5 alternatives
- 1 review
- 5.00★
- Duration
- 2d
- Every day
- 12:00
- 183 reviews
- 4.97★
- Duration
- 9h–10h
- start times · Every day
- 3
- 8 reviews
- 4.88★
- Duration
- 2d
- 26 reviews
- 4.92★
- Duration
- 10h
- Every day
- 07:30
- Duration
- 9h
- start times · Every day
- 3
Step-by-step itinerary
Day 1: Ouarzazate to CHEGAGA crossing the Draa Valley
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Drive through Anti-Atlas mountains
- Stop for photos in Drâa valley
- Visit Kasbah of Tamnougalte
- Lunch in Zagora
- Visit center of M'Hamid
- Distribute tents at bivouac
- Camel ride to big dunes
- Watch sunset at dunes
- Return to bivouac around fire
- Evening animation at bivouac
Day 2: Chegaga to Ouarzazate
- Breakfast at bivouac
- Camel ride to M’Hamid
- Visit Ksour of Tamnougalte
- Visit kasbah, library, potters workshops
- Lunch with locals
- Drive through Zagora palm trees
- Drive between Chegaga and Foum Zguit
- Stop at carpet cooperative in Taznakht
- Drive to Ouarzazate
The experience
The tour leaves Ouarzazate after breakfast and heads south through the Anti-Atlas mountains toward M'Hamid, stopping first at the Kasbah of Tamnougalte: a fortified structure built in a strategic position above the Drâa Valley. Lunch happens in Zagora before the final push into the desert. By late afternoon you reach the bivouac camp at the foot of the Chegaga dunes, where you mount a camel for the ride up to watch the sunset from the high sand. The evening unfolds around a fire at the camp, with dinner and a night in a tent.
Day two starts early with a camel ride back to M'Hamid (about an hour), then a visit to the Kasbah of Tamnougalte again. This time to see the Koranic library and the potters' workshops. Lunch is with locals in the village. The return journey to Ouarzazate follows the old caravan route through the tall palms of Zagora and crosses the track between the Chegaga erg and Foum Zguit, passing the lake Iriqui. A stop at Taznakht, known for its carpet cooperatives, shows how the region's different carpet styles are made before the final drive back to your hotel.
The air-conditioned vehicle handles the long stretches between stops, so the heat and the distance don't wear you down before the camel ride. Pickup from your Ouarzazate hotel is included, and your guide arranges the pace so you see the kasbahs, the valley, and the dunes without rushing any of them.
What’s included
- Breakfast and dinner both days.
- air-conditioned vehicle for all transfers between stops.
- camel rides to and from the bivouac camp.
- overnight in a tent at the bivouac in the Chegaga dunes.
- visits to the Kasbah of Tamnougalte, the Koranic library, and the potters' workshops.
- a stop at the carpet cooperative in Taznakht.
- hotel pickup in Ouarzazate.
- and a live guide in English, Spanish or French.
Before you book
Lasts 2d, runs every day at 08:00 and 08:30, from US$ 342 per person, with a live guide in English, Spanish and French, as a private tour and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.
Prices and times updated 15 days ago
Operated by Easy Sahara
Is this one for you?Book this if you want to sleep in the desert bivouac rather than return the same day: the two days let you cross the Anti-Atlas, traverse the largest southern valley, and experience a full night under the stars instead of a rushed afternoon visit.
Traveler reviews
Top questions
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English, Spanish and French.
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
What is the Kasbah of Tamnougalte, and why do we visit it twice?
The Kasbah of Tamnougalte is a fortified structure built in a strategic position above the Drâa Valley with traditional architecture from centuries past. You visit it on day one for photos and a quick look at its position in the landscape, then return on day two to explore the Koranic library inside and watch potters at work in the workshops nearby.
How long is the camel ride, and what happens at the bivouac?
The camel ride to the bivouac takes place in the late afternoon on day one, climbing the Chegaga dunes to watch the sunset from the high sand. You return to the camp by foot, where dinner is served and you sleep in a tent in the middle of the desert. The next morning, a camel ride back to M'Hamid takes about an hour.
What meals are included in the 2-day tour?
Breakfast and dinner are included both days. Lunch on day one is in Zagora, and lunch on day two is with locals in M'Hamid. Both are arranged as part of the itinerary but fall outside the included meals.
What is the Chegaga desert like, and why do we ride camels there?
Chegaga is a vast expanse of sand dunes in southern Morocco, reached by crossing the M'Hamid desert. The camel ride is the way to reach the bivouac camp deep in the dunes where you spend the night. It is also the only way to climb high enough to watch the sunset from the sand itself.
Is hotel pickup included, and how does the tour start?
Yes, pickup from your Ouarzazate hotel is included. The tour departs after breakfast at your hotel on day one and returns to Ouarzazate by late afternoon on day two.
2-Day Desert Tour Ouarzazate: Camel Ride to Chegaga
2d · EN · ES · FR · at your hotel
from US$ 342 per person