For two days, we were in Saharan desert with no other company than sands. On our fifth and sixth day in Morocco, for two days and one night, we chose to have desert camp in Erg Chegaga. We also did camel trek, and exploring the area nearby. The tour departed from Marrakesh and finish at Marrakesh as well.
Table of Contents
From Fez to Marrakesh
It takes 6,5 hours by car to reach Marrakesh from Fez. We went to Marrakesh by ONCF train and purchased the ticket prior to the departure on the ticket machine in the Fez Train Station. However, the ticket can be purchased online on ONCF Website. You can select the language to English (EN) on the top right of the webpage, or simply right klik anywhere on the page and click “Translate to English”.
Picture below is the train departure schedule from Fez to Marrakech as per October 2020. You can also check the ONCF website directly for more up-to-date schedule and pricing.
The Desert Camp
We searched and narrowed down our selection for desert camp to five operators which includes regular and luxury camp. The cost of luxury camp can reach three times higher than regular camp, so we finally chose to go with the regular one. It cost 135 USD per person (2016). The inclusion were private pick up and drop off in Marrakesh, tour guide, camel trek, 1 dinner, 1 breakfast, and sandboarding. The camp would be on Erg Chegaga desert and during the trip the car made stoppages in scenic spots along the way.
Day-1
That morning we departed at 8 am from our hotel in Marrakesh. We passed the famous Tizi’n Tichka Mountain Pass. This pass links the southeast of Marrakesh to city of Ouarzazat through the High Atlas Mountain. After two and a half hour, we made stop for lunch at Restaurant Palais de Tichka.
This place is a building complex for resting area. It has café/restaurant, and a store that sells local argan products.
Argan oil is made from the kernels of the argan tree, which is endemic to Morocco. That was the first time I heard about Argan and saw with my own eyes. The end products are used in culinary and cosmetic world. We were more interested with the culinary product and tasted the argan paste/oil, which is used to be eaten as dipping sauce. It tasted so yummy, like a peanut. I bought a small (150 ml) bottle of the dipping sauce and didn’t regret it.
Moving to the next building is the restaurant, and we went to its second floor where the terrace has the very beautiful view of the surrounding plain and berber villages and it was beautiful.
The journey continued passing some seriously dry plain, where I could start seeing small dunes, and the path started changing quickly. As we got closer to our camping ground, the road getting more bumpy and shaky. It was hard getting sleep at all and it was such a new experience to me. However, the bumpiness reminded me of those 4×4 ride I took towards ice cave in Iceland.
The camp
I still remember how excited and nervous I was when we finally arrived at the camp. Excited because it was my first camping experience in the dessert, and nervous about how our room would like and if the facilities were clean and safe. I was actually quite surprise to see how remote we were on the desert. Like what if some dune storm happened or what if some venomous snake slipped into our blankets. However, my excitement was greater than my fear and nervousness.
I did not take picture of our room, but it was okay for a regular camp. The bed was made with linen and there blankets as well. The toilet was clean and sufficient to have a quick clean up. However, I would definitely be glad for an upgraded to a real toilet to wash my hair after some tangled up with the sands and sweat. But at that time, everything felt perfect, and we immediately wander to the nearest dunes and took picture as many as we could until sunset.
At dinner time, we gathered in the middle of the camp, where all the torches were lighted and lamps were lit. It was such a beautiful set for a romantic date, except that I didn’t know it would be that cold. All the things that I feared and imagined, from the venomous desert snake to sand storm didn’t exist. The only enemy that night, and what dominates the whole stay was the cold. Surprise!
I knew it would be cold, but didn’t know it would be THAT Cold. The cold, combined with the sick for the past two days ( I was totally sick with sore throat) were the real killer that night. The whole ride from Fez to Marrakesh, I coughed and had a mild fever. It was getting better day by day, but the temperature in the desert somehow triggered the cough. As a result, I only managed to sleep for three hours.
Day 2
I excused myself and went to bed earlier, and therefore I woke up early before everyone else. I took my camera and hiked up the highest dune that close to our camp. There was nobody around, sun was rising, I felt the warm from the sunlight. Suddenly everything felt better, and I just sat at the top of the dune watching sunrise and happy. I felt really grateful to be able to go there and watch the endless dunes spread before me.
About 1,5 hour later, my friends and other campers started waking up and we went to the tent where they serve the breakfast. Dinner at Sahara dunes Checked! Sleeping at Sahara desert Checked! Breakfast at Sahara desert checked! That morning everything seems to be perfect. After breakfast, we went Camel Trekking on surrounding dunes.
The Camel trek was our last activity in the desert camp before we went back to Marrakesh. And so it begun the long bumpy ride back to civilization. No complain at all.
On our way back, we stopped by lookout point where we can see Aït Ben haddou from afar. The magnificent Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou is a UNESCO World heritage site and one of the best preserved and most spectacular kasbahs in Morocco.
The journey continued via Ouarzazate and further through the beautiful Valle de Draa lined with palms and Berber villages. For lunch we had a delicious vegetarian tajine meal. Tajine is a Morocco traditional dish which is named after earthenware pot in which it is cooked.
The journey of two days in Saharan desert adjourned as we arrived at Marrakesh. Undoubtedly, it was one of the highlights during our trip in Morocco.
