A Night in the Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is a truly magical place to spend a night. On a trip to Morocco, while studying abroad, my friends and I decided we couldn't miss out on this experience. With the help of our hostel, we booked a trip into the Sahara for the next night. We departed from Marrakesh, where we took a ride into the beginning of the desert.

We came to the initial starting point for the adventure into the desert. Here is where we got acquainted with our new camel best friends and saddled up to spend a night in the Sahara Desert.

The trek into the desert took about 2 hours until we reached the campground where we would be spending the night. Along the way, we saw some of the more amazing views I have seen in my life. There is something so calming and peaceful about being surrounded completely by sand. We were riding in right about sunset, the setting sun was bouncing off the sand dunes and giving them a golden brown sparkle.

While the view was amazing, I did learn that camels are not the most graceful creatures and tend to spit or bite, whenever or whatever they may choose. The camel tethered behind me kept trying to nip me in the butt.  But it was a small price to pay for such an amazing experience.

We reached our campsite at the perfect moment when the sun was about to set behind one of the tallest sand dunes. Our campground was a series of tents set up surrounding a camp fire. After dismounting our camels, we ventured into our tents to change and relax before dinner.

Once the sun had set we were left with a beautiful night sky covered with more stars than I had ever seen. Because there is no light pollution that far into the desert, it is the perfect place to sit and pick out constellations.

And what would a night in the Sahara Desert be without some campfire songs? The rest of the night was spent drumming and singing along to whatever songs popped into our heads. When it was my turn to pick a song, the first thing that came to mind was "We Will Rock You" by Queen.

The next morning, we were woken up just before sunrise so we could get a glimpse of the sun rising over the Sahara. It did not disappoint.

Our night in the Sahara Desert concluded with breakfast and another 2 hour camel ride back to the base camp. This night was one of our more memorable nights throughout our semester abroad. We could not have asked for a more amazing experience.