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Camel Treks in Morocco - By Liz Williams
"As I gazed out across the shimmering hammada I saw a vast herd of camels walking towards me through the watery haze of a mirage and watched for hours as water was raised, bucket by bucket, for hundreds of camels."
The first time I visited the Erg Chebbi at Merzouga it could only be reached by piste (off road) from Rissani or Erfoud. Late one afternoon I drove into the desert town of Rissani to meet my local desert guide and, together, we set off; Hamid skillfully driving my small rent-a-car over the sand drifts that blew across the flat black desert (hammada).
After the sun set we continued in the dark and, when Hamid stopped and told me to get out and enjoy the view, I remember thinking I was crazy. Here I was in the middle of nowhere, with a man that I did not know and in the pitch black he was telling me to get out and enjoy the view! I have to admit that the view was truly amazing and the African night sky was filled with more stars than anyone could ever count.Some hours later we arrived at a dingy looking building with steamed-up windows and, inside, were robed and turbaned men drumming, singing and dancing. I was, by this stage, convinced that I had walked out of the world as I knew it. The next morning, Christmas Day, I tumbled out of my barely furnished room and found myself faced with the dunes of the Erg Chebbi. There were sand dunes ahead, sand dunes to the left, sand dunes to the right and sand dunes behind the sand dunes in each direction.
It took hours of negotiation before the price was agreed for a camel trek into the Erg Chebbi amd I paid way too much for an experience that whetted my appetite for a londer esert adventure. Oner year later I returned with 4 friends for a 5 day camel trek in Erg Chigaga. We chose Erg Chigaga as it seemed to offer a more authentic desert experience.
Preparations finalized, our 5 day camel trek set off from Mhamid with 3 local guides and several camels, panniers over-brimming with water and food to feed 8 of us over the 5 day trip. It was an amazing experience to be camel trekking across a desert wilderness with sandy dunes, rocky plains, knarled trees, oases, nomad wells, military outposts, vast herds of camels and nomads.
During our camel trek in Erg Chigaga we walked, rode until riding a camel became uncomfortable, and walked again. We rested at mid-day under the shade of a lone tree or Bedouin tent; danced in a sandstorm; watered our camels at nomad wells; told stories around a camp fire and drank Tea in the Sahara with Ait Atta Berbers. One day, camel trekking across an empty landscape, we saw someone running towards us and realized we had an camel chair seat of the Marathon du Sable, best described as ‘one of the world’s hardest marathons’.
My personal best highlight of our 5 day camel trek in Erg Chigaga was stopping for lunch at the Sacred Heart Oasis. As I gazed out across the shimmering hammada I saw a vast herd of camels walking towards me through the watery haze of a mirage and watched for hours as water was raised, bucket by bucket, for hundreds of camels whose bellies visibly expanded as they drank from a stone trough. Satiated, the herd was lead back into the desert and vanished on the horizon.
Camel trekking is, for many, the highlight of their Moroccan holiday although a 5 day, 4 day, 3 day or even 2 day camel trek would not suit everyone and we offer various camel trek options in Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga (see 'Camel Trekking in Morocco' for more information):
- Camel trek at sunset in Erg Chebbi, from Merzouga, and overnight in a hotel on the dune line
- Camel trek at sunset from Merzouga to overnight in a Bedouin tent in the Erg Chebbi dunes; overnight camel treks include a sunset and sunrise camel ride
If your desert fantasy is to wander in the Sahara like a nomad we offer camel treks from 2 days to 15 days:
- In a 2 day, 3 day, 4 day or 5 day camel trek you can explore the desert environment of Erg Chebbi from Merzouga or Erg Chagaga from Mhamid
- A camel trek of 15 days follows the old trade route from Zagora to Rissani where you find the remains of the historic city of Sijilmassa, 757AD. Sijilmassa was the first true Muslim city of North Africa and subsequently became a major staging post on the trans-Saharan Camel Caravan Route. In its hey day, with a suggested population of 100,000, it was the capital of the Tafilalt region but today only the desert wind and blowing sand swirls around the ruins of this once great city
If you are on a tight schedule i.e. only in Marrakech for a week-end break; we offer overnight Desert Tours from Marrakech with a camel trek from Zagora. These are not big dunes but, even so, a great introduction to Morocco and you can sleep in a nBedouin tent with an evening and morning camel ride.
