About us
Desert Candles is a Moroccan/Norwegian tour company. Our main goal is to provide quality, great experiences and memorable moments for our travellers.
We offer individual and private tours in Morocco. Day tours, multiple days tours, round tours, cultural tours, Sahara desert tours, Sahara wild camps, camel treks, sandboarding, excursions to tourist attractions, guided tours etc.
In addtion we customize group trips in collaboration with private indivduals or companies. Trips which can include special themes and activities.
All travellers are welcome, whether you are a single traveller, student, family, small or big group etc. Our tours can be suited to fit all budgets.
On our website you will find a selection of our customized tours. If you, however, want to make adjustments according to your own wishes, we are happy to advise and create the best possible solution for you.
For transport we use comfortable and air-conditioned 4×4 cars and minibuses. Our drivers and guides are experienced, knowledgeable and speak English, French and Arabic.
We work with local establishments and partners in Morocco. Our wish is that our tours will help to create jobs, growth and values in the local communities. We beleive that our guests are best taken care of with experienced people who know the culture, traditions and country.
All our trips start and end within the Moroccan borders.
Partners/owners:
Abdellah Hajja manages and organizes all our tours in Morocco. Abdellah is a nomad, born in the Sahara desert. The desert was his home for the first 6-7 years of his life. He then moved with his family to the nomadic village M’hamid, located at the edge of Sahara. Abdellah has long experience and a vast knowledge in tourism. He started to work as a camel man, doing tourist tours in Sahara for more than 3 years for different companies. After that he worked as a tourist driver, doing tours all over Morocco, which helped him to know most Moroccan cities. Being a nomad, hospitality is a natural part of his cultural heritage. He speaks several languages, such as Sahraoui, Moroccan Arabic, French, English, a great deal of Spanish and even some Norwegian.
Solveig Gromholt is from Norway. She handles the bookings and marketing. She likes to travel, to organize trips and events and is keen on giving people good service and good experiences. She got in touch with the nomadic life and the Sahara people and culture from her first trip to the desert in 2009.
Our drivers are experienced and know Morocco well. To drive a 4wd car through different features of the desert, especially the sand dunes, takes both skills and experience. To know the area is essential. Their driving is good, safe and smooth, always looking after your safety and comfort. And such gentlemen, they gladly open your door with a friendly smile.
Our guides speaks English, French, Spanish and Arabic. They know the country’s history well. For any questions you may have, they are happy to answer and share stories. Their friendliness and hospitality is deeply rooted in the culture and their sense of humour and relaxed appearance creates a nice atmosphere.
Our chefs and caretakers in the desert camp are nomads from Sahara. The nomads are friendly and hospitable with an easy-going and calm personality. They serve fresh, tasty meals and take care of everything in the camp. At night they come together with the guests and play traditional nomad music under the stars.
The partners in Desert Candles have been owners of a desert camp in Sahara since 2010 . The camp is used by many various travel companies and always provides good service for its guests.
Desert Candles camp is located by the highest sand dunes in the Erg Chigaga area. It takes about 1,5 – 2 hours off-road driving from the nomadic village M’hamid El Ghizlane, Zagora region to get there.
The camp has a big restaurant tent and 17 private sleeping tents with 4 comfortable beds in each tent. The tents have wall-to-wall carpets, bed sheets with blankets and lighting inside and outside. There is a house for separate showers and water toilets and another house for the kitchen.
As our guest, you will be served Moroccan tea and snacks, breakfast, lunch and 3 course dinner. We also have sandboards available at all times, if you like to try it down the dunes. In the evening the nomads gather around the fire place, in the lounge area in the middle of the camp. Here they play traditional drums and sing together with the guests.
The camp has solar panels which provide electricity for the kitchen’s fridge for storage of food and drinks, for lamps and chargers etc.
GPS coordinates: N29º51.116’W6º12.942′
DESERT CANDLES PHILOSOPHY:
Desert Candles welcome all our guests to experience the genuine hospitality of the nomad people. Our wish is to make you feel like you are part of the nomad family. We wish to share the nomadic culture and traditions in particular, but also to show other Moroccan culture in this contrasting country.
Our team in Morocco are knowledgeable and experienced and we all value respect, open-mindedness and happy moments. We take pride in being reliable and safety-oriented.
Everything is, of course, served with several cups of tea, which is Morocco’s national drink. Marhaba (= welcome).
