Erg Chigaga Luxury Desert Camp (Nick & Bobo's) — Hotel in caïdat de M'Hamid

Located on the Western edge of the Sahara Desert, this camp is one of those bucket list musts. We heard about it from some friends and I contacted Nick Garsten who together with the very charismatic Bobo, a Berber tribesman from the area, set up this camp some 8 or 9 years ago. The journey from Marrakech is some 9 hours. However, there are very interesting places to visit along the way. On Nick’s recommendation, we stayed at Kasbah Azul which is a subject of a separate review and visited Kasbah Telouet along the route.

The road to Erg Chigaga passes through the beautiful ranges of the Atlas Mountains which rise over 4,000 metres. Situated in the town of Ouarzazate, which is known as the Hollywood of Morocco, lies the Atlas Film Studios where there are sets from movies including Gladiator, Prince of Persia and the Mummy. Nearby there is a mud brick walled Kasbah (Fort) featured in the Games of Thrones and also Gladiator. We eventually reached the end of the made roads and basically headed off into the desert. I did ask our driver how he knew where he was going. His answer was “Berber GPS”! Arriving at the camp mid-afternoon, we were immediately welcomed into the “bar tent”. There were set out all manner of drinks, wines, sparkling wines, soft drinks and basically anything you could wish for. The various brands of Gin and Tonic all well chilled, my wife was definitely in her element. A few drinks later, we were shown to our tent. It was large. It was glamorous. There were rugs all over the floor. There was a double bed. There were side tables. There were bedside lamps. There was a separate tent, slightly smaller, in which there was quite a portable toilet, a dressing table with mirror, towels, racks, a wooden floored area on which stood two rather large brass buckets and a stool. Water being a precious, showers were not an option. Having said that, there was actually a shower room available just across one of the nearby dunes. However, every morning one of the brass buckets was returned promptly full of hot water. Using the copper scoop we were more than able to wash away the desert sand. The bed was comfortable and there was solar powered lighting, and the ability to recharge mobile phones, cameras, etc. There were approximately 15 people in the camp, so perhaps 7 or 8 tents, as well as the dining tent, which again was very elegantly set out. The food was both excellent and plentiful, and as it was an open bar 24/7, there was certainly no shortage of alcohol. In addition, there were a number of tents with day beds or lounges in them open on all sides. During the day there were a variety of activities, principal ones being relaxing, drinking, eating. For the overly energetic, there was sandboarding, camel trekking and quad bike riding over the dunes. At night after dinner, there was a large fire set up in the centre of the rectangle surrounded by the tents. On each of the nights that we were there, there was entertainment by the Berber tribesman, singing and playing various instruments around the fire. Apart from eating and drinking and reading, I did venture forth camel trekking and quad bike riding up and down quite precipitous dunes. The staff were helpful, friendly and extremely well trained, and polite. All credit to Nick and Bobo. We spent some hours drinking, smoking and generally learning more about Bobo, the surrounding areas and the history of the camp. We spent three days there, and we could have easily spent more. But I guess the old adage leave while you still want more is not a bad rule to follow. The way back, was some three hours off roading in an extraordinary varied terrain including rocky plains, sandy deserts, hard baked clay flats on which we located a series of mud brick walled accommodation places. Driving back again through the Atlas Mountains with the extraordinary scenery and the winding descent into valleys was quite an experience Erg Chigaga Luxury Desert Camp is definitely an experience not to be missed. I highly recommend it.

Peter...

Last Christmas, my sister and I were riding camels over the dunes, sitting by a campfire listening to Berber music, lying on handwoven rugs to watch the canopy of stars move across the night sky, and just sitting, listening to the silence. Today, sitting in my apartment halfway around the world, I’m already planning a trip back.

Our experience of the Sahara, and of southern Morocco, is one of the most memorable in all our travels, thanks to Nick, Bobo, Salah and the team at Erg Chigaga Luxury Camp.

I will echo what other reviewers say about the setting (the camp is surrounded by ochre dunes that don’t let you forget where you are), well-appointed tents (thank you for warming it up to our tropical standards as the temperature outside dropped to zero), good service and food (hello, chef Yussuf!), and activities (my camel’s name was Laksoub). The atmosphere gets social at sundown, as guests emerge from their tents for pre-dinner cocktails and a family-style meal. The camp attracts a certain kind of traveller, and a pretty international one, which makes for interesting conversation and new contacts who have great travel advice themselves! The entire thing is orchestrated by the charming Bobo, who runs a very professional operation in the middle of nowhere with little more than a backpack, a Meditel phone, and a wide, ready smile.

Your first contact will be with Nick, Bobo’s partner, himself a model of relaxed hospitality, and for whom Morocco clearly holds a special place. Along with the usual booking arrangements, you will be given several options of travelling to camp, one of which will be by 4x4 with a driver. If it is your first time in southern Morocco, trust Nick and choose this option. It is the long way down from Marrakech that allows you to stop and see much more of the awe-inspiring landscape, from the High Atlas to the Draa Valley, through towns with extra vowels in their names (Telouet, Ourzazate) and crumbling kasbahs along the old caravan route. You will also get a chance to meet and speak with locals, whether Berbers in the mountain villages, or a nomadic family currently living near a dry riverbed in the Sahara, who welcomed us into their tent for tea. This journey to and from the camp is really part of the experience.

I don’t know if Nick did it intentionally, but he could not have paired us with a better driver. Salah is a master of both the Atlas’ winding turns and the rocky Hamada. He also patiently answered our steady stream of questions about the changing geography outside our window, Berber culture, the meaning of Arabic words, the current economy, his family’s move from desert to village, how to use a well in the desert, modern Muslim practices, the impact of the recent heavy rains. (We really got into this stuff, it was a long drive both ways!) As a massive bonus, he has a nose for good espresso throughout the 600-km route. Salah was really our driver / desert guide / translator / espresso-hunter / hydrator (we were never out of Sidi Ali bottled water) / negotiator / soundtrack-player of groovy Berber music, and by the end of the trip, our friend.

At camp, two nights was too short. With all the driving, we arrived at sunset on Day One and left before 9am on Day 3 in order to be back in Marrakech that night. My suggestion: make it a 5-day journey total and stay three nights at camp if you can. Everyone is excited about the newly-opened flights from Casablanca direct to Zagora, which shortens the journey to 3 hours one way (you essentially fly over the Atlas Mountains), so that is now an option.

But as I plan my next trip, I’m thinking another road trip, perhaps this time via the coast. As they say in...

What an incredible luxury experience in the desert. We arrived as the only guests at the camp (we were travelling in the offseason, and I don't think this happens very often!), but there is plenty of space if there are other guests there.

We stayed for two nights at the camp and were not disappointing with any part of the experience. We encountered a sandstorm on the main day of your stay and the camp leader, Bachir, made sure that there was a plan in place for us to stay busy during the crazy wind. We loaded up in the 4x4 and headed across the desert to experience local nomads, baby camels and climb some sand dunes!

The food was also spectacular for each meal and more than we could eat at each sitting. Also, there was a large selection of different types of food (spaghetti and meat sauce), as Moroccan food can quickly wear on one if you do not eat much for rice or bread. Food for breakfast included omelettes, large fruit bowl, yogurt, granola and lots of spreads. Lunch was a mix of lemon chicken tagines, kefta meatballs and rice. Dinner was olives to start, vegetable cuscus, meat tagine, and noodles and fruit for dessert.

There is also an unlimited amount of alcohol of all types at the camp, which usually doesn't make me that excited, but, liquor including wine can be hard to come by at most restaurants in Morocco. So if you like a glass with dinner, this will be a welcome site!

Welcome - 5/5 we were welcomed with a cup of hot Moroccan tea and peanuts after out long drive.

Bed - 5/5 I was surprised how comfortable the bed was

Cleanliness - * no rating as we were staying in the desert and there is sand everywhere! But rooms were immaculate considering where we were staying

Amenities 5/5 The camp makes sure that you keep as busy or as relaxed as possible. There are several hammocks and swing beds around the property if you feel like lounging. Also, there is a 4x4 to take you on excursions and even ATV's. There is hot water available and will be brought to your room whenever you need it, but just be sure to know before going that there are no showers (just the pouring water over your head type shower, but it does the job).

Bang for your buck - 5/5 we had such an incredible experience at the camp and with the staff. The experience can be deemed quite expensive, but for the service and experience that you get out of the stay is well worth it

Breakfast - 5/5 Large and delicious. Orange juice, coffee, milk, granola, yogurt, breads, spreads, olives and omelettes.

Wifi - * not available there is no WIFI at the camp, but if you get an orange sim card in your phone when you arrive in Morocco you will have spotty service, but enough to check emails every...