Birding Safaris in Morocco

For those unable to book for 2008 Safaris

Why not book for our spectacular 2008 Autumn Tours to Morocco?

Migration and incredible rare Moroccan specialities book now.

Tour 1. 2009. March 11th - 21st   ALL 2008 Safaris are now fully booked, PLEASE do not delay 
Tour 2. 2009. April 8th - 18th      your booking for 2009! Only 2 places remaining for Tour 1 2009 !!!

What past customers have said about our Moroccan Tours:

We both had a great time with you Peter and Pieter, a really great time, and we'd love to return to Morocco soon. L&G Spain
             

Many thanks to both you Peter and to Pieter for your splendid and tireless efforts to make a splendid and memorable holiday for both of us. P&S UK

My final count for "lifers" on the Moroccan trip was 6: Courser, Crowned & Spotted s.g. (I'd had unsatisfactory views before),Desert Sparrow, Tristrams Warbler and Baillons Crake - an absolute bonus and total surprise. This was a very profitable trip for birds. M UK               

Many thanks for making the trip so enjoyable. Giving us choices was good as it meant we could catch up with ourselves. I keep telling friends that seeing such a variety of desert was so different from what we had expected as well as the wonderful colours and changing scenery made it something special, all in addition to the range of birds!! J&D UK              

I had one of the best holidays ever thanks to you Peter and Pieter. J Spain 

Is comfort, relaxation and scenery as important to you as the birds? Is having options to spend time on your own and away from a group important to you? If yes, then these tours with Spanish Nature are for you! We had a great time, thanks. P&I Spain

Following the success of our tours to Morocco and now our 2008 spring safari is fully booked, we are now concentrating on our 2009 spring safaris. The maximum number of participants will be limited to 12 and the minimum number required for these tours to proceed will be only 4 people. Our two most popular guides will accompany the groups. The tours will start from Marrakech and take-in the Atlas Mountains, Draa Valley and southern deserts. The 11 day and 10 night tours will include 1 night in a desert camp with good facilities, where a 4x4 oasis day trip will provide a mini-adventure within our birding safari. The tours are designed to be relaxed and do not include early mornings and late nights!! Both the routes and sites have been carefully selected to give maximum opportunities for observing the ‘special’ birds of this region of Morocco.

The guides have personally chosen very good standards of accommodation for these tours. In addition, with civilised hours and by restricting the number of kilometres travelled in any one day, we feel these spring tours offer the very best in enjoyment and relaxation. Of course, with the experience of our 2 guides, then nothing is sacrificed in terms of quality and quantity of bird species! Our guides have also requested us to mention, that no long distance walking will be involved within these tours!! Included in the price of the tour is all accommodation, food, free transport (including airport transfers in Marrakech) and guides.

Direct flights to Marrakech. The price for flights is not included in the tour price. Prospective travellers are requested to check www.easyjet.com flying from London Gatwick or www.ryanair.com flying from Luton.

Important Note: € This key / symbol represents the use of our local Moroccan Guides Scheme (MGS). These guides are approved by us and registered in our scheme which is designed to assist local awareness and conservation in areas of importance to Moroccan Fauna and Flora. If you intend to travel independently, please consider using these people, they are often the lonely guardians for otherwise unprotected areas. Choosing a good guide can be tricky (we speak from experience!), but we can supply details of MGS guides whom we feel able to recommend upon request.

For further details please download our PDF file here  or to Book Now please complete our enquiry form at contact us page

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To view photos of 113 bird species taken during our tours please click onto the photo to the left.

Tour Description/Itinerary

Day One. Our tour starts with your arrival and meeting of the group in Marrakech. After settling into our Hotel we will drive to the outskirts of Marrakech to take-in some local birds and sample mint tea in a river valley. In the evening we will be able to discuss our schedules over dinner and drinks. Hopefully with some time on our hands, some of you may wish to visit the famous Souk in Marrakech.€



Day Two. After a leisurely breakfast we set out to discover the birds of the Atlas Mountains and drive slowly to our next overnight stop at Ouarzazate. We take morning tea whilst enjoying the mountain views and of course from our high terraced cafe we should see many different species of birds. During our journey we should see migrations of passerines and raptors. We take our lunch near to the top of the high Atlas pass, before making our way to the highest pass of this stunning mountain range. Threading our way south through the river valley we hope to spot early spring migrants. The scenery for today’s journey is spectacular and changes from the green valleys of the north to the more arid south.




Day Three. Taking our time over breakfast, we will set-off south and follow the Draa Valley where we will search the river and wadis for migrants and elusive residents such as Laughing Dove. We will lunch south of Agdz where our Kasbah is situated within the area’s famous palmery. Here we should see many firsts for our trip including Blue-cheeked Bee Eater, raptors and House Buntings. From our lunch stop we proceed along the valley towards our next overnight stay at Zagora. During the course of the journey we will visit wadis along the river and seek out more local speciality species including White Crowned Wheatear and Trumpeter Finch.



Day Four. For those wishing to explore the local palmery surrounding our Kasbah in Zagora, there will be time for the early risers before our breakfast! We shall set-off at a slow pace for our next destination, a desert camp outside of the southern Saharan village of Mhamid. Our journey continues south following the Draa through stone desert where we will take morning tea at Tamergroute. There will be many stops scheduled along our journey south as slowly we will notice the stone is covered by the sands of the Sahara. We hope to locate Brown-necked Ravens, Desert Wheatear and other special birds along our route. Arriving for a late lunch at Mhamid, we will then make our way into the Sahara and to our overnight destination in a Bedouin Camp. Here we will meet a special bird Desert Sparrows! In previous visits we have also seen Desert and Scrub Warblers, Brown-necked Raven and many other specialist desert birds. The tents have raised double beds, table and chairs and are carpeted! There is a shower block with sit-down loos!! The evening meal will be followed by campfire entertainment under the unpolluted night sky of the Sahara, stars so close you can almost reach out and touch them.




Day Five. After sharing breakfast with our new friends the Desert Sparrows, we set-off on our 4x4 safari into the sand desert and head for secluded dunes and oasis. Here we shall take a picnic lunch and amongst the many bird species to be seen here, we hope to enjoy views of Sandgrouses, Larks and other typical desert species. Afternoon tea will be taken at Tamergroute before we make our way back for our second night at our Kasbah in Zagora. We aim to arrive in Zagora with time for a relax and clean-up before dinner. The bar and terrace area of our Kasbah is set among Palm trees and is both tranquil and relaxing. The food here is a favourite among previous guests.€


Day Six. We need an early start to our day, the only such early start of the tour! Today we travel from Zagora to Tazzarine (across the stone deserts) where we will stop for lunch, before proceeding to our 3 night stay at the oasis that is the famous Auberge Darkaoua. The day’s travel of some 240 kilometres is easily the longest journey of our tour. In order to allow for several stops along the way, then our early start time is essential. During the course of the day, we hope to see several lark species, including our favourite the Hoopoe Lark and others such as Desert, White crowned and Red-rumped Wheatears, Trumpeter Finch and many more species. Eventually we will arrive in good time at our accommodation the Kasbah Auberge Darkaoua. Here we would recommend to those wanting to relax from the birding to advise your tour leader if you do not wish to go out on both days birdwatching. With 3 nights and 2 days here there is time for those wishing to simply relax and enjoy the peace and quiet in the gardens of the hotel.



Day Seven. The hotel will act as our base while we search the surrounding deserts and wadis for migrants and typical desert species. The gardens of the hotel will provide cover for many migrants and anything is possible here! Today we start with our more customary breakfast and when we are all ready, step out into the surrounding desert. We shall visit the areas surrounding Merzouga, the Erg Chebbi dunes and if time allows, look for brown-necked Raven around the outskirts of Rissani. The day should provide for many species being added to our already impressive totals list. We return at an early hour to our hotel, where we can relax and if so inclined take a dip in the hotel pool.€





Day Eight. After a relaxing and leisurely breakfast, we begin our journey into the heartland of the surrounding desert. Our quest for the day is to find as many species of Sandgrouse as possible and search for breeding Cream-coloured Courser. With the aid of our local guides and tracker, we will search the area for the most elusive species in Morocco Houbara’s Bustard!! For those not willing to end our day birdwatching then a visit to the local lagoon to watch for Sandgrouses is a must. Wandering around the hotel grounds early morning and last thing in the day can be extremely rewarding for finding migrants. We celebrate our last night at this superb venue with a special dinner and the wine is on us!€






Day Nine. Taking the opportunity to search the hotel grounds before and after breakfast, we will soon set-off for our next destination Boumalne Dades. The journey will offer plenty of birding opportunities and the prospect of many species, hopefully including Bonelli’s Eagle amongst other raptors! We will stop for a morning tea/coffee and lunch in or near to the Gorges du Todra. We expect to reach our accommodation in good time for a relaxed evening. For those wishing to seek-out the famous Tagdilt track, then the early evening should provide time.







Day Ten. After breakfast we head-off to explore the Tagdilt Track and particularly look for Red-rumped & Desert Wheatear, Thick-billed Lark and Trumpeter Finch. Many other species, including 4 different Sandgrouse could be seen here. From the Tagdilt Track, we will make our way towards our next destination of Ouarzazate and give ourselves time to explore the large reservoir near to the town.






Day Eleven. From a relaxed breakfast we will search areas on route to Marrakech. We will be making many leisurely stops along our journey looking for elusive species such as Horned Lark and Rock Sparrow. We expect to have time to explore the area around lunch stop near the high pass in the High Atlas. We will have time to do some birding after lunch and on our way to the airport in Marrakech. Then of course, it is time for our guides to take their leave and bid fond farewells to all of our group! We hope you will have enjoyed the tour as much as the guides and join us again for an adventure with Spanish Nature.

At A Glance 11 Day Itinerary
	Accommodation	Visited Areas
Day One	Marrakech	Transfer to Hotel
Day Two	Ouarzazate	High Atlas Mountains
Day Three	Zagora	Draa Valley
Day Four	Mhamid Bedouin Camp	Draa Valley / Sahara
Day Five	Zagora	Sahara
Day Six	Auberge Darkaoua	Stone Desert
Day Seven	Auberge Darkaoua	Merzouga / Erfoud
Day Eight	Auberge Darkaoua	Sahara
Day Nine	Boumalne de Dades	Gorges du Todra / Tagdilt Track
Day Ten	Ouarzazate	Tagdilt Track and Stone Desert / Reservoir
Day Eleven	Marrakech	High Atlas and transfer to Marrakech Airport

Price Details for this Tour
	Price per person	Single Room Supplement
	1,795 Euros	300 Euros
Deposit pp	600 Euros
Please note: Above prices exclude Flights, Insurance and personal purchases
Included in the tour costs are all accommodation, all meals, all free transport including airport transfers and guides.

For further details please download our PDF file here  or to Book Now please complete our enquiry form at contact us page