Luxury Tours Morocco, luxury camp site is hidden well off the main road, that runs along the edge of the Sahara’s solitude. The drive has you arriving at the base of the enormous, ever-changing dunes - sculpted by roaming winds in the remote area of Erg Chebbi - to the warmest welcome by host and owner, Mr Nourdine El Jakani and his attentive, friendly staff. On arrival, you will enjoy Moroccan tea, ceremoniously poured to perfection as your luggage is transported to your luxury tent.
Luxury sleeping tents, form a circle around a main eating and entertaining tent, exquisite in its royal, elegant design. Inside the tents, colors are as warm as the unexpected 5star luxury comforts. Tiptoe across your spacious tent on the soft, handmade rugs woven by local Berbers and then fall onto your luxurious bed and feather-soft pillows in an air of delicate perfumes that shout Morocco's name. A solar panel at the rear of the camp provides constant hot-water delivering you an unforgettable 'hot' shower experience in your private en-suite tent.
As luxurious as your tents are, and as jaw-dropping and bedazzling as the gold and red sunsets and sunrises will be as they dance their way across a vast expanse of sky; and as clear as the night ablaze with stars, there is a Milky Way so close you imagine you can reach out and touch it. But these are not your only desert luxuries. Your dining experience paints a portrait of aromatic flavors found only in Morocco.
I found equal luxury in the journey to get there. Setting off from Marrakech with my host, Nourdine, in the driver's seat of his company's comfortable air-conditioned 4x4 we climbed, winding our way around the majestic, snow-peaked Atlas Mountains on roads that make the drive to the desert easy, safe and breath-taking. At every mountain turn I felt reborn and re-energized from my busy and sometimes stressful life.
Rare in its unparalleled beauty, flat plains, date plantations, acres of roses, gorges; meandering, rippling streams; and rugged, mountain ranges collide with ancient Kasbahs that dominant a country with both a turbulent and exotic past. I gasped with the pleasure of a small child.
The highest peak, rising over the Atlas, is called Jebel Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,167 metres. The surrounding area is mostly inhabited by the calm and friendly Berber people. Along the way we stopped for the famous Berber Pizza and drank surprising, good coffee in modern cafes in small villages. At Ouarzazate, we passed by the Atlas Film Studios. Here, the largest film studios in the world are famous for the 1962 epic movie, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and a host of others equally well-known.
Luxury Tours Morocco have set their camp in a way that reflects the beauty of the desert as well as the traditional nomadic culture of the region, but it’s the peace and silence that satisfied my senses the most. Trust me, a typical desert experience is not to be rushed. Take a book or a journal to write your reflections and gratitude’s as you are seated at the strategically placed furniture around the camp so as to capture a changing desert mood as the sun completes its daily sojourn. Roll out your yoga mat. Tell stories around the camp fire long into the night and create an indelible memory. Reconnect with a loved one or family members without the distraction of Wi-Fi. It's brilliant!
After morning coffee, and a sumptuous breakfast of Moroccan pancakes and the camp’s very own Sahara Omelette, enjoy a leisurely ride on the back of a friendly camel and for the adventurous follow your guide with your 4x4 quad bike along the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Star gaze. Draw in the sand. Take a cooking class. There's so much to do in the desert.
If you stay a few days you can visit the local Black Village and be entertained by the musicians and see artisans at work before you retire to your home away from home each night to be rocked to sleep in the gentle sway of the desert hush.
This adventure is perfect for the solo woman traveller who wants to get lost, off the beaten track, in the care and safety of those who were born in the desert and who love nothing more than the desert. But equally, it's a wedding, honeymoon and family excursion too.
For more information, go to www.luxury-tours-morocco.com