Call to Adventure: Join Me in Morocco! Atlas/Sahara Trek, 12-24 December 2025

I need a travel partner! I’m looking for someone to join me on a two-week, guided trek through the Atlas Mountains and Sahara. It is going to be a beautiful two weeks starting and ending in Marrakech. I’ve listed out the full itinerary below. Why am I looking for someone for this specific leg? Easy: money. For a solo traveller, the solo supplements can be brutal, especially in North Africa with companies that do business in Euros. Having even just one additional person on this trek will save me nearly 2,000 Euros!

So why Morocco? Well, it is an important country for the region historically and culturally. Once upon a time, it provided one of the main trade routes to get goods to the ocean, and to this day there are Moroccans who make their living moving goods, services, and people from the African interior to the coast. It is also home to many Berber tribes (although, I hate the term “Berber,” as it has no real meaning) who have both integrated into their progressing nation and spearhead Berber political unity movements. And, of course, during colonial times, the Spanish and French had a large military presence there as they fought to “civilise” the indigenous people who have been conquered time and again by some imperial campaign or another.

The trek is scheduled to start on 12 December 2025. That’s the arrival day to Morocco. I, of course, will be there early in order to get the cheapest flight possible, so if you are interested in joining me for a few days in Marrakech beforehand, by all means! We will end in Marrakech on 24 December 2025. That’s the departure day, either to remain in Morocco, return home, or catch a flight elsewhere. I will fly to Madrid this day to spend Christmas and New Year’s before crossing the Atlantic to start the South America leg of the expedition. If you would like to join me for that week or so in Madrid, by all means! I’ve been there enough that I make a pretty good tour guide.

What’s that catch? Well, there’s only one: I’m really only looking for one person to join me. I am open to more if the group makeup is right, but this is a bespoke adventure designed specifically for the Wayfarer Expedition, not a standard tour you will get at a hotel or online. There will be a lot of walking, but it will be absolutely worth it. Don’t worry, though, there is luggage storage available in Marrakech, so if you need to leave some things behind that you need for your overall trip but not for the trek, that won’t be a problem (at only about 6 Euros a day). Lord knows I will be taking advantage of this!

Still interested? Shoot me an email, WhatsApp/Signal/Facebook Messenger/Instagram message, or send a carrier pigeon!

Here’s the breakdown:

Cost per person: 2340 Euros + 69-Euro booking fee

Day 1 - 12 Dec: Arrival into Marrakech- Riad/hotelArrival to Marrakech Transfer to your Riad or Hotel. Perhaps time to explore the famous Jamne el Fnaa square in the evening. 

B&B

Day 2 - 13 Dec: Marrakech - Imlil- Aroumd-Gite

Leaving Marrakech in the morning, drive into the mountains across the plains of Haouz and onward to the village of Asni and then to Imlil. Meet your trekking team and head into the mountains for a short trek to Aroumd FB

Day 3 - 14 Dec:  Aroumd - Neltner-Gite

Aroumd- Neltner refuge base accommodation for Toubkal- Gite There is a long climb today, past the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch and up the valley, gaining altitude until you reach the Neltner gite (approx. 9.5 km, 1240m climb) FB

Day 4 - 15 Dec: Summit Toubka l- return to Neltner- Gite

This is the day of the ascent of Jbel Toubkal (4167m), starting in the early morning. Follow the path to the top of the mountain and a chance to see the views over the south of Morocco and the desert in the distance as you have lunch. Return to Neltner gite in the afternoon. (Approx 6km, ascent and descent 960m) FB

Day 5 - 16 Dec: Neltner descend to Aroumd-Gite

Descend the mountains on an easier day, and perhaps try a hammam in the gite at Aroumd in the afternoon. (Approx 10km, 1350m decent, small ascent) FB

Day 6 - 17 Dec: Aroumd - Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate

It’s just a short walk from the gite to meet your transportation to start the journey south through the mountains and to the southern slopes, leaving the snow behind. See the Ancient Kasbah of Ait ben Haddou, backdrop to many films and overnight hotel in Ouarzazate B&B

Day 7 - 18 Dec: Ouarzazate - Aït Issfoul - Bougayir Dunes

The road runs along the sumptuous Draa valley dominated by fortified villages (ksours), bordered by palm groves that shelter cultivated gardens in their shade. Many kasbahs (fortified houses) of ochre or red earth throw their crenellated towers towards the sky. Arrival at the village of Aït Issfoul (beautiful typical architecture). While crossing this palm grove, discover the complex irrigation system that supplies water to henna, barley, wheat, alfalfa and, of course, date palms. First stop in the direction of the dunes of Bougayir, where the camp is located.

Transfer: 2h40 to 3h.

Accommodation: camp.

Meals: morning, noon, evening.

Day 8 - 19 Dec: Bougayir Dunes - Tidri Dunes

Crossing the beautiful golden dunes of Bougayir, then a mineral plateau gives access, in the middle of the desert, to a fortified village (ksar). Magnificent typical adobe architecture, kasbahs, marabouts (tombs of holy men on which pilgrims come to meditate) mark the route to the zaouïate of Sidi el Madani, now abandoned, but whose ruins are still sacred. Zawiates are a kind of asylums where people inhabited by djinns come to live in community and heal themselves. On a small hill, discovery of ancient tombs. On the other side, a small lake suddenly appears, still supplied with salt water. An unforgettable memory…. Swimming is tempting, but quite adventurous, given the amount of salt dissolved in the water. Camp between lake and dunes.

Walking time: 5 to 6 hours. 

Accommodation: camp.

Meals: morning, noon, evening.

Day 9 - 20 Dec: Tidri - Erg Essahel

We cross the Draa wadi to reach the hills of Tidri. For information, because there is unfortunately nothing more to visit, this sector was formerly a famous site of rock engravings (in Morocco, there are more than 400 sites). Around 3000 BC, pastor-hunters carved animal representations, geometric drawings, hunting materials and letters from Libyan writing on rocks (usually sandstone). Erosion, time, but above all man's hand, have completely degraded the engravings. Not far away, and on almost all the hills, there are tumuli, pre-Islamic tombs, which also attest that man was indeed present in the present desert. We continue due south, crossing a reg, stony plateau, to reach the most beautiful dunes of the erg Essahel. Lunch in the shade of a few tamarisk trees that still stand, then beautiful crossing on the crest of the dunes to reach the camp in the middle of the dunes, an ideal place for total isolation. Progress in a magnificent desert: the dunes are elegant, the curves are gentle, the solitude is total. A very beautiful day!

Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.

Accommodation: camp.

Meals: morning, noon, evening.

Day 10 - 21 Dec: Erg Essahel - Ras el Rrich well - Lanithie dunes

Superb day full of surprises. Advanced in the reg, a mineral plateau dotted with tamarisk and acacia trees that resist extremely dry climates. In the distance, the villages of Bourrou and Ouled Driss, and, due south, Mahmid. Rrich Ridge, beautiful view of the wide open spaces. At the well of Ras el Rrich, possibility of a "Berber shower". Camp in the dunes of Lanithie.

Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.

Accommodation: camp.

Meals: morning, noon, evening.

Day 11 - 22 Dec: Lanithie Dunes - Ouled Driss

Always between ergs, these vast fields of dunes constantly shaped by the winds, and regs, these stone deserts, always between sands and oases… Crossing an old adobe village. Arrival in Ouled Driss, a palm grove renowned for the quality of its dates. Overnight in a Saharan camp: showers, toilets, khaimas (nomadic tents).

Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.

Accommodation: arranged camp.

Meals: morning, noon, evening.

Day 12- 23 Dec: Ouled Driss - Ouarzazate – Marrakech

Ascent of the beautiful Draa Valley. Return to Ouarzazate, the gateway to the desert, a green oasis in the middle of an arid plateau. Onwards to Marrakech over the Tizi n Tchka pass-night in Marrakech.Transfer: 3:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.

Accommodation: hotel.

Meals: B&B

Day 13 - 24 Dec: End of Trip Inclusions:

2 nights in a comfortable riad in Marrakech

4 nights in basic riads, mountain refuges (dormitory rooms) or tent camps in the mountains

1 night in Ouarzazate hotel

5 Nights in desert camp

Meals as above

One airport transfer on arrival and one airport transfer on departure

Transfers to mountains and desert, private transfer, fuel driver and any tolls

Services of a qualified English-speaking mountain guide, a muleteer/porter and a cook as appropriate inthe mountains and desert

24/7 phone assistance by our local office/representative

Exclusions:

Tips for guiding team and driver

Meals not mentioned above

4 season sleeping bag and trekking gear, (can rent four season sleeping bag from the outfitter if you don’t want to bring your own)

Mineral water

Entry fees and any extras/activities not mentioned in itinerary above