Erg Chegaga camel trekking
8-day tour
- Price: from €640 per person
- Start: Desert Camp Chraika
- Begins: 10 am on Day 1
- Ends: 4-5 pm on Day 8
Highlights
- Experience 7 nights of wild camping in the desert
- Ride a camel & walk in the dunes
- Walk through different Saharan landscapes
- Savor the sunset in wilderness
- Try Saharan bread freshly baked in heated sand
- Enjoy the taste of tajines cooked on the fire
- Try a “Berber omellette”
- Live a life of a nomad for some time
Sample itinerary
Days 1 to 7
A journey to the Erg Chegaga dunes and back – taking a different return route – is a feast for nature enthusiasts, seekers of tranquility, and hiking lovers. It covers approximately 120 km of walking through remote desert areas and 7 nights of wild camping. The exact itinerary will be tailored to your interests and health condition. Typically, the daily hiking covers 15 k and is divided in two 2-3 hour trek, with a break for lunch a siesta on the way. Each day walking distances may vary from 12 to 16 k, depending on your readiness to hike. Our caravan crosses enchanting desert areas, including ergs, regs, and hamadas, providing unforgettable experiences. You will stop by wells, sacred places, and oases, exploring the vast dune areas, concluding the day with a meeting with a nomad family over a cup of tea.
Erg Chegaga expedition: wild nature and cultural insights
Walking through the vast space of the desert and its ever changing landscapes, cooking tajines on the camp fire, baking bread in hot sand, afternoon siesta in the shade of palm or tamarisk trees – this is the simple beauty of nomadic life. Embarking on a camel caravan with wild camping is not just a trek but also a celebration! Enjoy the camaraderie, the lack of internet, or other distractions, along with delicious food. Three hearty meals will fuel your journey, and lunches under ancient tamarisk trees, combined with longer breaks, will be etched in your memory. In the evenings, guides will light a campfire, prepare traditional tajines, and bake bread in the hot sand, adding a unique flavour to the meal.
Day 8 – return to Desert Camp Chraika
On this day, again you will walk about 15 k with a break for lunch on the way. You will arrive at Desert Camp Chraika in the late afternoon, and you will be welcomed with a glass of tea. Now is the time to take rest and enjoy the memories of breathtaking desert views.
Includes
- All gear needed for night camping in the desert
- 3 wholesome, hot meals a day (vege option available)
- Water, hot and cold beverages, snacks (fruits, cookies)
- Camels that will carry all the luggage and camping gear
- Good company of our desert guide, local chef and camelmen
Things to know
Here is the list of essentials for the desert trekking:
- A refillable bottle to always keep water handy
- Long-sleeved and long-legged, comfortable clothes
- A long scarf or a turban
- Sandals or light trekking shoes
- Sunscreen, lip balm, sunglasses
- A travel towel
- Power bank
- Headlight
Since camels will carry all your luggage, to safe them unnecessary effort, pack only what’s essential. You may sort things out and leave the remaining luggage at our camp. It can be safely kept there until your return from the trip.
All supplies like water, beverages and food will be provided, as well as all camping gear: tents, mattresses, toilet paper and blankets.
Best months for desert tours in Morocco are October, November, March and April, when you can expect mild temperatures – around 25-30°C in the daytime, and 10-15°C at night.
February and December are a bit cooler, but with good preparation also very good for a desert trip.
On the other hand, May and September are good for those enjoying temperatures above 35°C, allowing the sand hammam rituals in the daytime and sleeping under open sky at night.
Traditional desert cuisine is very simple, yet wholesome and diverse. Exemplary dishes served on a desert tour are: tajines made on fire, bread baked in hot sand, lentils in tomatoes, beans, various salads with both cooked and raw vegetables, “Berber omelette”. Also, refreshing and energising Moroccan mint tea is an every day treat on a desert tour.
You should be ready to walk for about 5-6 hours daily on an uneven terrain. These days will be spent in wilderness, so prepare for night camping, eating meals while sitting on the cushion only. Also, the lack of internet and a lot of silecne and space around.
Part, or even the entire way can be ridden on a camel. If you need a camel for riding for the whole tour, please let us know beforehand and we will take an extra one.
You must also be ready to use the “wild bathroom” in the dunes and to sleep on a 4-centimetre thin mattress in a tent.
Yes, of course! From our experience, children enjoy being in the desert. Running in its vast spaces, playing with the sand, learning how to make fire, collecting the wood – all these activities are not only playful, but also educational.
From the age of 5, kids are usually ready for this kind of adventure.
In order to meet your physiological needs during camping wild in the desert you must be ready to return to the roots and use a wild bathroom, i.e. find a secluded place. Since usually there is nobody in the radius of kilometres, it should be quite easy.
To keep the desert clean, put the toilet paper in a dug whole, and cover thoroughly with sand. The paper can be also burned. Remember not to put any sanitary products other toilet paper into the sand.
The proper toilet paper which is easily dissolved, is provided during the tour.
It is good that you have your own sleeping bag with you, but it is not necessary – we provide blankets.
Let's create your best travel story
Salam, friends! If you have any questions regarding your journey, or wish to create your own plan, simply let us know – we will be happy to help.
