Light, breathable clothing, a warm layer for evenings, sturdy closed-toe shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, a headscarf or buff, and a reusable water bottle. A full packing list is sent at booking confirmation.

Nomads Trail - 4 days Desert Tour

Q: What fitness level is required?

No prior trekking experience is needed. The pace is set by the camels — slow and steady. The longest walking sections are short and on flat terrain. If you can manage a gentle walk, you can do this trek.

Q: What is the minimum age for children?

Children from 5 years old are welcome, using a specially fitted saddle camel. Younger children may be accommodated on a case-by-case basis — contact us to discuss.

Q: What is the best time of year to go?

October to April is ideal — temperatures are comfortable during the day (15–25°C) and cool at night. Summer (June–August) is possible but temperatures can exceed 45°C in the desert. Spring (March–May) offers beautiful light and occasional wildflowers in the valley.

Q: How many people are in a group?

We operate small groups to keep the experience authentic. Maximum 12 participants. Private departures are available year-round.

Q: Do I actually ride the camel all day?

Not necessarily — most participants mix riding and walking. Your guide will help you find a comfortable rhythm. Children typically ride more than adults.

Q: Can the itinerary be customised?

Yes — extensions, private departures, and route variations are all possible. Contact us to build a bespoke version of this trek.

Overview

This 4-days family desert trek is a short but authentic journey that will allow you to discover the traditions and culture of the Nomads and introduce you to the simple life of the desert. Suitable for families, accessible to children from 5 years old (with a saddle camel).

Departure City: Marrakech / Ouarzazate

Destination: Draa Valley

Explore more Sahara adventures: Camel Trekking Tour from Mhamid – 4 Days, Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga, Morocco Desert Tour – 3 Days Trekking.

Browse all our Sahara desert tours, or reserve a comfortable stay at our desert camp accommodation before or after your trip.

Accomodation
3-4 Stars
Departure City
Marrakech or Ouarzazate or Mhamid
Arrival City
Marrakech or Ouarzazate or Mhamid
Guide
Guided
Meals
Dinnr and breakfast
Transportation
4WD or Mini-van
Wifi
Available
Destinations
Desert Tours From Mhamid
Trip Type
Mhamid Desert Tours
Difficulty
Easy

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

About this journey

Nomads Trail is Sahara Marokko’s original 4-day desert trip in Morocco, and the trek most first-time visitors to M’Hamid choose. It follows a genuine nomadic route by camel and on foot from M’Hamid to the dunes near Erg Chegaga, camping under canvas or open sky for three nights along the way.

The pace is gentle and family-friendly, guided throughout by local nomadic families who still travel this stretch of desert. Along the route you’ll cross small dunes, dry riverbeds and open hammada, with meals and tea breaks built around shade and rest during the hottest hours.

If you’d like a shorter taste of the same dunes, our 2-day Erg Chegaga excursion covers similar ground at a faster pace, and our full list of desert tours compares every option side by side.

Day 1 :

Marrakech to M'Hamid — Crossing the Atlas

Marrakech → Tizi n'Tichka → Aït Benhaddou → Ouarzazate → Draa Valley → Fixed Camp

The adventure starts early. You'll depart Marrakech in a private vehicle as the city is still waking up, heading southeast toward the towering peaks of the High Atlas Mountains. The drive itself is a journey — winding Berber villages cling to the hillsides, terraced fields catch the morning light, and the road narrows as you climb toward the Tizi n'Tichka Pass.

At 2,260 metres, Tizi n'Tichka is the highest road pass in Morocco and the main corridor between Marrakech and the Saharan south. The views from the top are sweeping — on a clear day you can see the Atlas range stretching in both directions. Once over the pass, the landscape shifts dramatically: red earth replaces the green of the mountains, and the great open expanse of the south begins.

A stop at Aït Benhaddou breaks the journey perfectly. This UNESCO World Heritage ksar (fortified village) rising from the riverbank is one of Morocco's most iconic sights — a labyrinth of sun-dried mud-brick towers, granaries, and mosques that has stood for centuries. It's also a favourite filming location (you may recognise it from several major films and TV series). Take your time to explore before the road leads on through Ouarzazate — the "Gateway to the Sahara" — and into the date palm–lined Draa Valley.

By evening, you'll arrive at the comfortable fixed camp on the edge of the palmery. Dinner is served under the stars, and tonight's sleep is calm — tomorrow the desert begins in earnest.

Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2,260m) - Aït Benhaddou (UNESCO) - Draa Valley palmery - Fixed camp — dinner included

Day 2 :

Into the Erg — Camel Caravan Begins

Fixed Camp → Open Desert → Sidi Naji Mausoleum → Dune Camp

This is the morning everything changes. After breakfast at the fixed camp, you meet your nomadic team — experienced desert guides who know this land as well as their own names. The camels are loaded, saddles are fitted for the little ones, and the caravan sets off at the unhurried pace that desert travel demands.

The palm trees thin out quickly, and within the hour, you're deep in open desert. The ground here is hammada — flat, stony, ancient — and scattered across it are fragments of pottery, broken shards of vessels that once held oil, water, or grain. These are the traces of civilisations that settled this corner of the Sahara thousands of years ago, before the desert swallowed them whole. Your guide will stop and explain what you're seeing. It's a more powerful history lesson than any book.

Lunch is taken in the shade of a lone acacia tree — one of the few that survive this far into the erg. Afterwards, the afternoon walk brings you to the mausoleum of Sidi Naji, a revered local marabout (holy man). The site is still visited by nomadic families who pass through, and it offers a quiet, intimate window into the spiritual life of the desert communities who have always lived here.

As the light turns amber, your guides choose a spot between the dunes and begin setting up camp. The tents are Saharan-style, low to the ground and open to the breeze. Dinner is cooked over an open fire. The sky above you — unpolluted by any light for a hundred kilometres — is extraordinary.

First full camel caravan day - Ancient pottery fragments - Sidi Naji mausoleum - Night in the dunes

Day 3 :

The Dunes of Erg Zahar — Heart of the Sahara

Dune Camp → Old Nomad Market → Erg Zahar → Dune Camp

If you could choose only one day to live twice, it would probably be this one. The caravan heads toward Erg Zahar, and as you push deeper into the desert, the tamarisk trees that have dotted the landscape grow rarer, the horizon flattens and stretches, and the dunes ahead seem to grow with every hour.

Along the way, you'll pass through the site of an old nomad market — now a quiet, windswept plain — where, for generations, the desert's nomadic families would gather with their herds to trade with passing caravans from sub-Saharan Africa. Salt, spices, cloth, livestock: everything that kept these communities alive changed hands here. Standing in the emptiness, it takes some imagination to picture the noise and colour of it — but your guide will help paint that picture.

After lunch in the shade of a tamarisk (Morocco's most hospitable tree), the final push into the dunes begins. Erg Zahar is genuinely spectacular — wave after wave of orange and amber sand sculpted into sinuous ridges by the prevailing winds, each one unique in shape and scale. The camels navigate between them with impressive ease.

When you reach the summit of the tallest dune and look out over the sea of sand in every direction, you'll understand why people come back to the Sahara again and again. Camp is set up in a hollow between the dunes — sheltered, magical, and completely off-grid. This is one of those nights that earns its place in memory.

Erg Zahar dunes - Old nomad market site - Dune summit panorama - Camp in the dunes

Day 4 :

Sunrise in the Dunes — Return to Marrakech

Dune Camp → Fixed Camp (4×4) → Ouarzazate → Marrakech

Wake up slowly. Breakfast is served as the sun rises over the dunes — the light at that hour is a shade of gold that doesn't exist anywhere else on earth. There's no rush; the camels aren't going anywhere just yet, and neither are you.

Eventually the tents come down, and the caravan is loaded for the last time. You'll part ways with the camels — and likely feel something more than you expected about it — before a 4×4 transfer carries you back across the desert to the fixed camp.

From there, the road north begins. The drive back retraces part of your Day 1 route, this time in reverse: the Draa Valley palms, the ochre plains of the south, and then the climb back over the High Atlas. A stop in Ouarzazate for lunch gives you a chance to wander the old kasbah quarter and pick up a few souvenirs before the final push over Tizi n'Tichka and back into the chaos and colour of Marrakech.

You'll arrive in the evening — dusty, tired, and (if we've done our job properly) transformed.

Sunrise breakfast in the dunes - 4×4 return transfer - Lunch in Ouarzazate - Arrive - Marrakech by evening

Frequently Asked Questions

Expand all

What fitness level is required?

What is the minimum age for children?

What is the best time of year to go?

How many people are in a group?

Do I actually ride the camel all day?

What should I pack?

Can the itinerary be customised?

Nomads Trail – 4 days Desert Tour

Overview

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Trip Info

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

About this journey

Day by day

Marrakech → Tizi n'Tichka → Aït Benhaddou → Ouarzazate → Draa Valley → Fixed Camp

Fixed Camp → Open Desert → Sidi Naji Mausoleum → Dune Camp

Dune Camp → Old Nomad Market → Erg Zahar → Dune Camp

Dune Camp → Fixed Camp (4×4) → Ouarzazate → Marrakech

What's included

Included

Not included

Frequently Asked Questions

You can send your enquiry via the form below.

Trip Info

Sahara Marokko

Quick Links

Our Tours

Contact Us

Overview

You Might Also Like

Trip Info

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

About this journey

Day by day

Marrakech → Tizi n'Tichka → Aït Benhaddou → Ouarzazate → Draa Valley → Fixed Camp

Fixed Camp → Open Desert → Sidi Naji Mausoleum → Dune Camp

Dune Camp → Old Nomad Market → Erg Zahar → Dune Camp

Dune Camp → Fixed Camp (4×4) → Ouarzazate → Marrakech

What's included

Included

Not included

Frequently Asked Questions

You can send your enquiry via the form below.

Trip Info

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Sahara Marokko

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