Average rating Atlas trek and Erg Chebbi Desert tour

Get off the beaten track on this seven-day guided holiday trekking in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. You’ll visit traditional Berber villages, hike through the desert, and feast on delicious Moroccan meals.

A trip to Morocco isn’t complete without trekking deep into the High Atlas Mountains and visiting the ethereal Erg Chebbi sand dunes, so leave the hustle and bustle of Marrakech behind and get lost in a landscape of Saharan sand dunes, barren hills and verdant valleys. Just outside the city lies the Atlas Mountain range. It stretches across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia for about 1500 miles and the patch just outside Marrakech is easily accessed and great for trekking. Hillsides are studded with Berber villages and Kasbahs, and gorges like the Todra Gorge create huge dramatic rifts in the landscape.

This seven-day tour really gives you an insight into the way of life of the Berber people who live in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The hectic pace and labyrinthine bazaars in Marrakech may only be a few hours by car, but they’ll seem a million miles away. Here, trekking in the Atlas, you may as well be in the middle of nowhere – and that’s what’s so great about it. Get back to nature as you stay in nomadic campsites, gaze across vistas of rolling sand dunes at Erg Chebbi, and explore hillside Kasbahs and Berber villages. And, as it’s a guided tour you never need worry about getting lost in the desert.

Outdoorsy types and nature lovers will feel right at home on this Atlas trekking tour - go as a couple, in a group of friends or as a family – the more people who are in your group, the cheaper the price you’ll pay. One thing though, if you’re not happy unless you’re in 5-star accommodation, Atlas trekking in the High Atlas Mountains probably isn't for you. Apart from the first night when you’ll stay in a hotel, the rest of the time you’ll sleep in traditional tents, so if you’re one for creature comforts you might prefer a shorter tour.

Getting there

Marrakech has an international airport, with both budget and international airlines flying here. It’s possible to get very cheap flights, but you’ll need to book long in advance.

Price includes

Price is per person for a group of 2-4 people and includes transfers to/from Marrakech, English-speaking guide, travel in 4x4, half-board accommodation, overnight camping, all meals except lunches. If you are traveling alone, please contact us as we can usually arrange for you to join another group (and pay the reduced group rate)

Comfort level

Down to earth (hostels, camping, huts)

Experience required

A reasonable level of fitness and interest is all that is needed

Travellers should bring

General: Sleeping Bag (can be rented), Day-pack, Sunglasses, Water bottles (most of the time it is possible to buy water during the trek from villages), Towel, Ziplock bags, Needle and thread / safety pins, Camera, batteries and film – bring lots!

Clothing: Sarong (can double as a towel, lightweight sheet or scarf), Cotton long sleeved shirt (for intense sun), Rain jacket, Hat (sun), Lightweight long pants, 2-3 T-shirts, Woollen sweater/fleece, Cotton scarf (doubles as a wash cloth), Hiking boots or hiking shoes.

First aid – (make sure you use water proof labelling when re-packaging), Disinfectant creme / gel (Polysporin), Plasters, Ibufrofen (Advil or generic – for pain, swelling) , Tylenol (colds and fever), Cold medication – Echanacia / zinc lozenges, Tweezers, Visine, Aloe vera gel (for burns), Anti-hystamine tablets, Diarrhoea medication (Immodium) Personal: Sunblock, Moisturiser / lip balm with sunblock, Book, Small torch / flash-light (small bicycle lights make good travelling torches), Nail clippers, Wet-wipes, Soap / shampoo / toothpaste / toothbrush etc.

Please note, there are no bank ATM machines in the Mountains, bring enough cash from Marrakech. Customers should also ensure they have full travel insurance in place.

1. The guides provided were, without exception, knowledgeable, polite, helpful and willing to answer any questions we had. The accommodation was always appropriate to the surroundings - a tent in the desert, a mountain retreat in the hills, a riverside hotel in the gorges. Transport was comfortable, well maintained and in good working order - even the camels (although they did get the hump) hahahahahahahahaha. All in all a very well organised trip - perfect in every way. (except Ouarzazate which was a bit too westernised for us! - fortunately, we were only there over lunch but felt we could have spent NO time there but rather visited Ait Baddhou in detail rather than see it from a distance)

   Tina reviewing Atlas trek and Erg Chebbi Desert tour