- Posted by ekasha on June 14, 2009
Have you taken a camel trek in the dessert from Marrakech (i know you have to take a van/jeep far to get to the start of the dunes)? Would you recommend a particular company?
No... I haven't experienced it yet but wanna go for it... Can I join you???
I don't think you would do it direct from Marrakech - the proper desert is a bit too far from there.
We took one in the Merzouga sand sea - you need to head down the Draa valley towards Zagora then take a jeep from there.
Zagora is great for shopping - esp. rugs as the rug makers bring the rugs across the desert and sell them there before they get moved from one dealer to the next until they get to Marrakech at vastly inflated prices.
We did an overnight trip in the sand sea - set off from the hotel late afternoon, sleep in the desert, come back next morning. Be warned that the romantic idea people have of camels is not real - they are evil bad tempered and exceptionally uncomfortable. After two days on a camel in India it took 6 months for the skin to grow back on my butt!
i think the best way to do that is from the gateway city Ouarzazate, which is full of many agencies organizing excursion to the desert. I know one of the very reputable company in Ouarzazate "Desert Evasion", organizing excursion with 4WD and professional local drivers knowing all remote areas of the south of Morocco.
I used http://www.morocco-gateway.com/desert-adventures2.html which is great for recommending hotels in the desert (or the edge of it) which can organise these kind of adventures for you. Goodluck!
I think doing a camel trek is an amazing idea and really recommend it! I work for Exodus and we offer camel treks with renowned desert explorer Michael Asher through the most remote regions in Morocco, along the fringe of the Sahara. Their treks are the real thing, travelling without backup or technology of any kind, at the pace of the camel - a chance to savour the silence and peace that is only found in the desert. Check it out at: http://www.exodus.co.uk/holidays/amc.html?CMP=FCSM-BG140909
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