15-Day Sahara & Atlantic Tour from Dakhla: the Sahara

A full day south of town. The White Dune sits where the sand runs straight into the lagoon. Imlili is stranger: a scatter of deep pools in open desert holding fish isolated there for thousands of years.

• Morning departure south along the lagoon
• The White Dune, where the sand meets the water
• Time to swim, or to walk the dune ridge
• The pools at Imlili and their isolated tilapia
• Picnic lunch in the desert
• The natural hot springs at Asmaa
• Return to Dakhla in the late afternoon

Overnight in Dakhla.

A long coastal run north on the empty Atlantic road, where the desert meets the sea in a line of low cliffs. Around eight hours with stops, so we leave early.

• Early departure north on the coast road
• The cliffs and small fishing camps along the Atlantic
• Boujdour and its lighthouse above the harbour
• Lunch at the port
• North again across the hamada
• The Saguia el Hamra riverbed on the approach to Laayoune
• Evening arrival in Laayoune

Overnight in Laayoune.

North along the Atlantic, past the little port where Saint-Exupery flew the mail route in the 1920s. Around four and a half hours of driving.

• Morning departure north from Laayoune
• The long coast road above the Atlantic
• Tarfaya and its Saint-Exupery museum
• The wreck of the Casa del Mar out in the bay
• Lunch on the coast
• North across the hamada to Tan-Tan
• The camel gates at the entrance to the town

Overnight in Tan-Tan.

North along a coast that changes character: red cliffs, Spanish colonial Sidi Ifni, and the sandstone arch at Legzira standing out of the surf. Around four hours with stops.

• Morning departure north from Tan-Tan
• The cliffs and fishing camps above the Atlantic
• Sidi Ifni, Spanish until 1969 and still Art Deco in places
• Lunch in Sidi Ifni
• Legzira beach and its standing sandstone arch
• North through Mirleft and its coves
• Arrival in Tiznit and its red earth walls

Overnight in Tiznit.

East and up into the Anti-Atlas, a granite country of pink boulders and palm-filled gorges. Around two and a half hours, climbing most of the way.

• Morning in Tiznit, known for its Amazigh silver
• The climb into the Anti-Atlas
• The Ameln valley and its villages under the Jbel Lekst
• Lunch in Tafraoute
• Tafraoute, set among pink granite boulders
• The painted rocks on the edge of town at sunset

Overnight in Tafraoute.

A long crossing east, over the Anti-Atlas and through the saffron country to the edge of the pre-Sahara. Around seven hours, so we leave early.

• Early departure from Tafraoute
• The descent through the Ameln valley
• Taroudant, walled in red earth
• The climb through Taliouine, the centre of Moroccan saffron
• Lunch en route
• The high plateau road by Tazenakht and its Amazigh carpets
• Late afternoon arrival in Ouarzazate

Overnight in Ouarzazate.

An easy day east along the old kasbah road. We follow the valley through the Skoura palm oasis and the rose-growing villages below Kelaat M'Gouna, reaching the mouth of the Dades gorge in the afternoon. Around three hours of driving.

• The Skoura palm oasis and the Amridil Kasbah
• The old kasbah road along the Dades valley
• Kelaat M'Gouna, where the rose harvest is distilled each spring
• Lunch en route
• The Valley of Roses and its terraced fields
• Arrival at Boumalne Dades
• Late afternoon walk up the gorge to the switchback viewpoint

Overnight in the Dades Valley.

A day that ends on foot. We follow the road east through Tinghir to the Todgha Gorges, then cross the hamada to Merzouga, timed so the camels leave in the late afternoon and you reach camp as the light goes.

• Morning through the Dades gorge and its switchback road
• Tinghir, with its palm oasis strung along the valley floor
• The Todgha Gorges, where the cliffs close to a few hundred metres apart
• Lunch in Tinghir
• Afternoon across the hamada by Tinejdad and Erfoud
• Arrival at the edge of Erg Chebbi
• Camel trek into the dunes, roughly ninety minutes
• Dinner and Gnawa drumming at camp

Overnight in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi.

The day the itinerary makes room for. With no transfer to drive, the desert opens up past the dune crest: nomad families still working the hamada, the Gnawa village at Khamlia, and the dry lake north of the erg.

• Sunrise over the dunes, then breakfast at camp
• Camel trek back to Merzouga
• 4x4 circuit around the erg
• Khamlia, the Gnawa village, for a session of their music
• Visit to a nomad family living out on the hamada
• Dayet Srji, the dry lake where flamingos gather after rain
• Afternoon at leisure, or sunset from the dune crest

Overnight in Merzouga.

West along the southern road below the Jbel Saghro, a quieter route than the way out, ending deep in the Draa where the palm groves run more or less unbroken for a hundred kilometres. Around six hours.

• Sunrise over Erg Chebbi before breakfast
• Rissani and its souk, on the site of Sijilmassa
• The southern road below the Jbel Saghro
• Alnif, known for its fossil beds
• Nkob and its cluster of kasbahs
• Lunch en route
• Tazzarine and the descent into the Draa
• The palm groves along the river to Zagora

Overnight in Zagora.

West along the southern edge of the Anti-Atlas on a road that runs oasis to oasis with very little in between. Around six hours.

• Morning departure west from Zagora
• Foum Zguid and the last of the Draa country
• The southern flank of the Anti-Atlas
• Lunch en route
• The palm oasis at Tissint and its waterfall when the river runs
• Akka and its rock engravings
• Arrival at Tata in the late afternoon

Overnight in Tata.

West again along the Anti-Atlas, ending at the town that still calls itself the gate of the desert. Around four and a half hours.

• Morning departure from Tata
• The oasis road west through Foum el Hisn
• Bouizakarne and the turn south
• Lunch en route
• Guelmim and its Saturday camel market when the day falls right
• The Ait Bekkou oasis outside the town

Overnight in Guelmim.

The long run back south along the Atlantic, around six hours, with the hamada on one side and the ocean on the other for most of it.

• Early departure south from Guelmim
• The camel gates at Tan-Tan
• The coast road above the Atlantic
• Tarfaya and its Saint-Exupery museum
• Lunch on the coast
• South across the hamada
• Evening arrival in Laayoune

Overnight in Laayoune.

The return run down the Atlantic, around six hours, retracing the coast with the light behind you. A driving day, and an unusually beautiful one.

• Early departure south from Laayoune
• The coast road and its long empty stretches
• Boujdour for coffee and fuel
• Lunch at a fishing camp on the cliffs
• The desert running straight into the Atlantic
• The turn onto the Dakhla peninsula
• Evening arrival in Dakhla

Evening drop-off in Dakhla.