Services & Activities

Need A Ride to the Desert?

Luxury Transport & Bespoke Tours

Need a ride to the Sahara? We provide 4x4 luxury drivers for transport to the desert and create bespoke tours for your holiday.

The journey down to the desert is an integral part of the experience with it’s amazing changing and diverse landscape. A sensorial extravaganza and an important part of your experience and an education into the history of this country. The concern of how many hours the journey takes is not the most important information as the journey it’s self is such a major part of the whole adventure.

The drive is spectacular. From Marrakech it is 9 hours in total including a stop for lunch. There are flights from Casablanca to Ouarzazate if you prefer to cut a section of the journey by 4 hours.

If you have time, it is best to stop on the way down to the Sahara or on the way back at Ait Ben Haddou or Irocha and explore the amazing ksar with it’s ancient kasbahs. Ideally you would spend 3 nights in the camp, giving you time to enjoy the calming energy of the Sahara camp and the dunes of Birtam. This also gives you time with your driver to spend the afternoon exploring the old oasis ksar of Mhamid, the women’s co-operative, local textiles and the kasbah museum, giving you a wealth of information of the tribes and way of life in this area.

attractions on the way to Camp Adounia

Aït Benhaddou

Aït Benhaddou is just before Ouarzazate, it is pretty spectacular and a UNESCO Heritage Site. It is about 1500 years old and the background for many movies including Game of Thrones. It is a Ksar which means a group of kasbahs like a small village.
A number of guest have really enjoyed visiting the film studios at Ourzazate, a base for many famous films.
Retreat groups can enjoy yoga at our partner hotel overlooking the ksar and meditation at the top of the hill.

Telouet Kasbah

Telouet Kasbah is along the former route of the caravans from the Sahara over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech (some Sahara caravans had 9000 people in them!
The kasbah was the seat of the El Glaoui family and is sometimes also called the Glaoui Palace, it was built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sadly it is slowly collapsing. In 2010, work was underway to restore the property. The Kasbah is near the village of Telouet. The wealth of the Pashas came from its location being near the salt mines and easy connection to the major cities.
The Draa Valley is spectacular, the river is 1100km long and flows down to Tagonite and eventually to the Atlantic around Tan Tan, the 2 rivers that converge are the

The Draa Valley

The Draa Valley is spectacular, the river is 1100km long and flows down to Tagonite and eventually to the Atlantic around Tan Tan.
The 2 rivers that converge are the Dadès River and Imini River, the river from Tagonite is dry for most of the year. This water irrigates the millions of date palms you will see on the drive down. The people of this area are called the Drawi and normally have red teeth stained from date eating.

Tamgrout

Tamgrout just 20 minutes south of Zagora is famous for its Sufi (Islamic mystecism) Zaouia (centre) for religion and learning. It was one of the biggest Sufi orders. There is also a library here with thousands of original manuscripts. Tam grout is also famous for its stunning green pottery, the glaze is made from minerals of the area that produce an amazing emerald green glaze.

Zagora

Zagora the town is names after the Zagora mountain. Each year a sufi celebration still happens in the name of Abdul Qadir Gilani a Persian Sufi saint. Zagora is the last town before the desert and a good place also if you need an ATM.

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Out & About In the sahara desert

The beauty of having your driver with you while in the Sahara desert is that you can go off exploring at any time. We are lucky that we are a camp not far from Mhamid and Tagonite, 2 ancient desert towns. Some ideas if you want to go off exploring:

Take a half day in Mhamid, ride from new Mhamid to the old oasis on camels and see an amazing insight into the culture and life of the oasis.
Visit Old Mhamid’s ksar. Enjoy a circular walk seeing the way people still live there today including kasbah schools.
Visit the women’s co-operative in the ksar. View their hand embroidered wares and notice the different styles of cloth decoration in the south with the Saharawis.
Go for a mint tea and a talk in Moulay Idriss, where you will walk through a number of ancient kasbahs until entering the museum. This wonderful place is run by the community and here you can not only explore how people lived in these mud castles but also see the different tribal dress and daily utensils of nomad life.
Go for a glass of raw camel milk, a wonderful immune booster.
Go to the main restaurant for lunch in Tagonite - the daily specials are always delicious.
Get the kids a glass of pink milk - desert milk shake.
If it is just too hot, spend the afternoon at Le Pasha hotel, enjoying the pool under shady palms and sipping a cold drink.