Day 4 – Journey to the Desert Begins
Last breakfast on the rooftop terrace in Marrakech. We have loved our time at the Pure House Riad! Hard to leave, but excited for what lies ahead, the Sahara Desert!
After three nights in Marrakech it was time to head into the country side… or should we say desert/mountain side. We rarely hire tour companies when we visit other countries, but felt the need here since it is so intricate with certain locations, and as we learned, desert driving is like no other. We were picked up by our driver who will be with us for the next 7 days! It’s always nerve racking not knowing who we will be hanging out with for a big part of our trip, but man, we hit the jackpot with our driver! We ❤️ Hakim!
We started our day headed into the High Atlas Mountains. We knew Morocco had mountains, but seeing them in person, it’s a lot more than we expected. The mountains dotted with burnt-orange rock, pines, cedars, lush green valleys, and Berber villages (more on Berbers later). The highest point, Mount Toubkal is 13,665 feet!
We zig zagged (maybe this is why Scott felt car sick all day) through the mountains and stopped at the famous Ait Benhaddou. It is a historic ksar along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. It is considered a great example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. Gladiator 2 (coming out soon) and Games of Thrones are two of many productions filmed here. Incredible lunch spot where we enjoyed our first taste of tagine, a traditional Moroccan dish!
It was nice to break up the drive with a few stops, including one unique stop to an argon oil shop where they showed us how they make argon oil. Argon oil has been a rich part of Morocco’s history, uses dating back to early settlers in this historic country, mainly used for oil in lamps. Berber people discovered their cosmetic and nutritional values and began to use it in their daily lives.
The valleys of the Atlas Mountains are celebrated for their palm groves, harvesting some of the biggest dates you will ever see. A haven of green in the arid Moroccan landscape. These oases offer respite and shade, where thousands of date palms provide nourishment and sustenance, mix in a few towns along the way who benefit from harvesting these dates.
Coming out of the mountains and into the valley, we reach our Hotel Dar Hnini in the Draa Valley, in the Zagora Province bordering Algeria. We found paradise halfway to the Sahara!
Our hotel, Dar Hnini, was more than we expected! Our own house with a pool, spacious room with epic views. Had a great time swimming and relaxing before dinner poolside.
Day 5 – Journey to the Desert
As excited as we are to get to the desert, we slow play our morning. Katie up late editing and sifting through pictures, and Scott enjoying some extra rest. We begin our day with a peaceful, perfect breakfast poolside.
Next, we find our friend Hakim, and we are off to the Sahara! A four hour drive, thankfully flatter than yesterday for Scott! It’s a relatively basic drive, that progressively begins to look more like a desert as we get closer and closer. The numerous acacia trees begin to diminish, with dark volcanic rock beginning to take over much of the landscape.
To our delight, we drive through many small cities including Nkob, Tazzerine, Alnif, and pass by several berber villages and kasbahs. All very scenic, and dry! Another sighting that soon becomes the norm, is our first camel sighting. Fun to see these epic animals wandering roadside, slowing cars, and posing for pictures.
And just as we are getting excited to stop and enjoy our first official Berber experience… bam, flat tire! For Hakim, he has never experienced this before. A desert HOT, memorable experience changing a tire in the Sahara Desert!
Then, as we are recovering from the memories of a flat tire… bam, we get hit by a truck in town. Luckily, not too much damage, but geez, tough day for Hakim!
Finally, we stop for lunch in a Berber village. Berbers are descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa. They speak various Amazigh languages belonging to the Afro-Asiat. The largest indigenous tribe of Morocco. The Berbers are native to North Africa. It is estimated that there are between 30 and 40 million Berber-speaking people in Africa. Most of them live in Morocco. In the desert, the Berber culture is alive and strong. And to their credit, many believe the history of tagine dates back to their origins and they are given credit for this delicious delicacy.
Here we sat down with a native Berber and talked about their ‘nomad’ life, as we enjoy Berber pizza (quite different than Italian style pizza). He explains the caravan trips he has taken part in for years to Timbuktu. It’s fascinating to hear how different this world is compared to our own. Enjoyed our lunch together, including of course, mint tea!
We were then shown the carpet displays which they are known for!! And of course, Katie was all in. Of the MANY carpets we were shown, we settled on a small one that we will happily lug back home.
Our last part of the drive is filled with a region known for it’s fossil research and discovery. Considering the theory of pangea, it would make sense that this region is rich in fossils, and it was fun to stop and see one center on our way.
Finally we begin to see a more sandy region of the Sahara Desert, called the Erg Chebbi near the town of Merzouga. More and more small rolling dunes appear as we approach the city of Merzougas. As vast as the Sahara Desert is (about the size of the United States), only about 20-25% is estimated to be sandy. As it spans across Northern Africa, it is made up of mostly rocky plateaus. One of the more fascinating aspects we learned about the Sahara, is that much of the desert is on top of an aquifer, which allows locals to have access to water by using wells that can find water relatively easily. And to make our brains hurt a little more, theories have suggested two things: the desert was once underwater (long time ago), and the desert was a lush, green thriving land around 10,000 years ago.
Now to the wild driving part… we turn off a normal road and drive for 15 minutes across the desert. No roads, just rocks and sand. This is where we are especially grateful to have Hakim leading the way.
We arrive at the Desert Luxury Camp and this place is incredible! So awesome, that we don’t really care that the temperature is about 110 degrees Fahrenheit and will be until late in the evening.
We get to our room, immediately change for some pictures and sandboarding as the sun sets over our tents for the nights.
Relax for a few, then dinner on the patio looking out into the darkness of the Sahara desert. One note, although we knew we would be traveling in the ‘low’ season, we are realizing that this is to our benefit. Each hotel we have stayed at (and throughout our trip), there has been maybe one other guest in the Riad or hotel. ONE!
Dinner – Plaintain soup, tomato & eggplant baked with cheese, beef tagine, rice, potatoes, pasta and flan with fruit for dessert. Every meal is SO MUCH food! Oh yea, and don’t forget to stop and get some wine or beer before arriving. Due to religious reasons, the camps and hotels in this region do not serve alcohol, but they will allow you to bring your own.
After dinner, our hosts play music while we sit around a fire. Pretty epic way to chill after dinner!
The pathway lights go off, and WHOA, stars light up the sky with the Milky Way shining bright across the entire sky. A dream view into our galaxy. The brightest night sky we have ever seen. And to see this phenomena with our naked eye was simply stunning!
Unfortunately, we weren’t prepared for this type of photography (no tripod). So, we had to rig up some setups using a camera bag to try and stabilize in order to capture the epic view!
Day 6 – A FULL day in the desert
On the ride out to the desert and into the evening, we kept hearing how great it was that it wasn’t windy. Well, I guess we got a little taste of that wind overnight. Our tent felt what seemed to be blustery wind throughout the night. At least it was to us… when we asked about it in the morning, the hosts proclaimed it to be minor compared to how bad it can be. Lucky us!
Breakfast in the meal tent was great as we enjoyed our first Berber omelet. Not too much different than a traditional omelet, just add a variety of spices and cook in a tagine. We are now officially ready for our camel ride out into the rolling dunes of the Sahara. But first, we win the lottery and encounter this 4 month old cutie, Ramadan!
Now we can go out and enjoy the dunes of Erg Chebbi, one of the top things to do when in Merzouga. These dunes can reach over 500 feet tall and are perfect for our adventures: sandboarding, a camel trek, and out on ATVs later today.
So fair to mention it again at this point, we were the only two on this camel trek with a local. Summer heat has its benefits, and if you are one that prefers less crowds, Sahara in the summer is the way to go. Don’t get us wrong, it’s hot! But not unbearable, and the perks seem to be pretty good.
With that being said, we did get back to our camp, ready to shower after a morning trek, to a room withOUT AC. The camp runs entirely on solar energy, and as a way to manage the amount of energy used, AC is used in the morning and at night. Consumption throughout the day would be too much for this grid in the middle of summer.
So, we out. A sweaty pack up, a little stroll around the camp to enjoy the beauty one last time, and a short drive to Sunrise Palace. To get there, we take another random right turn onto the natural desert topography, and trek another 20 minutes or so across a bumpy road for one more night in the desert. And to no one’s surprise, there is only one other room occupied in this entire hotel. Jackpot!
Our room is great! Spacious, inviting and the perfect place to catch a short nap before we go enjoy some chicken tagine and the pool to ourselves!
Rest up, because following a day enjoying the Sunrise Palace, we are off to an evening on ATVs on the Erg Chebbi dunes. Our main man, Hakim, set us up with a guide who will take us deep into the rolling hills of the dunes. Once you cross the street and head into the dunes, you feel swallowed by sand that rolls, and is 28 km long and 7 km wide. We traverse our way to the top to enjoy sunset, making one pitstop on the way up to enjoy some steep sandboarding (much steeper than at camp last night).
We are greeted back at the car with ice cream from Hakim! A moment of thanks from Hakim for Scott helping him change his first tire yesterday. Needless to say, we are now officially spent! Bumpy, off road ride back across the desert to the Sunrise Palace, sit down for another meal of tagine, and we crash!
Day 7 – A Long Drive Out of the Desert
But first, breakfast on the terrace overlooking the dunes.
Sad to leave the Sahara! The people, the culture and the adventure have been priceless!
Two Wayfaring Wanderers 