Self-Launched 8-Day Atlas & Sahara Yoga Retreat

Fly into Marrakech Menara (RAK) and take the local bus (line 19, ~30 MAD/£2.50) or a petit taxi (~100 MAD/£8) into the medina. Check into a riad dorm or private room near Jemaa el-Fna or in the Mellah. Spend the afternoon getting oriented: Koutoubia Gardens, the souks, and a mint tea on a rooftop. For tonight's practice, book a drop-in yoga class at a Marrakech studio (e.g. a vinyasa or yin session in Gueliz or the medina, 100–150 MAD/£8–12) or simply self-practice at your riad with a mat you've carried. Dinner at a cheap local grill off Jemaa el-Fna (tagine or msemen, 50–70 MAD).

🚌Airport bus line 19 (~£2.50) or petit taxi (~£8); everything else on foot

🛏Riad dorm or budget private room in the medina, £12–18

• →Medina orientation walk
• →Koutoubia Gardens
• →Drop-in yoga class in Marrakech (~£10)

Take a shared grand taxi from Marrakech's Bab Doukkala or Bab er-Rob station to Asni and on to Imlil (~60–80 MAD/£5–7, 1.5–2 hrs), or the cheaper Supratours/CTM combination to Asni then local taxi up. En route, stop at one of the women's argan oil cooperatives around Chichaoua/Ourika — many welcome walk-in visitors for a short tour and tasting (small donation). In Imlil, check into a Berber guesthouse. In the afternoon hire a local mountain guide at the Imlil guide office (300–400 MAD/£25–33 for a half day, split between two people) to walk to the Cascades d'Imlil and the surrounding walnut terraces. Do your own sun-salutation sequence on the guesthouse roof at golden hour, or ask your guesthouse to arrange a local yoga teacher (200–300 MAD).

🚌Shared grand taxi Marrakech–Asni–Imlil (~£6)

🛏Berber guesthouse in Imlil, £15–22

• →Women's argan oil cooperative visit
• →Guided waterfall hike from Imlil (~£15 pp shared)
• →Rooftop yoga at golden hour

Morning meditation and self-practice before breakfast. Walk or take a short local taxi over to the Ouirgane side of the valley, then hike the gentle trails down to Lake Ouirgane (Lac Ouirgane) — a 2–3 hour leisurely walk through juniper and olive groves with the 4,000m peaks behind you. Lunch at a lakeside auberge (Auberge Le Lac or similar, ~80–120 MAD/£6–9) with grilled trout. Return to Imlil in the afternoon; if you want a second night on the Ouirgane side, guesthouses there run £18–25. Evening: gentle yin/restorative practice on the terrace as the call to prayer rolls across the valley.

🚌Local taxi Imlil–Ouirgane (~£8 shared) or on foot

🛏Berber guesthouse in Imlil or Ouirgane, £15–25

• →Lake Ouirgane nature walk
• →Lakeside lunch at an auberge
• →Evening restorative yoga

A long travel day, and the best-value way is a shared grand taxi to Ouarzazate (via the spectacular Tizi n'Tichka pass, ~150–200 MAD/£12–16 from Marrakech, or arrange a place on a shared minibus from Imlil through your guesthouse for ~£20). From Ouarzazate take a local taxi or bus 30 km to Ait Benhaddou and pay the small entry to the ksar (20 MAD) plus an optional local guide (100–150 MAD/£8–12). Then continue by bus or shared taxi down the Draa Valley to Agdz (1.5 hrs) and check into a garden guesthouse among the palm groves. Sunset yoga in the garden or on the kasbah terrace, then dinner of Draa Valley dates, bread and tagine.

🚌Shared grand taxi/minibus over Tizi n'Tichka to Ouarzazate (~£15), local taxi to Ait Benhaddou (~£5), bus/shared taxi to Agdz (~£6)

🛏Garden guesthouse in Agdz, £15–22

• →Tizi n'Tichka pass viewpoint
• →Ait Benhaddou UNESCO ksar visit with local guide
• →Sunset garden yoga

Continue south from Agdz to Zagora by bus or shared taxi (2 hrs, ~£5–7). Detour 20 km to Tamegroute to see the 17th-century Zaouia library of ancient manuscripts (small entry fee) and the green-pottery workshops — buy directly from the potters. Back in Zagora, arrange your desert transfer: the standard backpacker option is a shared 4x4 from M'Hamid or Zagora to Erg Chigaga (roughly 900–1,300 MAD/£75–110 per person return including camp, or ~£50 pp one way if you split a vehicle four ways), or a 2-hour camel trek from M'Hamid. Arrive in the dunes for sunset, ride a camel to a high dune, then do an evening practice in the sand and sandboard down the slope. Dinner and drumming at the camp.

🚌Bus/shared taxi Agdz–Zagora (~£6), shared 4x4 Zagora/M'Hamid–Erg Chigaga (~£55 pp share)

🛏Berber tent camp at Erg Chigaga (shared tent), £25–35 incl. dinner and breakfast

• →Tamegroute library and pottery workshops
• →Sunset camel ride in Erg Chigaga
• →Sandboarding
• →Sunset yoga in the dunes

Wake for sunrise meditation on the crest of the dunes — the quietest, most extraordinary practice of the trip. Breakfast at camp, then spend the heat of the day shaded, reading or napping. In the afternoon walk to the nomad family settlements on the edge of the erg (your camp can arrange this; bring small change for tea) or take a 4x4 excursion to the dried Iriqui lakebed. Evening practice facing the sunset, then a traditional dinner of harira, méchoui or vegetable tagine, followed by stargazing — the Sahara here is genuinely dark-sky, so bring a headtorch with a red light.

🚌On foot / camel within the erg

🛏Berber tent camp at Erg Chigaga, £25–35 incl. meals

• →Sunrise dune meditation
• →Nomad family visit or Iriqui lakebed excursion
• →Sunset yoga
• →Stargazing

Early breakfast and a final short practice at camp, then 4x4 out to M'Hamid or Zagora. Stop at a women's rug-weaving cooperative en route (Tazenakht is the classic weaving town; cooperatives there welcome visitors and sell directly). Then the long haul back: shared grand taxi or CTM/Supratours bus from Ouarzazate to Marrakech (90–140 MAD/£7–11, 4 hrs). Arrive Marrakech in the evening, check back into a medina riad, and eat cheaply at a food stall on Jemaa el-Fna or a neighbourhood grill.

🚌4x4 out of the erg (~£20 pp share), shared taxi/bus Zagora–Ouarzazate–Marrakech (~£18)

🛏Riad dorm or budget private room in Marrakech, £12–18

• →Women's rug-weaving cooperative visit
• →Jemaa el-Fna evening food stalls

Final morning self-practice or drop-in class at a Marrakech studio, breakfast at the riad. If your flight is later, book a traditional hammam and gommage at a local bathhouse (Hammam Dar el-Bacha or a neighbourhood hammam, 150–250 MAD/£12–20 — far cheaper than the spa versions). Last souk shopping for argan oil, saffron and ceramics, then the airport bus or taxi to RAK. If you need a visa check, UK/EU/US passport holders get 90 days visa-free on arrival.

🚌Airport bus line 19 (~£2.50) or petit taxi (~£8)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Morning yoga self-practice
• →Traditional hammam (~£15)
• →Souk shopping