Sand and Saliva in the Sahara

What is covered in hair and spits farther than you can throw? No, not your Uncle Louis. Man’s best friend in the sand and Morocco’s most high-performing 4x4: that’s right, your friendly neighborhood camel.

 The Dromedary or single-humped camel is native to Morocco, although there are no longer any wild camels roaming the globe. In Morocco, these domestic animals were once used as the primary means of transportation on mountains, deserts and even beaches, but today camels serve as a main staple of the country’s tourist industry. In fact, riding in style on the back of a camel, although it may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, is just about the best way to see the Sahara desert.

 You can visit the town of Zagora, the camel capital of Morocco, to hire experienced guides for camel trekking or méharré that last several days and includes desert bivouacs under starry night skies. Or, rather than camping with the camels, you can take a page out of Arabian Nights and ride off into the desert sunset for a satisfying ninety-minute roundtrip. And even if you prefer not to camel-ride – admittedly, it can get a little jerky and smelly up there sometimes – you can still enjoy Morocco’s most cherished animals at the annual Camel Festival in the southern Moroccan town of Goulimine. If you are willing to haggle, you can even buy one for yourself (good luck getting it through customs though)!