Displaying items by tag: ERG CHEBBI
Morocco desert experience
Sahara luxury camp- it this the way to experience Morocco's desert ?
What is it that draws us to the immensity of the dunes ? The oceans of sand. Where does it spark from, this longing to gaze at wave after wave of sand disappearing on the horizon?... All else irrelevant. There, on top of the highest dune. Minutes ago, you were cresting the dunes on the back of a camel. Presently, you are sitting down and conjuring the majesty of saffron dunes, shifiting tinge as the sun gradually sinks. Nothing compares to waking up at night with the Milky Way above you and falling back asleep. And perhaps, the desert and its inherent sparse human contact, draws people together and warrants hospitality.
Here, by the dunes of Erg Chigaga, despite of all the apparent scarcity, water runs just below the surface, a secret well kept under layers of sand. The desert also makes grown- ups children again. The most reserved of persons can’t resist the urge to climb up the highest dune and jump in the sand, the face lit with a wide childish grin.
Camels ready for the ride in the dunes
In the collective imaginary, there is hardly anything more exotic, than those tougher- than- life Bedouin men crossing the desert, carrying precious loads of gold, ivory, slaves, textiles, spices or salt on the back of their sturdy camels. Or the bandits constantly threatening to attack the caravan, unless the due tax was paid at different custom points. It used to take the caravans 7 to 8 weeks to cross from one side to the other and some were losing half their personnel on the way. What has become of these men nowadays, when, not so long ago, camels were replaced by trucks ? Whilst some camel trading still takes place in some parts of Niger where the Azalai sees thousands of camels travel across the vast teritorry, camels in Morocco are not used for caravan trading anymore. In the modern age, the nomads are mostly employed by the on- site numerous desert luxury camps that have cropped up on the fringes of the Sahara. Others went to university, took up English and became drivers and guides for the numerous foreign visitors taking a private tour of Morocco. We are lucky enough to have some of them work for Sun Trails. And every time they return to the desert, they feel at home, still very much nomads at heart, their 4x4 Toyota a modern mobile caravan.
Dinner by candle light in the dunes at Azalai Camp
For some of those travelling to Morocco, spending a night in the Sahara is ticking off a box on a travel notebook. For others, it is a lifelong dream. Naturally then, you don’t want to ruin that experience and thus should carefully choose the right Morocco travel planner. Your agent should make sure you won't have to put up with a party at the camp next to you, the racket of a noisy generator or quad bikers blazing past your tent when you least expect it.
ERG CHEBBI DUNES VERSUS ERG CHIGAGA DUNES
Any forum on Trip Advisor, Fodor or the likes will tell you that there are two places in Morocco where you can actually spend a night in the desert: the dunes of Erg Chebbi and the dunes of Erg Chigaga. The route from Marrakech over the High Atlas mountains is one of the most dramatic in Moroco and reaches Ouarzazate on the other side. From here, there are two options: Erg Chebbi dunes– east through Skoura, Dades Gorge, Tinerir, Rissani and finally Merzouga; and Erg Chigaga dunes- west, following the Draa Valley through Agdz, Zagora, Tamegroute and finally Mhamid. From my own experience and feedback over the years, indeed, the dunes of Erg Chigaga get a fair amount less of visitors. The distance and driving time to both these dune locations is more or less similar, about 5- 6 hours drive.
Azalai Camp luxury tent interior
The dunes of Erg Chebbi owe their popularity partly to their being easily accessible : a bus will take you to literally the foot of the dunes from Marrakech in a 10 hour drive. When you opt for the classical imperial cities tour, the Erg Chebbi dunes are easier to include in the itinerary, given their location. If you are ready to give Fes a miss, then the dunes of Erg Chigaga are the ones to go for. Especially since they are two hours drive away from the closest bit of tarmac and you would be a fool not to loop your way back to Marrakech on a different route, thus experiencing all different formations of the desert: sand dunes, stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys and salt flats. To not mention the legendary Draa Valley, a caravan highway for centuries, where the river is flanked by one of the largest palm groves in the world along with Biblical villages and century old kasbahs. Then, is it impossible to experience the desert in a Sahara luxury camp at Erg Chebbi ? Not at all. Your travel planner can suggest a more distant camp, deep in the dunes.
Erg Chebbi luxury camp by dawn
SAFETY
Although the border with Algeria is not far, until this day there has been no registered case of kidnapping or activity of a terrorist organization in these areas. Security at the border is very tough. In the very hot season ( July – August), there may be very rare cases of scorpions or snakes, but they never enter areas where they feel human presence. If you want to be 100 % sure, make sure you spend the night inside your tent and that your mattress is not laid straight on the ground.
VIP tent with private butler
BASIC DESERT TENT VERSUS LUXURY DESERT TENT
Nowadays, there are more and more luxurious desert camps to complement the regular ones. Most regular camps offer spartan but clean double beds with mattress and frame and plenty of blankets to keep you warm in the night, if chilly. Toilets and showers are shared and running water is scarce. Luxury camps offer wider tents with en suite showers and toilets, extensive furniture and fittings, and king size beds. The dinner menu is also more comprehensive. In the past 2- 3 years, the desert luxury camps also offer a higher level of standard, the VIP desert tents. These tents tend to be further away from the main camp, more accommodating and complete with a private butler. A normal basic camp accommodates 10- 12 double tents with a larger tent for restaurant. The typical luxury camp accommodates 4- 5 en- suite tents with a restaurant tent.
{ Read: House of Dreams, impromptu romance half way between Marrakech and the Sahara }
Although the typical nomad tents are wool tents secured with wood hooks and ropes, set up in a cone- like pattern, the camp tents nowadays tend to be box- shaped units set up on a solid (usually metal ) frame. Less traditional, they are much more resistant this way to strong winds and provide a better insulation from sand grains or any eventual insects ( mostly flies). However, if your only reason for booking a luxury camp tent is having private showers and toilet, you should know that you can still have a shower both in the afternoon arriving at and the morning departing from the desert lodge. Normally you have that choice, when arriving in the afternoon, before leaving the asphalt. After a 30 – 45 minute camel ride ( optional), you arrive at the desert camp as the sun sets, where you will have your dinner and spend the night. Naturally, the camp is fully staffed. Next morning, you should try and not miss the sunrise. Then, you will be taken back to the same lodge where you had arrived the previous afternoon and have a proper breakfast, before proceeding with your Morocco itinerary.
Basic camp in the dunes of Erg Chebbi
ONE NIGHT OR TWO NIGHTS ?
In winter ( mid November to mid March) days are short and the sun sets around 5- 6 PM. If you're on a tour of Morocco, it is likely you will arrive at the camp just before sunset and will leave after breakfast. Which doesn't leave you with much time to enjoy the dunes. Ideally, forecast two nights in the desert in winter then. If you are worried about not having much to do, you may be wrong: tea with the nomads, rock engravings, prying out fossils, lunch in the oasis, the Black People village, dinosaur sites, quad biking, sand boarding are plenty of choice. The downside is that if a sand storm is blowing in ( very rare but not impossible ), you will have no choice but to spend the morning or afternoon inside your tent.
ALCOHOL
Given the alcohol regulations in Morocco, very few camps ( even among luxury ones) sell alcohol on site. Therefore the best way to go about it is to get yourself your supplies in Marrakch or Ouarzazate ( cca. half way between Marrakech and the dunes and the largest town in the south). Otherwise, you may end up paying 3 or 4 times the price if you want to acquire it in a hotel by the dunes. All you need to do is ask for your driver to stop you at a special store. He will then stock it for you in the 4x4’s freezer box, if need be.
Basic tent interior
CLOTHING AND TEMPERATURES
Cotton/ linen clothes and sneakers/ sandals are best for travelling around Morocco including the desert. A fleece or rain jacket is always a good addition for late nights/ early mornings. Outside the summer season, nights in the desert tend to be fresh/ chilly and in December/ January temperatures can get down to 35°F/ 2°C. Even with the basic tent accommodation, you will get as many blankets as necessary to keep you warm. That being said, it’s not a bad idea to bring over your sleeping bag, if space is available in your luggage. Day time, when the sun is out, temperatures can vary from 70°F/20°C in the winter months to the 113°F/ 45°C and more in July and August. In general we will not recommend taking a Morocco tour to the desert in summer but for some, it is the only time of the year they can come. Have you booked to spend the night in the desert in the summer and you find it too hot to be there ? Worry not. Sun Trails will accommodate you at no extra charge, back at the lodge by the dunes, where you will have the comfort of an air conditioned room and a fresh pool giving onto the dunes. Early next morning, you can still enjoy your camel ride over the Sahara dunes while the sun is rising.
Sun Trails offers both basic and luxury camp options in the desert for those booking bespoke tours of Morocco. For more details, please send your enquiry here.
Luxury tent Erg Chebbi interior
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Feathers, Ivory and Gold ( 8 - 10 days)
A private tour of Morocco over 8 to 10 days.
This tailor made 8 day Morocco trip tours the imperial cities, palm groves, Kasbahs, gorges, Atlas Mountains and Erg Chebbi desert dunes.Centuries ago, caravans laden with gold, ivory and feathers were delivering their loads at the sultan’s palace in Marrakech and Fes after weeks of crossing the Sahara. This Morocco tour follows some of the ancient route but before that, we start off with Casablanca and Rabat to then witness the splendor of the Roman heritage at Volubilis. After a stop in Fez, we cross Middle Atlas and lush countryside to reach the Sahara. From here, we uncover mysterious adobe honey-comb ksours and their wells of light, trek in the Dades gorges or explore lush palm groves. We then cross the High Atlas and end our tour in sensual Marrakech. The itinerary can start/ end in Marrakech/ Casablanca or be done in reverse order. If you can add an extra night, it would be best spent in Chefchaouen, Fes or Skoura.
Click here to see detailed map
Our private Morocco tour starts off with Casablanca ( we can also start the tour in Marrakech or Rabat, to suit your flights) which does not hold much in the way of historical sites. That is perhaps the reason why King Hassan 2 decided to give the city a landmark- the second largest mosque in the world. The last few years of its completion, 1400 craftsmen worked by day and 1000 by night. The marble, cedar wood and granite all come from Morocco while the glass chandeliers and white granite columns were brought from Murano, Italy. Next, our itinerary takes us to the capital Rabat, recently declared UNESCO world site. A quiet administrative center, Rabat has also a much richer history and makes the perfect introduction to Morocco, suspended somewhere between Europe and the Arab world. We will visit the 12th century Kasbah des Oudayas and its Andalusian Gardens, an important outpost of the Almohad dynasty. We can dwell further into the past and visit the Merenid necropolis of Chellah, where Phoenician, Roman and Merinid traces blend. But perhpas better stories are to be told about Sale, the sister city to Rabat and a flourishing piracy center, centuries ago. Our guide here, a local university teacher will relate how water canals used to run inside its gates and its pirates were famous for rapidly attacking European ships and taking illustrous nobility as prisoners. Once inside the city, the massive doors would close and the European powers had no other choice than to pay the ransom requested. The Republic of Sale, a state within a kingdom, even came into existence briefly and refused to pay any tax to the sultan. After breakfast, our bespoke Morocco tour is headed towards Meknes , an imperial city that rose to prominence with the sultan Moulay Ismail ( 1672- 1727) who set the capital of Morocco to Meknes and gave it its golden age by building his imperial palace, city walls and kasbahs upon dismantling Badi palace in Marrakech and fetching to Meknes most of its marble, ivory and wood. Places of interest in Meknes include Bab El Mansour gate, Masoleum of Moulay Ismail, the imperial palace and the royal granaries and stables. Back on the road we are to reach shortly the Roman ruins of Volubilis with its Galem’s baths, basilica, capitol and forum. Of particular interest is also the nearby sacred village of Moulay Idriss. Moulay Idriss was Prophet Mohammed's great grandson and fled Mecca during the 8th century AD. He established himself at Volubilis, converted the locals to Islam and founded the first Moroccan imperial dynasty. A walk around the village or even a trek in the charming countryside followed by lunch with views on the Roman ruins is worth considering. The journey should reach Fez late afternoon/ evening. Dinner and accommodation inside the medina of Fez. With the first light of dawn, you realize you have travelled in time. Four centuries? Five? If it weren’t for the satellite dishes adorning every roof, it could be more. Perhaps as much as the Kayraouine University and mosque, now 12 centuries old, the oldest still working university in the world. The heyday of the caravan trade coming from Timbuktu is long resolute. 'At the end of the fifteenth century, however, Fez was still enjoying great commercial prosperity and was at the peak of its fame as a seat of learning, its mosques and libraries being the resort of students from many parts of the Muslim world. It was therefore the most natural haven for the exiles from Granada' ( E.W. Bovill - The Golden Trade of the Moors). There are thousands of derbs, streets so narrow you could whisper in your neighbor’s ear. Your private English speaking guide will collect you from the Riad just after breakfast and try to make some sense out of the apparently chaotic old town. The numerous Islamic schools, among which the most ornate are perhaps Bou Inania and El Attarine, will wow you with their intricate stucco and cedar engravings that have so well resisted the passage of centuries. Out in the streets again, you will most likely smell the tanneries before you see them... Dozens of workers toil over open vats, dipping skins in to treat them before hand-dyeing them in bright yellow, red and white, stomping them under the hot sun to distribute the pigment. The guided tour of Fez takes us to Nejjarine Square you can catch your breath enjoying a mint tea on the roof terrace of Nejjarine Foundouk, an 18th-century caravanserai, turned woodwork museum after six years of painstakingly renovation. “There is a good deal of frustration involved in the process of enjoying Fez,” wrote Paul Bowles about Fez and that still holds true nowadays. Just when the walls seem to cave in on you, a little square comes up and suddenly all menace disappears. The secrets to be found around every corner draw you into the long forgotten world of travels of Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus. With Fez in the background, our custom Morocco tour serpents its way up into the shade of cedar forests. Our trip takes us first through Ifrane, the ‘Switzerland of Morocco’, quite popular during the snow season when it becomes Morocco’s prime ski resort. Prettier walks are to be had in the foothills of the next town, Azrou. Country lanes wind through pine forest and lush villages. Hard to believe that tonight you'll be treading desert dunes... The dense forest is also home to the Barbary macaque, almost domesticated now and the 800- year old Gouraud’s cedar. On the other side of the Middle Atlas, the countryside is pigmented by apricots, walnuts and plum trees and pictures of rural Berber life as we approach Midelt. A few hours later, our Morocco trip arrives in Erfoud and the change in landscape is sharp - Sahara is not far now. Given the time we will visit the ancient Jewish district and the Musee des Oasis. Reach the kasbah by the dunes and trade the 4x4 for camels. The camel ride is swift and the transfer can also be made by 4x4. Shortly after, while the staff are busy unloading your luggage, try to find the highest dune and reach the top. For as far as you can see, there is nothing but sand, an ocean of it as set to conquer everything that stands in its way. And while the sun sets, there is nowhere else you would rather be. Dinner and accommodation in a private tent in a camp in the dunes. Here, you have the choice between a basic tent with toilets/ bathroom outside or a comfort tent/ luxury tent with en suite bathroom and toilets. If possible, we recommend adding an extra day in the dunes, especially more so during winter time, when days are short. Have tea with the nomads, visit the old mines, pick up fossils, discover the rock engravings or dinosaur sites or quad bike in the dunes. Try to wake up to catch the sunrise- there is nothing quite like it... Have breakfast back at the kasbah by the dunes in Merzouga. After breakfast our route takes us first to Rissani that used to serve as a caravan trading post until a century ago. Gold and slave auctions were taking place here as late as 1800’s. Before it, the caravan trade and the most important city in Morocco was Sijilmassa, the ruins of which lie opposite Rissani. From its gates, Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus left Morocco to embark on their illustrious journeys across the Sahara into African countries, at a time when Sijilmassa was the trading hub between Europe and Africa and Arab pure bred horses from Morocco a much coveted commodity at the court of Timbuktu: [Here ( in Timbuktu) are many shops of artificers and merchants, and especially of such as weave linnen and cotton cloth. And hither do the Barbarie merchants bring cloth of Europe... Here are verie few horses bred, and the merchants and courtiers keepe certainn little nags which they use to travel upon: but their best horses are brought out of Barbarie. And the king so soon as he heareth that any merchants are come to town with horses, he commandeth a certain number to be brought before him, and chusing the best horse for himselfe he payeth a most liberal price for him.] ( Leo Africanus - History and description of Africa) Before Tinerir, we'll explore a local ksour, a honeycomb traditional village where sun shafts trickle through open pits. The spectacular Todra Gorges, lie only 15 km from Tinerir, presenting an arresting spectacle with its crystal clear river emerging from it, its huge walls changing colour to magical effect as the day unfolds. We are back in the Atlas mountains as we pass through Tinerir, an important center for the Berber nomad tribes with its extensive palm grove, the decaying ksours and 19th century adobe mosque. Less touristy, the Dades Gorges are worth a detour, with their awkward monkey fingers rock formations and great trekking opportunities. We can stop for the night in Dades or continue for one more hour and spend the night in the palm grove of Skoura. This morning our boutique Morocco tour takes us first to the immense palm grove of Skoura. Tour the palm grove with Abdel and learn about kasbah architecture, marriage customs and life in the community. In the shade of the palm trees, you will walk past pumpkins and figs, grapes and tomatoes, coriander, parsley and rosemary. Olives are pressed into the precious oil – dip your bread into it and try a local’s breakfast. Fire, water, earth and dye are what make most of things here. Or else, go for a trek at the foothills of the High Atlas mountains. In Ouarzazate, time allowing, we can visit the film studios where more recently some of the episodes of Game of Thrones were shot. Half an hour later, our tour turns right to shortly arrive at post- card perfect UNESCO world site of Ait Benhaddou. There is always someone willing to guide you but the best is to just lose yourselves in its alleyways. There is always a new way to reach its peak, from where the snowcapped Atlas Mountains framed by the denim blue sky will steal your breath away. If the climb up hadn’t already. Past Tamdaght and the kasbah made famous by the slave scene from 'Gladiator', the beauty of the valley serpenting underneath the route is beyond words. In the wall of the canyon, the nomads have dug galleries of grottoes where they used to stock their grains. Telouet is next, where the former pasha's palace dominates the village, a fortified citadel that is both a microcosm of an empire and its demise. Pacha Glaoui overshadowed the sultan by controlling most of nowadays Morocco and decided to erect a palace in the middle of nowhere, where his family had originated from. He had employed the most skilled artisans to build and decorate his main residence and, in its golden age, armies, stables and Christian slaves were confined within its walls. Shortly after Telouet, the trip joins the main road again and after innumerous twists, over Tizi n Tichka pass, we descend the High Atlas and reach the plain. Ahead in the night, lays dormant and sensual Marrakech, its walls and eighteen gates enveloping hundreds of foundouks, once protecting the caravans and their precious cargos. Where Fez is the bashful scholar, the ‘red city’ is the exuberant dancer. More than its opulent night life and luxurious palaces, the design boutiques or the French restaurants, it’s something in the air. The light of the south as some may call it, a certain feeling that nothing can go wrong, a certain je ne sais quoi… A good point to start is perhaps Maison de La Photographie, located in one of the most authentic districts of Marrakech. The photos on display document life in Morocco from late 1800’s all the way to the 1950’s. The roof terrace offers 360 degrees views over the Medina and is the perfect spot for a mint tea and postcard- photo shoots. Crossing the souks you may want to spoil yourself with some shopping. Miles of Ali Baba closet- size caves where everything glitters will lure you in. Marrakech has the finesse of craft met in Fez but also bears the influence of foreign artists that have taken residency in the city, making it a mecca for the intrepid global shopper. If too early in the day for shopping, you can also admire the dyeing of the wool or the looming of a Berber carpet on site. Past Place des Epices and its shops stuffed with turtles, colorful spices and witchcraft accessories, we make our way into the Kasbah. Not before entering the gardens of 19th century Bahia Palace, an epitome of Islamic art of the era and residence of the grand vizier. Uncovered by chance in 1917, the nearby Saadi Tombs hold the remains of the sultans responsible for the last golden age of the city , the 16th and 17th century. The Carrara marble stands witness to the wealth of the dynasty and so does the nearby El Badi palace, albeit only a ruin nowadays. The palace never completed and the next sultan dismantled the marble, ivory, precious wood and used it all to build his royal palace in Meknes. As the sun sets and the shades of its towers lose their contour, the fumes start rising on the nearby Jemaa El Fna square. Musicians, acrobats, snake charmers, witch doctors and food stalls all come alive as if they had never left. This is the city at its most essential, a place where people from everywhere mingle, perform and people- watch, half way between a tableau vivant and a circus show. Try to catch one of the story tellers in action, a tradition perpetuated for centuries, likely to disappear soon. A different way to discover Marrakech is booking a cooking class complete with lunch inside a local's home and a tour of the medina to sample the various ingredients that make up the staple of Moroccan cuisine: the preserved vegetables, the smmen butter, the farnatchi, the herbalist, the souika market, mechoui ovens and more. Should time allow for it, we recommend spending the morning visiting some of the gardens that made the 'red city famous'. The Almohad dynasty of 12th century built most of them. Agdal gardens, south of the city was where the waters from the Atlas Mountains were converged by ingenious Arab engineers. They also created Menara gardens with its ornate pavilion overlooking the waters, still a favorite of marrakchi families for picnic on Sundays. One other garden belonged to a painter who had fallen in love with Marrakech in the 1920’s and decided to create his own version of paradise on earth. Majorelle Gardens were subsequently acquired by Yves Saint Laurent and then made available to the general public. They are best visited early in the morning before they become overcrowded. Or perhaps you fancy a Moroccan hammam ( steam bath) and body scrub with the locals in one of the dozens well- kept public baths scattered around the Medina. If you still have the energy, the village of Imlil, an hour drive from the city, offers tremendous trekking opportunities for a few hours or a full day. Depending on your flight out, the driver will drop you off at the airport two hours before your flight. If you are flying out of Casablanca, keep in mind it takes 3 hours to make it to the airport there from Marrakech. DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1: Casablanca - Rabat ( 1 hour drive).*driving times don't include the various stops along the way.
Day 2: Rabat - Meknes - Volubilis - Fez ( 3 hour drive).
Day 3: Fez - guided tour of the city ( no drive).
Day 4: Fez - Ifrane - Azrou - Mildelt - Merzouga - Erg Chebbi ( 7 hours drive).
Day 5: Erg Chebbi - Tinejdad - Todra Gorges - Tinerir - Dades/ Skoura ( 4-5 hour drive).
Day 6: Dades/ Skoura - Ouarzazate - Ait Benhaddou - Telouet - Marrakech ( 4- 5 hour drive)
Day 7: Marrakech - visit of the city ( no drive).
Day 8: Marrakech.