6 days · 5 nights · on foot from M'hamid
The Long Walk
Six days south along the old caravan road, an abandoned ksar, and a dune high enough to see the whole country from.
See this trek →
M'hamid El Ghizlane · Zagora · Morocco
The Sahara begins where the road stops.
M'hamid El Ghizlane is the last village before the open desert. From its edge you walk out with the camels — two days, four days, six, or as long as you have. No vehicle follows you.
On footYou walk. The camels carry the camp, not you.
2 to 25 daysFrom one night out to a long crossing.
October – AprilThe walking season. Winter nights are cold and clear.
4.9 on TripadvisorRead them where we cannot edit them.
Three ways to walk out
Each one starts on foot at the edge of the village. Longer and shorter routes are possible — tell us how many days you have.
4 days · 3 nights · on foot from M'hamid
The Desert Apprentice
Four days in which you learn to do it yourself: bread in the sand, the tea, loading a camel, finding water, reading the sky.
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2 days · 1 night · on foot from M'hamid
The First Night
One day and one night. The old kasbah, lunch where the oasis ends, then the dunes and one night under the open sky.
See this trek →Why walking, and not a jeep
Most desert trips from Marrakech drive you four hundred kilometres, put you in a camp for one night and drive you back. You see the Sahara through a window.
Walking is slower and it is a different thing entirely. You leave the village on your own feet. You feel the ground change from stone to sand. You arrive somewhere because you walked there, and the silence at the end of the day is earned rather than delivered.
The camels come with us, carrying water, food and bedding. You carry a small day bag. The pace is set by whoever walks slowest, and we stop often.
A day out there
Morning
Tea, bread, and the camp loaded onto the camels. We walk in the cool hours while the light is still low.
Midday
A long stop in the shade of a tamarisk or an acacia. Lunch, tea, sleep if you want. Nobody walks through the hottest part.
Afternoon
Two or three more hours, usually into the dunes, until we find the place for the night.
Evening
Fire, bread baked under the hot sand, a tagine or a soup. Tea three times, because that is how it is done here.
Night
A nomad tent, or a rug in the open if the sky is clear. Most people choose the open after the first night.
Who walks with you
Madou Bouhjar
Guide and cook · born in M'hamid El Ghizlane
Fifteen years of walking, cooking and sleeping in this desert, with every kind of traveller — families, couples, people who have never slept outside.
He works with families from his own village. The money stays in M'hamid.
He answers every message himself, usually the same day.
The honest practical answers
Where you sleep
A nomad tent, or outside on a rug. The camels carry a mattress and blankets. Bring your own sleeping bag — the winter nights are genuinely cold.
What you eat
Bread baked in the sand, tagine, soup, fruit, and tea three times a day. Vegetarian, vegan or an allergy is no problem — say so before you arrive.
Water and washing
The camels carry all the drinking water, more than enough. There is no shower and no toilet out there.
How far you walk
As far as suits the group. No climbing, no experience needed, and long stops. Children do this.
Getting here
We arrange transport from Marrakech, Fes, Ouarzazate or wherever you land. It is organised separately from the trek.
What to bring
Sleeping bag, head torch, shoes you have already broken in, a warm layer, hat, sunglasses. The scarf is a gift.
Out there
Questions people ask before they write
Is M'hamid El Ghizlane the best place to start a Sahara trek?
It is the last village before the open desert, at the end of the Drâa valley. Unlike the dunes closer to the main roads, you can walk from the village itself straight into empty sand, which is why caravans left from here.
Do I need to be fit?
No. If you can walk for a few hours on flat ground with breaks, you can do this. The camels carry everything heavy and the group sets its own pace.
Is it safe?
Yes. You are with a guide born here who knows the water points and reads the ground. We carry all the water we need and tell someone our route.
When should I come?
October to April. December and January are beautiful — bright days, very cold nights, and the sky at its clearest. Summer is too hot to walk.
Can you take a family, or one person alone?
Both. Small groups are what we do, and a single traveller is welcome.
How do I book?
Write on WhatsApp with your dates and how many days you have. You will get an answer from Madou, not an agency.
Tell us when you want to come
Send your dates and the number of days. Madou answers himself, usually the same day, in English, French or Arabic.
WhatsApp +212 620 218 283