Desert circuits to Foum Zguid and Erg Chigaga, starting from your own city

Which circuit suits your starting city?

What sets a circuit apart from a short excursion run out of Foum Zguid is the road. The journey from your city is part of the plan, and it is what determines the number of days. Prices are per person, always “from”, and all departures are private.

As a rule of thumb: two days if you mainly want to sleep among the dunes, three or four if you want to enjoy them without rushing, five to seven if you want to cross them on foot.

From Ouarzazate: a two-day loop through the Draa and Iriki

The Ouarzazate circuit to Erg Chigaga (from €290) never covers the same ground twice: you enter the desert from the east and leave it from the west.

• First day: a 4×4 collects you at your hotel at 8 am and follows the Draa Valley, pausing at Zagora and Tamegroute before lunch in M’Hamid. Beyond the Sacred Oasis the first dunes rise; sunset, dinner round the fire and a night at camp end the day.
• Second day: breakfast at first light, then a crossing of Lake Iriki to Foum Zguid and its valley. Lunch is in Tazenakht, and you are back in Ouarzazate by late afternoon.

Foum Zguid lies about 150 km south of Ouarzazate by way of Tazenakht; our Foum Zguid page explains what the town offers before or after the desert.

From Zagora: two days to Erg Chigaga, home by way of Foum Zguid

If your trip already passes through Zagora, the circuit linking Zagora, Chigaga and Foum Zguid (from €225) is the shortest way to reach the big dunes.

• Day 1: a 4×4 runs up the Draa to M’Hamid, where an hour on a camel is included. The track then leads to the Erg Chigaga camp: dinner, an evening by the fire, a night in a tent.
• Day 2: sunrise, breakfast, then the track to Lake Iriki and Foum Zguid. You are due back in Zagora around 1 pm.

Erg Chigaga is Morocco’s biggest erg, some 35 to 40 km long. To know what to expect there, read our Erg Chigaga guide.

From Agadir: three days via Taroudant and the Anti-Atlas

Staying on the coast? The Agadir to Chigaga circuit via Taroudant takes three days and two nights (from €410): it crosses the Anti-Atlas and breaks the journey in Foum Zguid before the desert track begins.

• Day 1: meet at about 8 am in Agadir, Taghazout or Tamraght. The route passes Taroudant’s ramparts, stops for lunch on the way, calls at Taliouine for saffron and arrives in Foum Zguid by evening, where you sleep in a guesthouse.
• Day 2: the 4×4 crosses Lake Iriki and skirts coloured rock and a fossil-bearing plateau. After a nomad-style lunch you reach the Erg Chigaga dunes in golden light, ride a camel and spend the night at camp.
• Day 3: the sun rises over the crests, you leave the desert and are dropped at your hotel as evening begins.

Count the price per person, for 2 travellers sharing a private 4×4 that seats up to 6.

From Marrakech: three or four days by 4×4, or several days on foot

By road, the three-day option (from €440) climbs over the Tizi n’Tichka, passes Aït Ben Haddou, then runs through Tazenakht and Foum Zguid. You spend one night in a guesthouse and one at camp, and come back through the Drâa valley. The four-day option (from €560) keeps the same route and adds a full day in the dunes, hence a second night at camp.

On foot, the transfer from Marrakech or Agadir is built into the programme, and a camel caravan carries the kit.

Five days on foot among the dunes (from €640)

The trek in the heart of the dunes runs as follows.

1. Drive from Marrakech over the Tizi n’Tichka (or from Agadir) through Tazenakht and Foum Zguid, across the Iriki plains, to camp at Erg El Mhazil.
2. You walk beside the caravan to Erg Elhaj Ahmed, where camp is pitched among the dunes.
3. A second stage takes you to Erg El Ghoule and an evening by the fire.
4. Arrival at El Grisim oasis: bread baked in the sand, tea, a night beneath the palms.
5. Back by 4×4 across the Iriki plain, a break in Tazenakht, then the transfer.

Six days from the oasis to Chigaga (from €640)

The oasis trek opens by taking you from Agadir or Marrakech to a riad in Foum Zguid for the first night. The 4×4 then runs to El Grisim oasis; about three hours’ walking brings you to Erg Chigaga, another day to remote dunes, then Erg El Ghoule. You are back in Foum Zguid around 11 am, before the transfer.

A week on foot, from the coast to the Chigaga dunes

Our longest departure, the Agadir to Chigaga desert trekking, fills a whole week (6 nights, from €740). Six stages are set out in the programme.

1. Out of Agadir through Taroudant and Taliouine, then into Iriki National Park for the first camp at Erg El Mhazil.
2. A walk with the camels to Erg Elhaj Ahmed.
3. On towards Erg El Ghoule, noticing wildlife and plants; an evening of tales and music.
4. El Grisim oasis, where you learn what an oasis does for those who live there, taste sand-baked bread and tea, and sleep under palms.
5. Semi-arid tamarisk country; camp at the foot of the dunes.
6. The last walk to Erg Chigaga and the climb of the great dune at sunset.

As for day seven, the journey home, it is detailed with your quote. Difficulty, walking times and kit are covered in our guide to desert trekking in Morocco.

Slotting a circuit into a wider Moroccan trip

The desert fits comfortably into a longer holiday if you plan a few details:

• You land in Marrakech: crossing the High Atlas is part of the adventure. Book a night in Marrakech before departure and another on return rather than rushing to a flight.
• You are on holiday in Agadir: three days are enough to add the Sahara to a seaside break; the seven-day crossing is for those who make the desert the point of the trip.
• You are passing through Ouarzazate or the Draa Valley: the loop avoids driving the same road twice.
• Flights: do not book a late flight on the day you come back; arrival times from the desert are never exact.
• Season: aim for October to April. Summer afternoons often climb above 40 °C, while winter nights can approach freezing.

To weigh up the main regions before deciding, browse our article on which Moroccan desert to visit.

Tailor-made options and how to book

The routes above are the ones we publish. A different starting city, an extra night or a chain of several stages can be discussed: describe your plans and you receive a programme and price before any commitment.

1. Contact Abdul on WhatsApp at +212 649 598 615, giving your dates, starting city, group size and the circuit that appeals.
2. A confirmed programme and price come back to you.
3. Before you book, you are told how payment and cancellation work.

The contact page works too, and the Foum Zguid desert page gathers all the shorter outings.

Travellers’ questions