ARRIVE ANY DAY IN MARRAKECH — PRIVATE CAMEL TREK
12 nights - 13 day camel trek (8 days and 8 nights trekking)
3 nights, 3 or 4-star hotel accommodations in Marrakech
8 day/ 8 night camel trek to Erg Sahal Oasis and Erg Elghol
2 nights 3-star or 4-star hotel accommodations in Zagora
Transportation to/from Marrakech by TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 4x4
1-6 people ONLY
ALL PRICES ARE BASED ON 3-STAR HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
CAMEL TREKS SOLD BY BERBER TOURS ARE OFFERED AS "INDIVIDUALIZED OR PRIVATE GROUP TREKS"
CLIENTS MAY NOT PURCHASE "PLACES" ON SOMEONE ELSE'S CAMEL TREK
THIS PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE AIRLINE COSTS
PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME
ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrival in Marrakech
Arrive in Marrakech. Spend night at 3-star or 4-star hotel.
Day 2: Marrakech to Zagora
Meet your driver at 8:00am and travel through the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n Tischka Pass to the city of Ouarzazate and then on to Zagora, a trip of 226+ miles. On your way, you will visit the "seat" of Glaoui tribal power, Telouet Kasbah, now mostly in ruins except for the magnificent State Rooms of this once great Kasbah which can still be visited. British author Gavin Maxwell accomplished the twofold task of detailing the daily life, customs, and rituals in pre-independence Morocco and of recounting the rise and fall of El Hadj T'hani El Glaoui, the legendary tribal warlord through whom the French ruled one of their prize colonies in North Africa in his famous book, Lords of the Atlas. Maxwell, who died in 1969, considered himself an explorer and wrote of faraway places; in Lords of the Atlas he introduces readers to the harshness and beauty of Morocco. He shows how the blend of Berber, Arab, and black African races created an extraordinary cultural mosaic and explains how the French colonialists recruited the Atlas Mountain tribal warlords to subdue the other tribes. As the chief beneficiary of this policy, El Glaoui was able to rule most of southern Morocco in an absolute fashion, until Morocco's independence from France in 1956 brought an end to the rule of a very colorful warlord. The book contains many superb color photographs that enhance Maxwell's lively narrative.
From Telouet Kasbah we will take the piste (dirt) road along mountainous cliffs high above the valley floor and then stop at another Glaoui Kasbah, Aït Benhaddou, which is the oldest continuously inhabited Kasbah in Morocco (500+ years) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Client pays for own lunches.). Continue on to Zagora where you will spend the night at your hotel.
CAMEL TREK
Day 3:
Departing from OULED DRISS, one crosses the large sand dunes and arrives for the evening at ERG SAHL where you will spend the night in camp.
Day 4:
In the morning we cross a superb desert plate (small dunes, mountains, water well). At the end of the day you can admire the superb sunset on the dunes of RAS RICH and camp for the night.
Day 5:
We carry on our way through the sand fields filled with Tamaris dunes until midday when we will have the midday meal. Then we cross small dunes to make our camp in the dunes of HDAB EDGIG.
Day 6:
After the breakfast, we carry on our way across the WADI (river) DRAA, the longest river in Morocco (1200 km) and the pretty dunes along the way to reach our camp in the large dunes of ERG EZAHAR.
Day 7:
A superb day between the sand dunes, we continue to the large dunes of BOUGRNE where we will camp.
Day 8:
We continue our excursion between the pretty oases until we arrive for the evening at WADI AM.
Day 9:
After our breakfast we carry on our way, and cross a desert plate to reach ERG ELGHOL where we will camp for the night.
Day 10:
After breakfast we trek for three hours over a superb desert plate and we arrive back at Ouled Driss from which we had begun our desert adventure. Here you will have the opportunity to shower and have lunch at Chez le Pacha Restaurant and Resort before returning to Zagora.
In the afternoon the clients will be met by Berber Tours and be transported back to Zagora by 4x4 where they are invited to have dinner with the Bouhaddou family ***(See below). We will stop in the town of Tamegroute along the way.
Tamegroute is dominated by a zaouia (a religious cloister) of the Sufi Naciri brotherhood that has been a center of religious learning since the Almoravide dynasty spear-headed a wave of religious reawakening in the 11th century. The zaouia also attracts some of the most underprivileged members of Moroccan society, people suffering from mental or physical illness, or simply lost souls who find their way to its peace and charity from as far away as Casablanca . It was also the cradle of the Saadian dynasty. The zaouia incorporates a madrassa which, although now a modern school, has its origins in the 17th century. Alongside the school is a celebrated library (another modern building) which counts among its treasures Islamic commentaries written on gazelle skin dating from before the 13th century. The library is open to visitors.
Also in Tamegroute is a "co-op" of artisans who produce some of the finest examples of Moroccan pottery, jewelry and other folk art in all of Southern Morocco . All of the pottery is made from local clay. The artisans will even show you how it is all done from the "refining" of the clay, to the forming of the pottery on the wheel, to the decorating with traditional symbols, and finally, to the firing of the finished product. Spend the night in Zagora.
Day 11: Return to Marrakech
Return to Marrakech. Half-day free in Marrakech. Spend night at 3 or 4-star hotel.
Day 12: Marrakech
Spend a free day in Marrakech with your last night at your hotel.
Day 13: Depart from Marrakech International Airport
PRICES
Prices are based on 3-star hotel accommodations with double occupancy:
$2,000.00 USD total package cost: 1 person, 3-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$2,250.00 USD total package cost: 1 person, 4-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$100.00 USD supplement added to 4-star hotel package price for Riad accommodations in Marrakech only
$2,250.00 USD total package cost: 2 people, dbl. occ., w/1 room, 3-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$2,500.00 USD total package cost: 2 people, dbl. occ., w/1 room, 4-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$100.00 USD supplement added to 4-star hotel package price for Riad accommodations in Marrakech only
For a 3rd person add $350.00 USD total
$4,500.00 USD total package cost: 4 people, dbl. occ., w/2 rooms, 3-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$4,750.00 USD total package cost: 4 people, dbl. occ., w/2 rooms, 4-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$200.00 USD supplement added to 4-star hotel package price for riad accommodations in Marrakech only
For a 5th person add $350.00 USD total
$6,285.00 USD total package cost: 6 people, dbl. occ., w/3 rooms, 3-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$6,660.00 USD total package cost: 6 people, dbl. occ., w/3 rooms, 4-star hotel in Marrakech and Zagora
$400.00 USD supplement added to 4-star hotel package price for Riad accommodations in Marrakech only
The prices for camel treks include:
3-star or 4-star hotel accommodations while in Marrakech and Zagora
Airport transfers
Transportation to/from Marrakech by TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 4X4
All food and drinking water while on the camel trek
All camping equipment
All camels for you and your baggage
Breakfast and dinner during hotel stays
Your camel driver(s)/guide(s)
All desert entertainment
For SMALL GROUPS of six (6) people or LESS and as an expression of our appreciation, we also invite you to dinner with the Bouhaddou family so that you may experience a true taste of Moroccan life.***
*** While we advertise that the clients may "have dinner with the Bouhaddou family" the clients DO NOT actually pay for this as part of their camel trek. This is done as an "invitation" only and as a way of showing our appreciation to the clients and there is no obligation whatsoever that the clients participate. The clients are free to stay at the hotel to have dinner, which they are already paying for in the cost of the camel trek package. However, if the clients do have dinner with the family it is understood that they do so in order to "see how one Moroccan family lives" and that they will be participating AS FAMILY MEMBERS and that they should not have any unreasonable expectations.
Note: Breakfast and dinner are included in the in the cost of this package. However, if the clients wish they are not obligated to have dinner or breakfast "when or where" Berber Tours says that they must. The clients are free to go somewhere else if they choose, but there will be NO REFUND or DEDUCTION to the base price should the clients choose to have dinner or breakfast on their own and that is not supplied by Berber Tours.
Not included in a camel trek:
Airline costs or any transportation costs not provided by Berber Tours
Your lunch unless provided by Berber Tours
Any additional guide service or any entrance fees
Incidentals such as soft drinks, beer or wine with meals, personal purchases or tips
Hotels in Morocco:
Berber Tours uses a variety of different 3-star and 4-star hotels around the country for our 4x4 tours. While we cannot guarantee a specific hotel, we can guarantee that ALL of the hotels we use are clean and comfortable and will have many of the amenities you would expect to find in any hotel. The hotels we use also offer either breakfast or dinner, but usually both, as part of the hotel stay. Where available, as in Marrakech, we can also offer at the 4-star hotel package rate, the option of staying at one of the many quaint and comfortable riads within the Medina. However, at a riad, usually only breakfast is offered as part of the cost for staying there.
Hotel standards in Morocco and Europe DIFFER from those in the United States; in most cases, a "3-star" hotel by U.S. standards is the same as a "4-star" hotel in Morocco and Europe.
CAMEL TREKS SOLD BY BERBER TOURS ARE OFFERED AS "INDIVIDUALIZED OR PRIVATE GROUP TREKS"
CLIENTS MAY NOT PURCHASE "PLACES" ON SOMEONE ELSE'S CAMEL TREK
THIS PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE AIRLINE COSTS
PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME
