Camels & Camps- Agadir
Day 1 Includes
- Transfer from Agadir to the Sahara
- Lunch en route
- Dinner
- Night in Desert Camp
"Three fabulous days"
"We feel that your package gave us a genuinely close experience of Moroccan lifestyle and culture in a very short space of time. It was three fabulous days that will always be remembered. I would recommend this trip to anyone. Superb organization, service and A1 value for money. Please congratulate the team for a fabulous job. Thank you so very much for everything."
-Paul U
Day 1: High Atlas and the Sahara
Your guide and driver will pick you up at your
accommodations in Agadir at 07:00 in the morning to start your desert
experience. The drive takes you east, pass Taroudant, and through
the green crescent of Morocco where everything from fruits and
vegetables to flowers are grown. Look carefully into the trees as
your pass, the goats are known to climb into them for shade and fresh
leaves. To the north, on the sides of the High Atlas mountains
there's a crop more valuable than any other, saffron. To take a
break from the drive, you'll stop at the Saffron Association in order to have
some exotic Saffron tea and to learn more about this expensive spice.
After tea, the drive continues east to Tazenkhat,
the rural center of Berber Rug production in Morocco, before heading south to Foum Zguid for lunch.
After lunch you leave behind the last signs of civilization as you go south
along the route of the famous Paris-Dakar Rally over desert pistes
(almost invisible tracks in the sand) crossing the Irqui Oasis, passing
nomadic tents, wild camels and into the Erg Chegaga and its sea of sand
and tall dunes.
The Sahara (meaning Desert in Arabic) is the largest desert on Earth, encompassing an area of over 8 million square kilometers (over 3.5 million square miles). Many people often think the Sahara is only rolling sand dunes, but is actually only 30% sand (known as erg); the remaining 70% is gravel plains (known as reg). The other aspects of the Saharan landscape include the hammadas: vast plateaus swept by winds; and massive mountains whose altitude varies but can exceed 3,000 meters (9843 feet).
As you ride along, you'll think the Sahara is lifeless, but to survive, life adapts. One of the most surprising splashes of life and color are the Tamarisk mounds. These
mounds are formed around the Tamarisk tree, which exudes a sticky sap that gathers the sands pushed by the wind, building its own sand dune until nothing but branches are visible.
You will reach the camp before sunset. Dinner will be prepared while you explore, and served with traditional Touareg music. The night will be spent in a traditional desert tent.