4-Day Agadir to Erg Chigaga Desert tour

Leave Agadir around 8 a.m. and trace the fertile Souss plain, where goats famously climb argan trees. A quick stop at a women-run argan-oil cooperative gives you a taste of Berber cosmetics and supports the local economy. By late morning you reach Taroudant—nicknamed a “mini-Marrakech” for its ochre ramparts and lively souks. Wander the silver-smith and spice lanes, then continue east beneath the granite bulk of Jebel Sirwa. Lunch is in Taliouine, world capital of saffron; try a saffron-infused tajine before touring a co-op that dries the crimson threads. The road turns wilder across volcanic plateaus, dotted with camel caravans and fossil beds, until palm groves herald Foum Zguid. Check into a kasbah-style lodge, sip mint tea on the rooftop, and stroll the palmeraie at sunset before a hearty Berber dinner.

After breakfast, your driver deflates the tyres for better grip on the empty Paris–Dakar rally track. The landscape flips from basalt flats to rolling hamada. Keep an eye out for desert fox prints and the hardy acacia trees that nomads use for shade. Mid-morning, the baked-white crust of Lake Iriki appears—once a seasonal lake, now a surreal salt pan perfect for “mirror-sky” photos. Enjoy a picnic under a tamarisk shrub before continuing to the first apricot dunes of Erg Chigaga. Trade 4×4 for camel and sway across the tallest ridges as the sun melts into orange and pink. Your luxury desert camp awaits with private en-suite tents, hot showers, and ice-cold drinks. After dinner, Berber musicians drum rhythms beside the fire while the Milky Way unfurls overhead—an astronomer’s dream.

Set an alarm for a dune-top sunrise; the shifting shadows and silence are pure Sahara magic. Back at camp, fuel up on msemen pancakes and strong coffee, then try sand-boarding or a short camel loop. Rejoin the piste to M’Hamid El Ghozlane, the “end-of-the-asphalt” town, where you’ll share tea in an adobe ksar and glimpse nomadic life. The sealed road returns along the lush ribbon of the Draa Valley—endless date palms, fortified ksour, and kasbahs of sun-baked mud. Stretch your legs at Tamnougalt or the lively pottery village of Agdz for lunch. The afternoon climb over the jagged Anti-Atlas offers panoramic bends before descending into film-famous Ouarzazate. Optional visit to Atlas Film Studios or the UNESCO-listed Kasbah Taourirt, then check into a riad-hotel with a rooftop view for sunset and dinner.

After breakfast, swing by Taznakht, Morocco’s carpet hub, to watch Amazigh women knot intricate designs and perhaps bargain for a souvenir rug. The road slices through moon-scaped Anti-Atlas passes with photo stops at copper-green gorges and goat-studded cliffs. Near Aït Baha, visit an argan cooperative that presses culinary-grade oil; sample amlou (argan-almond honey dip) with warm khobz. Descend to the coastal plain and break for lunch overlooking the Souss River estuary—a bird-watcher’s haven for flamingos in season. Roll back into Agadir around 5 p.m., refreshed by Atlantic breezes and carrying a camera full of Sahara memories.