5 Days 4 Nights Camel Trek: Sidi Naji & Erg Zahar

Day-by-Day Itinerary

1. Day 1 — Sidi Naji

   We head toward the Sidi Naji region, passing old pottery sites and the ruined houses of Oulad Zbiir, where pottery shards from earlier desert civilisations still lie scattered across the ground. After a three-hour hike we stop for a long, quiet lunch under a tamarisk tree, then walk another hour and a half to camp between golden dunes with open, panoramic views.

2. Day 2 — Erg Zahar

   Once the camels are loaded, we cross long, flat, empty stretches of desert toward the spectacular orange dunes of Zahar — a landscape stripped of tamarisk trees and scrub, just you and the camels. Along the way we pass the "Eye of the Chased Gazelle," once a nomadic trading market, and the ruined ksar of a family that dominated the Draa Valley tribes, with traces of the old irrigation channels they used for farming. We camp among the dunes of Erg Zahar.

3. Day 3 — Back toward the valley

   We cross back toward the Draa Valley, where dunes of different colours meet from the valley and from Erg Zahar. We hike to the far bank of the valley, aiming for a rocky hill surrounded by tamarisk trees and dunes, and spend the night there enjoying panoramic views.

4. Day 4 — Return via Lbour

   We walk back toward camp through the open, flatter Lbour region, with more vegetation and views of the mountains — a change of scenery from the previous days.

Read before you go

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