The Sahara Desert stretches from the snow-capped
mountains of Morocco in the west, to the Red
Sea coast 4,800 km to the east. Its landscape
varies from a stony flat expanse to perfect
wind-blown sand dunes, broken only by the
occasional oasis. The feeling of space and
solitude is awesome.
With Berbers as your guides and a small
caravan of camels to carry your supplies,
you will trek 100 km through this varied
and stunning landscape.
For a tour brochure and reservation form
please contact
us.
Itinerary
Day 1: Depart UK
You depart from London bound to Ouarzazate
via Casablanca, and transfer to the hotel.
Ouarzazate lies just below the High Atlas
Mountains and is on the edge of the desert.
Day 2: Arrive at starting point (3 hrs
walking)
After an early breakfast you have a detailed
briefing and then leave for the five-hour
drive to M'Hamid, your starting point. Your
drive takes you over the Jebel Sarhro Mountains
and down the "Valley of a Thousand
Kasbahs" into the desert. You have
a brief stop in Zagora to buy a shash
(native headscarf) and have your last cold
drink before the heat of the desert. On
arrival at the starting point you have lunch
while the cameleers load up the camels.
Your late afternoon trek takes you firstly
across flat open plain and then into Erg
Lihoudi, your first taste of small dunes.
You make camp at the edge of the dunes for
the night.
Day 3: Erg Lihoudi - L'oued L'autruche
(6 hrs walking)
The full colour of the landscape erupts
as the sun rises. Hot coffee and a good
breakfast sets you up for a good day's trek.
You break camp, load the camels and head
off across Erg Lihoudi. You walk across
the small dunes and around the larger ones.
Amongst the dunes are small tamarisk trees
that manage to flourish in this harsh environment.
Continuing through the small dunes, you
can see the Jebel Bani Mountains to the
north and dunes to the south. After a good
four-hour trek you stop for lunch in the
shade of large tree. During the afternoon
you walk out of the dunes and onto a flat
rocky plateau where you make camp near L'oued
L'autruche, close to a well.
Day 4: L'oued L'autruche - Bougarnne
(7 hrs walking)
Leaving camp behind you, you walk across
flat open country with the camels not far
behind. The surface is firm and stony with
tough grass poking through in places. After
around 4 km you come to the edge of some
low dunes. Skirting to the north of the
dunes you walk on both soft sand and stony
plateau where you can find the occasional
fossilised sea creature. The hottest part
of the day is spent having lunch in the
shade, time to relax and refill the water
bottles. In the afternoon you head across
lots of beautifully formed low dunes to
an area called Bougarnne, where there are
several large dunes and clumps of palm trees.
The walking is tough. Sand fills your boots
and your feet sink into the small dunes.
After an hour you see the large dunes in
the distance and head for them. Distance
is hard to gauge in the desert and it takes
a further two hours to reach the dunes and
your campsite perched on a bluff overlooking
the dunes.
Day 5: Bougarnne - Chgaga (7 hrs walking)
After a good breakfast you head off down
a gully onto the desert floor. You spend
the morning crossing hamada, or stony
flat desert. You have several short climbs
and cross dry and dusty plains. There is
very little vegetation around but you manage
to find the only tree for miles to have
lunch under. When the hottest part of the
day has passed you set off across more hamada
until you cross a ridge and have a spectacular
view of Chgaga, the largest sand dunes of
the region. You camp below the dunes for
the night.
Day 6: Chgaga - Jebel Bani (7 hrs walking)
The day starts with the spectacular climb
and incredible view from the top of the
300-metre dune. To the south are rolling
dunes as far as you can see, and to the
north hamada and the Jebel Bani.
After taking in the view you have fun descending
the dune along one of the narrow ridges.
Regrouping at the bottom and meeting the
camels, you refill the water bottles and
walk through low dunes. You spend the whole
day in amongst the dunes passing the occasional
nomadic encampment and small clump of palm
trees. In the late afternoon you finally
reappear from the dunes and head out across
flat desert and acacia tress to your campsite
near a well and just below the Jebel Bani.
Day 7: Jebel Bani - Saltpan (7 hrs walking)
Today is your day of mirages and flat saltpans.
You firstly walk across several kilometres
of hamada with dunes lying to the
south. Gradually the acacia trees vanish
and you are left in a spectacularly flat
open saltpan. Once again distances are impossible
to gauge and the views shimmer in the heat.
There is no cover for lunch so you put one
of the tents up to give you shade. You are
getting pretty close to your hundredth kilometre
now and the last few are covered crossing
this remote and desolate place. Your last
night is spent on the saltpan with its (usually)
incredible sunset.
Day 8: Edge of desert - Marrakech (5
hrs)
The day starts early for your sunrise walk
as you near the edge of the desert - an
unforgettable experience. You load into
the trucks and Land Rover and drive the
last bumpy 1-2 hrs across the desert piste
to the tarmac road. The exciting journey
in the back of the open trucks is great
fun if a little dusty. On arriving at the
tarmac road you
transfer to your bus and cross the stunning
High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech, where
you will celebrate in style! (Dinner not
included)
Day 9: Free day in Marrakech
You have the day free to explore the amazing
sights of the Jma El Fnaa, the main square,
and shop in the bustling souks for which
Marrakech is renowned. (Lunch and dinner
not included)
Day 10: Return home
Early transfer to airport; depart for London.
General information
Accommodation
A mixture of camping and 2/3* hotels.
Temperature
November-March: 8-30°C
What's included
Scheduled flights, all transport, all accommodation
and food other than three meals as specified
in the itinerary (hotel are 2-3*). All camping
equipment is provided apart from your sleeping
bag and sleeping mat. There is full support
with local guides and cooks as well as a
Discover Adventure leader. Travel insurance,
3 meals as specified, airport departure
tax (where applicable) and personal expenditure
are not included. An optional city tour
of Marrakech on your free day is also not
included. Approximately £50-100 is
recommended for personal expenses.
What's it really like?
You trek over firm desert floor, soft sand
and loose rocky ground. There are some stepp,
strenuous ascents of sand dunes. You trek
for an average of 6-7 hours a day. The heat
can be intense and adds to the challenge.
You camp in large tents set up by your Berber
support crew. Most people sleep out under
the stars for at least one night - a truly
wonderful experience, despite the cold temperatures.
Water is reserved for drinking and cooking;
there are few opportunities to wash.
Tour costs
A non-refundable registration fee of £249
is required to secure a place on this challenge.
We then ask that you raise your minimum
sponsorship target of £2,250 to be
received by Epilepsy Research UK at the
latest 8 weeks before departure. Epilepsy
Research UK then pays the full cost of your
tour.
Alternatively you can pay the full tour
costs of £900 (plus the registration
fee) and fundraise as you choose with 100%
of your donation remaining with Epilepsy
Research UK.
Please note that prices may be subject
to change.
For a tour brochure and reservation form
please contact
us. This trip is organised by Discover
Adventure (ATOL Protected 5636).
