Camel trekking + jeep safari to Erg Zahar & Erg Chegaga
- Price: from €290 per person
- Start: Desert Camp Chraika
- Begins: 10 am on Day 1
- Ends: 11 am on Day 4
Highlights of Erg Zahar + Erg Chegaga desert tour
- Experience night camping in the desert
- Enjoy a 60-kilometre off-road adventure
- Ride a camel & walk in the dunes
- Visit The Sacred Oasis and historical places in the remote desert
- Drink tea with nomad family
- Savour sunsets in wilderness
- Try Saharan bread freshly baked in heated sand
- Enjoy the taste of tajines cooked on the fire
- Try a “Berber omellette” and hearty desert meals
Camel trekking + jeep safari tour itinerary
Day 1 – camel trekking to Sidi Naji
On the first day of trekking the distance is about 14 k, which in desert conditions means an about 4-5 hour trek. We can either stop for lunch on the way, or go straight to the place of night camping and eat there. The second option allows more time for a visit in ruins of an ancient town, Sidi Naji, and a marabou there (tomb/shrine). This night will be spend in tents among small wild dunes with green tamarisk trees.
Day 2 – camel trekking to Erg Zahar
The second day of trekking covers about 16 k and includes a stop for lunch and rest. Once in Erg Zahar, it is worth to climb the highest dune to admire breathtaking views at the sunset time (it is an about 40-minute walk to the top). Your guides will set up a camp nearby, at the foot of this dune. At night they will bake bread in hot sand and prepare tajines on the camp fire.
Day 3 – jeep safari to Erg Chegaga
From Erg Zahar a jeep will take you towards incredible Erg Chegaga, with a stop in an oasis and at a nomads’ family for a glass of tea.
Upon your arrival in Erg Chegaga, you will enjoy lunch, followed by an afternoon of free time. You can choose to hike, try sandboarding, or take a camel ride through the dunes. After returning from a sunset viewing, your hosts will serve a delicious dinner featuring traditional nomadic cuisine. Later, gather around a campfire where they’ll play drums and sing desert blues songs.
You’ll spend the night in a comfortable, permanent camp, complete with tents that have beds, as well as access to hot showers and toilets in a separate building.
Day 4 – return to the base camp near M’hamid
After a hearty breakfast, you will begin your journey back to Desert Camp Chraika, aiming to arrive by noon the latest.
The price includes:
- Two nights wild camping in the desert with all gear needed
- 3 wholesome meals a day: breakfasts, lunches and dinners
- Water, hot and cold beverages, snacks (fruits, cookies)
- A camel caravan with herdsmen
- Transport to Erg Chegaga by a 4×4 vehicle and back to Chraika’s
- Camel ride at the sunset in Erg Chegaga
- Good company of our desert guide, a driver, camel men and a cook
Get ready for the Erg Zahar & Erg Chegaga desert tour
Here is the list of things useful while wild camping in the desert:
- A refillable bottle for water
- 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
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: harira soup, 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 sleep in a tent, on a 4-cm thin mattress, as well as to eat meals while sitting on a cushion. The plan of the jeep tour is relaxed and you can adjust the daily amount of walking to your preferences. Some areas is an uneven terrain, so be ready for this, too.
You must also be ready to use the “wild bathroom” in the dunes.
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.
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.
It is good that you have your own sleeping bag with you, but it is not necessary – we provide blankets.
Plan your tailored itinerary
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.
