SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
Sahara Desert Walking Expedition
Walk beside a loaded camel caravan through the dunes of Merzouga, sleeping in a different remote spot every night. No roads, no 4×4 transfers, no fixed tourist camp. Just sand, silence, and a caravan moving at walking pace.
DURATION
4, 5 or 7 Days
REGION
Merzouga & Erg Chebbi
PACE
On Foot, Camel-Supported
GROUP SIZE
2-8 People
An Expedition, Not an Excursion
Most Sahara trips are built around a vehicle: a 4×4 drives you to a fixed tourist camp, you take a short camel ride to watch the sunset, and you drive back out the next morning. This is a different premise entirely. You walk. The camels are not for riding, they are pack animals, loaded with tents, food, water, and cooking equipment, freeing you to move through the dunes on foot at a genuinely human pace, alongside a Berber guide who has walked this ground his whole life.
There is no fixed camp to return to. Each afternoon, wherever the day’s walk ends, the crew unloads the camels and builds camp from nothing, on a stretch of dunes you likely have entirely to yourselves. The next morning, camp is struck and loaded back onto the camels, and you walk on. Over four, five, or seven days, you cross a meaningful stretch of the Merzouga region’s dune fields and hammada, sleeping in a different remote location every night, with no engine noise, no fixed infrastructure, and no other groups nearby.
Choose Your Length
The expedition runs as a 4, 5, or 7-day walk, with the route and distance adjusted to fit. Every version follows the same principle: walk, make camp, repeat.
4-Day Taste of the Sahara
A shorter introduction for travelers with limited time: two full days of walking between two remote camps, deep enough into the dunes to leave the tourist circuit behind entirely.
5-Day Classic Expedition
Our most popular length. Three full walking days, three different camps, and enough time to properly settle into the rhythm of desert travel, including a rest afternoon at one camp.
7-Day Full Expedition
The complete journey, ranging further into the Erg Chebbi region and beyond, with five walking days and camps in genuinely remote corners of the dunes most visitors never reach.
What a Day on the Expedition Looks Like
Mornings start early but unhurried. The crew brews strong mint tea over the embers of last night’s fire while the camels are loaded, tents folded, and everything not needed for the walk packed away. There is no set start time chasing a schedule, just the natural rhythm of a camp coming to life.
You walk through the cool morning hours, the caravan trailing behind or alongside you, dune ridges shifting shape as the light changes. Around midday, when the sun is highest, the group rests in whatever shade can be found, sometimes a rock outcrop, sometimes nothing more than the shadow of the dunes themselves, for tea, a light lunch, and a few hours of quiet before continuing in the cooler late afternoon.
Camp is chosen fresh each day, usually a sheltered pocket between dunes with a good view for sunset. Guests can help unload and pitch tents or simply rest while the crew works, a choice that is entirely yours. Dinner is cooked over an open fire, typically a tagine or similar slow-cooked dish, eaten together as the temperature drops and the sky turns from orange to deep blue. Afterward, there is usually tea, quiet conversation with your guides about desert life and Berber tradition, and, on clear nights, some of the darkest skies in Morocco for stargazing before sleep.
Expedition Highlights
- Walk through the Merzouga dune fields alongside a fully loaded camel caravan
- Sleep in a different remote camp every night, built fresh each afternoon
- Cross genuinely remote dunes far beyond the reach of 4x4 day-trippers
- Cook and eat traditional meals prepared over an open fire
- Share tea and conversation with Berber guides who live this landscape
- Experience the Sahara at walking pace, without engines or fixed camps
- Fall asleep and wake up under some of the clearest night skies in Morocco
What’s Included
- Pack camels carrying tents, food, water and equipment
- Mobile camp set up fresh each night, including tents and bedding
- All meals cooked over the fire during the expedition
- Experienced Berber walking guide and camel handlers
- Drinking water throughout the walk
- Transfer between Merzouga and the expedition start/end point
What’s Not Included
- International and domestic flights
- Accommodation before or after the expedition
- Travel and evacuation insurance (required)
- Personal hiking gear and sleeping bag liner
- Tips for your guide and camp crew
Good to Know Before You Go
- This is a walking expedition, not a trekking race. Most days cover a moderate distance at a relaxed pace, but a reasonable level of fitness and comfort walking on sand is required.
- Groups are kept small, generally two to eight people, so the expedition can be run privately for a family or small group rather than joining strangers.
- The best months are October to April, when daytime temperatures in the Sahara are manageable for walking. Summer departures are not recommended.
- Nights are cold even when days are warm, so proper layered clothing is essential regardless of season.
- This is a genuine off-grid experience. There is no phone signal, electricity, or vehicle access once the walk begins each day.
- This expedition can be combined with one of our multi-day Morocco tours before or after, for travelers who want both the cities and the deep desert.
Frequently Asked Questions
A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME JOURNEY
Ready to Walk the Sahara?
Tell us your dates and group size, and we’ll help you choose between the 4, 5, and 7-day versions of this expedition and build the rest of your Morocco trip around it.