1 day
Lac Iriki and the Colorado marocain — a day by 4x4
from€80 / person
Price per person, based on two travellers. Private 4x4 and guide — the rate per person drops for groups of 4–6.
Twenty minutes south of Foum Zguid the tarmac stops, and an hour later you are driving across a lake that no longer exists: sixty kilometres of white clay so flat that the horizon turns liquid and mountains float. This day is built around that crossing and everything that surrounds it in Iriqui National Park.
Your guide reads the landscape as you go — the tracks of gazelles at dawn, the tamarisks living on hidden water, the ammonites and trilobites pressed into the limestone plateau — and cooks lunch under an acacia the nomad way. The Colorado marocain, a cirque of red rock at Jbel Madouar, is saved for the low afternoon light.
Highlights
- Crossing the dry lake on the traces of the Dakar
- Iriqui National Park: gazelles, houbara bustards, fennecs — sightings never guaranteed, tracks almost always
- Nomad lunch of salads, tagine and tea under an acacia
- Colorado marocain and the fossil plateau
- Runs almost year-round; 6:00 departures in summer
Itinerary
09:00 — Foum Zguid
Welcome tea, then south; the asphalt ends within twenty minutes.
10:30 — Lac Iriki
Into the national park and across the immense clay lake, with photo stops and your guide’s reading of the landscape.
13:00 — Nomad lunch
Salads, tagine and tea prepared under an acacia.
15:00 — Colorado marocain and fossils
The red formations of Jbel Madouar, then the plateau of ammonites and trilobites.
17:30 — Return
Back to Foum Zguid through the palm grove in the golden late light.
What's Included
- Private 4x4 with driver-guide
- National park access fees
- Complete nomad lunch
- Welcome tea and mineral water
Not Included
- Other drinks
- Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Will we see animals?
The park is home to dorcas gazelles, houbara bustards and fennecs. Sightings are never guaranteed, but our guides know the passage zones and read the morning tracks.
Can I combine it with a night at Erg Chegaga?
Yes — the 2-day / 1-night tour crosses Lac Iriki and continues to the dunes for the bivouac.
I am travelling by campervan on the N12 — does this work?
Perfectly. Many guests leave their vehicle safely in Foum Zguid for the day: the lake needs a 4x4 and someone who knows the tracks.
In summer?
Yes, with an adapted schedule: 6:00 departure and return before the midday heat, the lunch replaced by a substantial breakfast — the light and coolness are at their best.
Can we add the rock carvings?
Yes — a longer version adds about two hours for the carvings for a modest supplement; let us know in advance.
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