On the Road to the Sahara

After spending three nights in the magical city of Marrakesh, my friends and I took a weekend trip to the dunes of the Sahara Desert. Our tour guide, Ismail, and his driver, Mohammed, picked us up early in the morning by the Medina walls to drive south. We left the Red City behind us and soon reached the Atlas Mountain Range.

Now, I must warn everyone: traveling on the Moroccan roads are not for the weak at heart. Drivers rarely obey the transit rules and don’t care about passing other cars when they’re on a curve. This gets particularly scary when driving on the mountains’ winding highways. Luckily, the beautiful landscapes of red sand around us were a good distraction.

Once we crossed the Atlas Mountain Range, we entered the region of Ouarzazate, known as The Gate to the Desert.  We passed several small villages and finally made our first stop at the Taourirt Kasbah. This traditional mudbrick fortification was strategically placed here to control the old caravan routes during the 19th Century. Today, it welcomes visitors to admire its traditional Berber architecture. This area of Morocco is a popular place to shoot films, so there’s also a movie museum across the road.

We continued on our way south and entered the region of Zagora, where the dunes became the predominant landscape, though we could occasionally spot a few palm tree oases in the distance.

Taourirt Kasbah

Mohammed dropped us off on the side of the road an hour before sunset. We met our guides, who were already waiting for us, and climbed on the back of our camels to ride deeper into the desert. An hour later, when we reached our camp, a place was way more comfortable than I’d expected. This was more like ‘glamping’ and, to my surprise, it had electric power, running water, and tents big enough to fit two comfortable beds. 

We climbed up to the dunes to watch the sunset and once the sun completely disappeared, the only light we had came from the moon and the stars. We lay down on the sand to watch the Milky way become brighter as our eyes got used to the darkness. 

I lost track of time while marveling at the night sky and am not sure how long it took before our hosts called us back for dinner. As we were in a Berber camp, we ate a traditional chicken tajine and seffa, a unique dessert made of noodles, cream, sugar, and cinnamon.

Then, it was time to party! Our hosts lit up a bonfire, took out their musical instruments, and taught us how to tie our headscarves properly. We drank, sang, and danced by the fire, and I even got a marriage proposal that I had to refuse, knowing I wouldn’t survive riding a camel for the rest of my days (plus, my love was waiting for me back in Canada).

For anyone traveling to Morocco, spending one night in the dunes is an experience you can’t miss. It is not only the endless sky and desert that make this place breathtaking, but it is also the experience of camping under the stars and taking a peek into the lifestyle of the Berbers. Though these once nomadic tribes are now mostly settled in cities and towns, it is amazing to know there are still a few of them traveling in caravans along the desert, under the brazing hot Saharan sun.

Riding a camel across the dunes sounds very romantic, but it was my least comfortable experience during the trip. Camels take wide strides, and the sand doesn’t soften their steps. So, apart from the constant feeling that you’re going to fall off at any moment, you’re probably going to end up with a sore bum.

We woke up the next morning just in time to watch the sunrise, and to appreciate, now in full daylight, the sea of dunes that surrounded us. We had a traditional Moroccan pastry breakfast and then did one more painful camel ride back to the highway, where Mohammed picked us up to drive us back to Marrakesh.

On our way north, we made one last stop at the fortified city of Aït Benhaddou. If you’ve seen Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, The Mummy, Kingdom of Heaven, Game of Thrones, or almost any other movie set in a desert, you’ll surely recognize this place. Dating from the 17th Century, it served as a resting point for the caravans traveling through the Sahara from Sudan to Marrakesh and has now been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We climbed up the stairs and alleys of the mudbrick village. From the top, we had our last panoramic view of the Sahara before making our way through the Altas Mountains.

The Kasbah of Aït Benhaddou, our last stop before making our way back to Marrakesh.