Destinations Show London

Many thanks to everyone who visited us at the Destinations Show in Earls Court this month.  It was a pleasure to meet so many of you.

A special thanks to Abdoullah who staffed the Berber nomad tent that we shipped over from Morocco. Abdoullah, who was born and raised in the Sahara, introduced all of us to the culture and traditions of the Berber nomads as he served glasses of sweet mint tea. 

As a result of the Show we look forward to supporting a UK charity that will be giving children in their care the opportunity of a holiday in Morocco.

Featured Tour

Authentic Morocco specialize in tailor made tours of Morocco.  Tours with a private 4x4 and local driver that offer you the opportunity to travel at your own pace and stop, as you wish, to discover Morocco. 

This month's featured tour, suitable for anyone based in Marrakech for a few days, is a day trip to the High Atlas Berber village of Telouet where you can visit the abandoned Kasbah of el Glaoui, former Pasha of Marrakech.  This is a great day out and, to read more, see Berber Village Life.


Marrakech Desert Tours

If you are planning a holiday to Morocco, and want to ride a camel in the Sahara and sleep under the stars in a Berber nomad tent, one of our most popular excursions is a 5-day desert tour from Marrakech to the sand dunes of Erg Chigaga. We run tours to these remote dunes, south of Mhamid, because we believe that they offer the most authentic desert experience in Morocco.

Our desert tours leave Marrakech at 8am in the morning and head south across the highest Atlas road pass of Tizi-n-Tichka to Ouarzazate. From here we continue along the Draa River Valley, that once formed part of the trans-Saharan trade route, to Zagora. 

After a restful night in Zagora the route continues south to Tamegroute where we stop to visit the Islamic library, a fascinating collection of ancient books and parchments, and the traditional green-glaze potteries. Continuing to the road's end at Mhamid we head off, across the desert wilderness with a stop for lunch under the date palms near the Sacred Heart Oasis, to the sand dunes of Erg Chigaga.  Arriving at our desert camp is always a great experience and you can safely wander into the immediate dunes to watch the sun setting over a desert landscape. We spend two nights at our desert camp in the dunes.

Our 5-day desert safari includes a full day in Erg Chigaga.  Relax to the pace of desert life, walk in the sand dunes under a vast blue sky, or explore this protected desert wilderness in your 4x4 with your driver e.g. visit a nomad family for mint tea and experience how the Ait Atta Berbers survive in this desert environment. Late afternoon meet with your desert guide, and camels, for an evening camel ride across the dunes at sunset.

After our desert sojourn we continue off-road across the Iriqui salt flats to the oasis of Foum Zguid and, after lunch, pick up the paved road to Ouarzazate.

The last day of the tour includes Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, a World Heritage Site and one of Morocco’s most spectacular ksour (dwellings) that once guarded the lucrative caravan route through the Atlas mountains.  From Ait Benhaddou we visit the High Atlas Berber village of Telouet and the abandoned Kasbah of el Glaoui, former Pasha of Marrakech. After lunch in Telouet we continue across the Tizi-n-Tichka Atlas mountain pass, with far-reaching views of distant Berber villages that cling to the mountain sides, to Marrakech.

We run this trip, and all our custom made tours, all year round for solo independent travellers, couples, families and groups of friends.

To celebrate New Year 2008 we ran a 5-day Desert Tour from Marrakech on the 30th December, with a group of 30 people, in 6 Toyota Land Cruisers. We had not previously run this trip with such a large group and, because it was such a success, we plan to run the tour again to celebrate New Year 2009 in the Sahara!

For one man's feedback on his tour with Authentic Morocco read Simon's write-up of the 5-day New Year Desert Tour 2008

Kind Regards,
Authentic Morocco