Sahara Desert Hike
Morocco
ABOUT SAHARA DESERT HIKE
Grading Level - T2 (click HERE to find out more about our grading)
Best months to go: September - June
Trekking the Sahara Desert is like nowhere else, and the desert truly makes for a slow travel experience. Desert trekking offers a real sense of space and remoteness, especially when witnessed from the tops of the vast dune fields. You are unlikely to encounter many other people, except perhaps nomadic families or the occasional shepherd. Sleeping under the stars and being entertained with music at the campfire. Nothing is rushed in the desert.
The terrain of the Sahara Desert is shaped by wind, sometimes rain, and includes not only sand dunes, but also hamada, dry valleys & lakes and salt flats. You may also be surprised at seeing so much vegetation in the desert, including Tamarisk and Acacia trees and palms. Winter is a green time of year here after seasonal rains, and January/February see the arrival of newborn camels – their mothers out to pasture.
The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world. At 9.2 MILLION kilometres squared, it’s pretty much the same size as China!
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It encompasses over TEN countries, including Egypt, Sudan and Morocco.
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It played host to the hottest temperature EVER – 58 degrees Celsius.
You’ll be walking in a true wonder of the world, and the environment is so different to anything else you’ll have ever encountered – it can truly be a transformative experience.
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With no light-pollution in sight, you get an AMAZING view at night. If you’ve ever gone camping somewhere remote, you’ll have a sense of how incredible the sky is, but this is on a different level.
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However challenging the trek is, your Berber crew will look after you by preparing your meals, looking after your luggage and keeping your morale up. Honestly, they are truly incredible people, and you’ll have an incredible time on your trek with them.
Berbers
The Berbers inhabit several countries throughout north Africa and have long been a pillar of the culture in the region. Most tourists know them for their colorful wardrobes and the goods they sell in the souks of Moroccan cities. But there’s far more to their culture than just entertaining tourists and selling fantastic crafts
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Tuaregs
For thousands of years, the Tuareg economy revolved around trans-Saharan trade. There are basically five trade routes that extend across the Sahara from the northern Mediterranean coast to the African cities on the southern edge of the desert. Tuareg merchants were responsible for bringing goods from these cities to the north. From there, they were distributed throughout the world. Because of the nature of transport and the limited space available in caravans, Tuareg usually traded in luxury items, which took up little space and on which a large profit could be made. Tuareg were also responsible for bringing enslaved people north from West Africa to be sold to Europeans and Middle Easterners. Many Tuareg settled into the communities with which they traded, serving as local merchants and representatives for their nomadic relations.
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