Enjoy a tour of Merzouga Sahara Desert and Morocco, daily yoga and discover the high dunes of Erg Chebbi. Spend days of adventure, sleeping under the stars of the desert, sunrise and sunset yoga, excursions, connections and many beautiful activities in the desert.
Day 1: Marrakech - Tizi n’Tichka Atlas Mountain - Ait Benhaddou kasbah - Dades Valley/Gorges
Depart at 8:00 p.m. from Marrakech to Dades valley via the High Atlas mountains passing through Tizi n’Tichka in the high Atlas Mountains, you will stop in a women's cooperative of organic Argan oil. You will then stop and enjoy impressive landscapes and Berber hamlets and get the chance to visit the universal Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou Kasbah and have lunch here (not included). It has been named by Patrimony of UNESCO. Since 1987, this Berber Kasbah has been used as a very important destination for international filmmakers for more than 20 films.
It was also one of the most important fortress strongholds on the old Salt Road where caravans brought slaves, gold, ivory, salt, and silk from sub-Saharan countries to Marrakech and beyond. You will pass through Ouarzazate. After that, you will continue to Dades valley through the Magoun valley of the roses and stop in the roses organic shop, Skoura (Berber villages around the valley). You will spend the night in the Dades valley in a beautiful riad by the mountains. After sunset yoga, you will have dinner and sleep at the riad.
Day 2: Dades Gorges - Tenghir - Todra Gorges - Tinjdad - Erfoud - Merzouga (night in the desert)
After sunrise yoga and breakfast, you will go from Dades to the Erg Chebbi Sahara desert in Merzouga, your main destination. Berber villages are scattered along the way, you will pass through Tinjdad, Jorf, and Erfoud where you will feel the beginning of the Saharan oasis of Tafilalet. Then you continue to Merzouga, stop for lunch (not included) in some of the villages along the way, and go to a typical shop in the desert where you are free to try all the dresses, maybe the henna painting on your hands, and take beautiful photos of it.
After that, you will head to the desert and your luxury camp between the dunes. After the sunset yoga between the dunes, you will spend the night in Nomad Berber luxury tents with drumming Moroccan desert music in the middle of the Sahara. Here is a great opportunity to take lovely pictures of the sky full of stars, sunset, and sunrise, amazing.
Day 3: Explore the Sahara area
A day all around the desert area. After your yoga and breakfast, you leave the camp to visit the Gnaoua village where local musicians will play music with their authentic instruments. After spending a worthwhile moment with Gnaoua, you drive around the Sahara discovering what are its secrets. You will have lunch in some oasis (not included) and go back to camp for yoga, camel trekking, sand boarding, and taking amazing pictures of the beautiful Sahara landscape at sunset, a true desert adventure through sand dunes. Dinner and live Berber music overnight in a camp.
Day 4: Merzouga Dunes - The Sahara Desert - Berber Nomad Family - Rissani Market
In the morning, after yoga and breakfast, you will have around one hour to reach your next destination: a small oasis with canalization, some trees, and typically cultivated vegetables of the area. You will learn about the canalization of the desert's history. After that, you will go to the fresh market to shop for local food and spices. Here we can buy something to bring to a real nomad camp where we have a pick nick lunch in town and tea, and see a real nomad family.
On the way to the market, you will stop also at an organic dates shop with 18 different quality dates the most local fruit you can find there and a handmade rugs shop where you will learn about the craft of these rugs and their history. After that, you will head back to the camp for sunset yoga, delicious dinner, and music while you enjoy watching the stars.
Day 5: Free day
Stay at the camp and relax and enjoy the Sahara desert or quadruple or four-by-four in the dunes or paragliding over the dunes if you bring your own gear (not included). Sunrise yoga and after breakfast, you can decide how to spend your free day. There will be no tours or excursions this day, but they have a few ideas for you in the morning: one-hour quads ride in the dunes or a four-by-four ride in the dunes. Or if you are experienced, you can bring your gear to tell them in advance before you leave for this trip and they will set you up for amazing paragliding in the desert.
Also if you feel you need a rest, you can just chill at the camp, read, relax, or take photos. If any of these options do not suit you, you are responsible to organize your own day and activities so just make sure you will be back for sunset yoga and dinner. During the free day, any activities are not included in the final price of your retreat, but if you have interest in some of them, just hit yourself up and they will help you out with bookings and the best prices.
Day 6
Spend the day at an amazing five-star hotel with a swimming pool in front of the dunes. After the sunrise yoga and your breakfast, they will drive you to a stunning Moroccan-style hotel with a swimming pool just by the dunes. You will have lunch included here, a holistic workshop (usually essential oils), and your sunset yoga. Back to the camp for dinner and last night in the desert.
Day 7: Sahara Desert - Erfoud - Draa Valley - Ouarzazate - Marrakech
Early morning will wake you up to watch the sunrise from the dunes and then you will have your last yoga practice, breakfast, and get ready to return by four-by-four to the Marrakech. Last day, there will be no stop for tours or activities, but, of course, for any of your needs and for a nice lunch spot which will be one hour and a half stop (not included). You will arrive at around 8:00 p.m. in Marrakech and they will drop you at any place you need and end your adventure.
Above represents the daily schedule for 7 Day Free The Soul Yoga & Adventure Sahara Desert Morocco Free The Soul Retreats it is subject to change with notice from the yoga school.
In this adventurous retreat, we will do 2 daily yoga practices, at sunrise and sunset as we travel through the Moroccan culture and Merzouga Desert the best part of the Sahara! Yoga will be led in English, but the instructor also speaks Italian and Spanish.
The style of yoga it will be Ashtanga/Hata flow slow-paced, with repetition, and movement connected to your ujjayi breath so that will help to be aware of your body and bring you in the present moment, the magic of the desert will help you even more!
The teacher is also open to focusing on something that you wanna learn or challenge yourself with such as arms balance or inversions or flexibility.
The goal is that you will go home and develop your own practice which will bring you always back to the peace of the desert. There will also be some holistic lifestyle talking where you can ask anything you are curious about, so you can learn and incorporate something healthy into your daily routine.
Spend 7 days trekking and adventuring through the Sahara desert, the biggest desert in the world. Visiting high sand dunes, riding camels, catching sunrises and sets, admiring the sky full of stars, visiting local villages, sandboarding, and more.
This is an adventure-filled retreat blended with yoga and holistic wellness. It will start from the Marrakech pick-up point all the way to Sahara where we will spend 5 nights in the oasis camp. Enjoy a tour of the Merzouga Desert and discover the high dunes of Erg Chebbi.
The meals will be mostly vegetarian and plant-based manly, we encourage you to try this diet for a week, our yoga instructors are also Holistic Nutritionist and know how important is to detox the body for a week and value the importance of consuming whle foods, but of course, if this doesn't suit you just let the cook know and they will make sure you are happy, because we value this too.
Let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies on time, please.
The food will be made by local Berbers from the desert, very basic and simple, you will learn the typical Moroccan and Desert kitchen and traditions, like their famous healing mint tea.
Some of the lunches will be not included as we will be on the move visiting oases or villages during the day. The day at the villa with the pool the lunch is included.
Need to cancel your trip due to COVID-19? Cancel up to 7 days prior to the arrival date and you can reschedule your booking free of charge, or receive store credit for your non-refundable deposit to use at another time.
