Recommended Excursions into the Sahara and the Deep South

			Reservations - All our holidays are tailor-made so please feel free to request any combination of hotels, riads or tours for your own holiday. The minimum reservation for our accommodation only service is 3 nights in total, although not necessarily at same property. Simply contact us by phone or email or complete one of our enquiry forms. Why Rediscover? - All our reservations staff have worked in Morocco (or visited extensively) and will be more than happy to offer advice and suggestions on any of our featured destinations, tours and properties. Prices - our prices are similar to or quite often cheaper than our internet competitors or booking directly and significantly cheaper than those producing expensive brochures whilst our service, knowledge and after sales care is second to none. Security - Rediscover the World is a member of the TTA (T6816), we also hold our own ATOL bond (T7172). We therefore provide full financial security and assistance should any part of your holiday not happen entirely to plan. If you were to assemble your holiday yourself you may not have this sort of protection.

"4WD and Meharee in Moroccan sub-Sahara near Zagora "

2DAYS / 1NIGHT- ref. ITCLFD06z

DAY 1: MARRAKECH - ZAGORA - TILLOUGUI (private oasis).

From your hotel or riad in Marrakech we set out at 07:30 across the Glaoua Plains, up via the winding road over the High Atlas Mountains through the Tizi n’Tichka (2260m), thence down alongside the Oued Ouarzazate to see a dramatic change in the countryside - from high mountain ranges to semi-desert and oases. We shall stop at the magnificently exotic kasbah and ksour of Aït Ben Haddou declared, and rightly so, a World Heritage Site. Here we alight from our vehicle to visit these various kasbahs, so closely-knit that they appear to be but one complete building, backed up against the looming mountain in a stretch of unforgiving hammada. The thick, high, sheer, elaborately decorated pisé walls, stepped-up housing, turreted, crenellated ramparts, balustrades and arched ‘babs’ are a sight not to be missed. Here Hollywood has shot many of its epic films including, as everyone will tell you, “Lawrence of Arabia”. One of the more spectacular sights in the Atlas ranges, set upon a rock above a reed-strewn assif, commanding the area for miles around, this kasbah controlled the route to Marrakech until the French blasted a road through the Tizi n’Tichka in the late 1920s.

We’ll stop for a light lunch here before continuing ever further south to Ouarzazate and down the beautiful Drâa Valley to the small kasbah-like Hotel Fibule Du Drâa in the oasis village of Zagora. From here we set out on our “Ships of the Desert” adventure of some 3 hours towards the southwest into a desert of many small dunes, interspersed with the black gravelly ‘Reg’ stretches of the El Fajia plain in the Nebch region, isolated enough to let your imagination take hold. As the air has heated up, the winds have risen to make the sand swirl about us you’ll notice that older dunes appear darker, for the iron in the sand has finally oxidised. Here, some 8km from Zagora, we have our bivouac for the night in a carpeted Bedouin tent at Tillougui set amidst some small dunes and a private oasis, after a welcoming traditional tea ceremony, we shall have our dinner of vegetable tagine tea, bread and fruit.

The sunsets and sunrises in the rarefied air of our desert can simply take your breath away, far more than the hot air has done, so far. This night may be spent in our nomadic tent or out in the open air under an awesome canopy of the starlit heavens.

Day 2: TILLOUGUI - TAMEGROUTE - ZAGORA - MARRAKECH.

Having witnessed an awesome sunset the night before, now is the hour for an even more startling sunrise before our Bedouin breakfast of tea, bread, jams and cheeses. After which, our dromedaries saddled, we somewhat reluctantly strike off back towards the north-east and relative civilisation, passing through the lush oases with dangling bunches of dates, accompanied by the scents of oleander, mint and orange, via the ksar Asrir Ignaoûn, with its sun-dried mud and reed buildings known as pisé, tiny Sarte and Douar Amezrou, home to an old Jewish kasbah and where there are still silver shops working Berber jewellery, to arrive finally at the Fibule Du Drâa hotel in Zagora sometime around 10am.

			From Zagora this morning, we’ll drive down to the ancient village of Tamegroute, a seat of learning since the 11th Century, with its Library of 13th Century illuminated Koranic scrolls written on gazelle hide; some works of Pythagoras and some original maps of Alexandria, even an ancient maths primer (a voluntary contribution to the upkeep of the Library is always appreciated). We continue our stroll through the alleyways of the underground kasbah to the ancient Pottery Co-Operative, where pottery being produced in the simplest of manners, in the simplest of kilns. If you have been to Fez, or have seen photographs of this Imperial City, here you’ll see the famous green glaze associated with its tiled roofs. The founders of the 17th Century Abou Ben Naceur ‘Naciri Brotherhood’ in Tamegroute invited craftsmen and potters to this remote area with the intent to turn it into a thriving caravan hub city. We should be back in Zagora around midday for a shower, before setting off back up the Drâa Valley with some 14km off-road touring of the Valley of 1000 Kasbahs and on to the French Protectorate-era city of Ouarzazate, where we shall make a short tour and stop for lunch here at the restaurant La Vallée before continuing on up over the Adrar N’Deren and down across the Glaoua Plains to Marrakech and your hotel or riad, arriving there around 8 o’clock at night after a really incredible journey into the sub-Sahara.

NB: Prices are based on the number of people in your group; each desert trip is an individual reservation.

THE STANDARD VERSION INCLUDES:

Transfer by air-conditioned Land Cruiser (Marrakech – Zagora / Tillougui - Tamegroute - Zagora - Marrakech); trained dromedary & chameleer; dromedary ride - 1 person per dromedary; Cook; meals and tented, carpeted accommodation as detailed; chemical toilet. light lunch* at and unguided visit of the ksour of Aït Ben Haddou; visit of Potteries and Museum at Tamegroute; off-road valley tour and short visit of Ouarzazate and light lunch here at the Restaurant La Vallée *.

Transfer by air-conditioned Land Cruiser (Marrakech - Zagora / Tillougui - Tamegroute - Zagora - Marrakech); trained dromedary & chameleer. dromedary ride - 1 person per dromedary; Cook; meals* and Caidal tented, carpeted accommodation (maximum 6 persons per tent); ‘Portaloo’; Lavabo, mini shampoo, towels, lanterns and candles; *dinner includes Moroccan salad or harira soup, kebabs or ‘kefta’*, Berber vegetable tagine, fruit, mint tea; 1 bottle of wine between 2 people, soda water served by waiters in traditional costume. Bar service. Live Moroccan folklore musicians. Light lunch at and unguided visit of the ksour of Aït Ben Haddou; visit of Potteries and Library at Tamegroute; off-road tour of the Valley of 1000 Kasbahs; light lunch at the Restaurant La Vallée in Ouarzazate.

OUR TOURS DO NOT INCLUDE:

Medical or accident insurance outside of the vehicles. Gratuity to guide/drover. Any expenditure of a personal nature. Bottled or gaseous water, nor anything not specifically mentioned in the itinerary.

* Meals consist of vegetables, eggs and fruits, except the first day which has meat (please advise if you wish vegetarian meals throughout).

IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU BRING:

Day pack (for camera, water bottle,hat, etc.); light waterproof (seasonal), broad-brimmed hat (or you may purchase a ‘Chèche’ before you set out from Zagora; personal toiletries and towel; hygienic ‘wipes’; small First Aid kit; torch with batteries (non-essential); filled water bottle(s); sunscreen, sunglasses; nibbles and/or dried fruit. Drinking chocolate if preferred to tea and coffee. Camera, film and plastic bags for lenses; extra toilet rolls could come in handy! For those who wear contact lenses, perhaps it would be a good idea to bring along a spare pair of glasses.

Customer comments:

"The guide, Ali; the dromedary drover, Ali and cook, Youssef were all excellent. The whole experience was wonderful, especially the camels and bivouac camp. The food was both plentiful and great"

"We were so glad that we booked it as it turned out to be the highlight of our holiday. Ehmed, our driver, was excellent, punctual, a safe driver and helpful and informative. We arrived at our destination where our camels were waiting for us and were led on a magical, unforgettable ride through the breathtaking scenery as the sun set over the dunes. It's a great trip and we'd recommend it to anyone visiting Morocco."

"Our driver from Marrakech to the desert, Ali, was the absolute BEST. A very careful, safe driver and a kind friendly person, we would HIGHLY recommend him. When we arrived at the camp our beds were made with fresh linen and lots of warm blankets ... the staff were very friendly and we were welcomed with the usual mint tea and a lovely dinner."

"Our camel excursion was very memorable: Youssef who was our guide, was fantastic and had a great sense of humour - he may deal with tour groups every day but he certainly made us feel special."

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