5-Day Mount Toubkal Trek & Sahara Desert Tour from Marrakech
- Private vehicle & driver — Pick-up at your riad, pace set by you
- Local licensed guide — Licensed guide nº2898 · since 2011
- Book on WhatsApp — Reply within 1 hour · no payment at this stage
A private 5-day trek and desert tour from Marrakech, from €345 per person — licensed mountain guide, mule support on the trail, every night’s accommodation and the Sahara stage after the summit all included, never in a group.
| Duration | 5 Days |
| Price | From €345/person — car, driver and accommodation included |
| Departures | Your dates — every departure is private, never a shared group |
| Languages | English- and French-speaking driver-guides; licensed city guides where included |
| Booking | WhatsApp +212 661 454 738 — written quote within 1 hour, no payment at this stage |
Two adventures in one — summit North Africa’s highest peak, then ride a camel into the Sahara. Trek to the top of Mount Toubkal (4,167m) on Days 1–2 with a licensed mountain guide, then cross the Atlas to Aït Ben Haddou, Todra Gorge, and the Erg Chebbi dunes for a sunset camel ride and luxury camp on Day 4. The ultimate combined Toubkal trek and Sahara desert tour from Marrakech.
The 5-day Mount Toubkal trek and Sahara desert tour from Marrakech is the ultimate combined Atlas Mountains and Sahara adventure. Days 1–2: trek to the summit of Mount Toubkal (4,167m), North Africa’s highest peak, with a licensed mountain guide and mule support. Days 3–5: cross the Atlas to Aït Ben Haddou, Todra Gorge, Dades Valley, and a sunset camel ride at Erg Chebbi in Merzouga with a luxury ensuite camp. Moderate fitness required. From €345/person.
At a _Glance_: This is Morocco’s ultimate combined adventure — the highest peak in North Africa on Day 2, the Sahara dunes on Day 4. Most visitors choose either a Toubkal trek or a desert tour. This 5-day itinerary delivers both, with a licensed mountain guide and mule support for the trek, then a private 4×4 and driver-guide for the desert portion. From 4,167 metres of altitude to sea-level dunes — the landscape transformation is extraordinary.
No other five-day itinerary in Morocco stacks these two summits of experience: the roof of North Africa on foot, then the Sahara by camel. The trekking days run refuge-style with a licensed mountain guide and mule support — you carry a daypack, nothing more — and the desert days swap boots for a sunset camel ride and a luxury camp below the Erg Chebbi dunes.
At €345 per person it is the best-value multi-day adventure we run, because the mountain nights are simple by design: this is a trek, not a hotel tour, and the budget goes into the guide, the mules, the camp and the long private transfer across the Atlas via Aït Ben Haddou and the Todra Gorge.
You need genuine fitness for the summit push — 4,167 m is earned — but no technical climbing skill outside winter. Most who book it are hikers who refuse to choose between the Atlas and the desert. Dates on WhatsApp; the full plan comes back within the hour.
Who this tour is for: fit walkers chasing the double: North Africa’s summit at 4,167 m AND a Sahara camp, inside five days. Without the summit, the Marrakech Desert & Atlas Hiking Tour – 7 Days keeps trails gentler; purely for the mountain, the 3-day Toubkal ascent concentrates the climb.
From 4,167 metres to the dunes in seventy-two hours: no other five-day itinerary in Morocco swings between the country’s two superlatives like this. Days one and two take Toubkal with a licensed mountain guide and mule support; days three to five cross to Aït Ben Haddou, the Todra and an Erg Chebbi camp night. Moderate fitness is the entry fee — the view from the summit and the silence of the erg are the dividends, from €345 per person.
Itinerary
Open a day to see the detail: transport, accommodation, meals and activity time.
Day 1 Marrakech to the Toubkal refuge
Pickup in Marrakech and the short drive to Imlil, where the licensed mountain guide and the mules take over. The trail climbs the Imlil valley to the Toubkal base-camp refuge for the night — full board on trek.
Day 2 The summit of North Africa
A dawn start for the summit push: Mount Toubkal, 4,167 m, the highest point in North Africa, then the long descent to a comfortable mountain lodge in Imlil.
Day 3 Across the Atlas to kasbah country
Legs up in the 4×4: over the High Atlas to the Aït Ben Haddou ksar, guided, and on to a kasbah hotel in the Dades Valley.
Day 4 Todra Gorge, then camels at sunset
The Todra's 300-metre walls on foot, then the run east to Merzouga where the camels walk you into Erg Chebbi for sunset and a luxury ensuite camp night.
Day 5 Dunes at dawn, Marrakech by night
Sunrise over the sand sea — three days after standing on the roof of North Africa — then the long scenic return over the Atlas to your Marrakech hotel.
Included in your tour
- Licensed mountain guide and mule support for the Toubkal trek (Days 1–2)
- Private AC 4×4 or minivan with driver-guide for the desert leg (Days 3–5)
- Pickup at your Marrakech hotel or riad
- Night 1: Toubkal base-camp refuge — full board on trek
- Night 2: mountain lodge, Imlil — half-board
- Night 3: kasbah hotel, Dades Valley — half-board
- Night 4: Erg Chebbi luxury ensuite camp — half-board
- Sunset camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes (Day 4)
- Guided visit of the Aït Ben Haddou ksar (UNESCO)
- Drop-off at your Marrakech hotel or riad
Not included
- Lunches and beverages
- Entrance fees to historical sites (optional — pay directly)
- Tips for guide and driver
- Travel insurance (recommended)
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Questions travellers ask
How much does 5-Day Mount Toubkal Trek & Sahara Desert Tour from Marrakech cost?+
From €345/person, per person. The price includes licensed mountain guide and mule support for the toubkal trek (days 1–2), private ac 4×4 or minivan with driver-guide for the desert leg (days 3–5), pickup at your marrakech hotel or riad. You receive a written itemised quote before paying anything — no hidden fees.
How long is this tour and when does it depart?+
5 Days, departing on the dates you choose — there is no fixed schedule, because every departure is arranged for you alone.
Is this a group tour or private?+
Fully private: your own vehicle, driver and licensed guide, never seat-in-coach and never mixed with other travellers. The daily pace flexes around you.
Where is the desert in Morocco?+
South and east of the Atlas mountains. The named destinations, in order of distance from Marrakech: the Agafay stone desert 45 minutes away (no sand dunes), the Zagora dunes down the Draa valley at 360 km, Erg Chigaga beyond M'Hamid where the tarmac ends, and the great Erg Chebbi dune sea at Merzouga, 560 km out — the Sahara of the photographs.
How much of Morocco is desert?+
Broadly, everything south and east of the Atlas watershed is arid or Saharan — roughly half the country by area. The photogenic sand seas are actually small pockets of that expanse: Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga are each a day's drive apart, islands of dunes in a vast landscape of stone, oases and kasbah valleys.
What should I wear on a Morocco desert tour?+
Layers, always: desert days can hit 30°C while nights drop near freezing outside summer. The working formula is light long sleeves and trousers for sun and camels, a warm fleece or jacket for the camp evening, closed shoes for sand and stones, sunglasses, and a scarf (a cheche) — bought in any souk for a few dirhams — for sun, wind and the photograph. Luggage stays in the vehicle; you carry a small overnight bag to the camp.
How far is the Sahara desert from Marrakech?+
The honest ladder: the Agafay stone desert is 45 minutes away (no sand dunes, but real desert scenery); the first true Sahara dunes at Zagora are 360 km — about 6 hours over the Tizi n'Tichka; the great Erg Chebbi dunes at Merzouga are 560 km — 8 to 9 hours, which is why serious itineraries take 3–4 days. There is no Sahara 'day trip' from Marrakech worth the name — anyone selling one is selling Agafay.
More answers in the “The desert experience” chapter of our Travel FAQ →
Itinerary and prices last updated October 2026.
