Corporate Retreat · Erg Chegaga · Morocco
Corporate Retreats in
the Sahara Desert
No phone signal. No conference room. No distractions. Just your team, the open desert, and conversations that don't happen anywhere near the office.
Discuss Your RetreatWhy the desert works
The conversations that change teams don't happen in conference rooms
Remove the office, the notifications, the commute, the politics of proximity, and something shifts in a leadership team. The Sahara does this without effort. There is nothing else to talk about, no news feed to check, no colleague in another room to defer to later.
What happens at Umnya is not team building in the formal sense. It is what occurs when people who usually operate at high speed are given silence, space and a view that makes office problems look appropriately small.
We privatize the full camp for your group. Erg Chegaga, 50 km into the desert from M'Hamid El Ghizlane, is Morocco's most remote dune field. Your team is the only presence there for the duration of the retreat. The surrounding desert belongs to you.
What a Retreat Looks Like
No fixed agenda unless you want one. A rhythm that the desert sets.
Mornings in the Dunes
Sunrise walks before the rest of the world is awake. A team moving through the open desert at first light has a quality of honesty that no facilitated session can replicate. Breakfast is waiting on return.
Open-Air Working Sessions
Your team, a table in the shade, the wind, and nothing competing for attention. We set up working spaces outdoors at your request. Strategy discussions, post-mortems, planning cycles, whatever the agenda requires.
Evenings Around the Fire
Open-fire dinner under a Bortle Class 1 sky. The Milky Way overhead, food cooked fresh, no agenda. This is where most corporate groups report their best conversations of the entire retreat.
Private Chef, Full Board
All meals are prepared by our chef using fresh, local produce. Breakfast at the camp, picnic lunch in the dunes, dinner around the fire. Dietary requirements are accommodated with advance notice.
What Is Included
Full privatization means exactly that. The camp is yours.
Full Camp Privatization
8 private Berber suite tents, common areas, kitchen and the surrounding desert. Your group is the only presence for the duration.
Private Chef, All Meals
Three meals daily, freshly prepared. Breakfast at the camp, picnic lunch in the dunes, open-fire dinner under the stars. Dietary needs accommodated.
4x4 Transfers from M'Hamid
The convoy into the desert is part of the experience. We coordinate all ground transport from M'Hamid, or helicopter for groups preferring to arrive by air.
Activities Programme
Sunrise dune walks, camel treks, sandboarding, stargazing with telescopes, 4x4 excursions, Berber cultural sessions. All optional, none compulsory.
Outdoor Working Setup
Shaded outdoor table configuration for strategy sessions or morning briefings, arranged at your request. The desert is the best background for difficult conversations.
Dedicated Camp Team
Our team is present throughout. Discreet, efficient and familiar with the needs of executive groups. Everything that needs to happen, happens without you managing it.
Who Brings Their Team Here
Different use cases, the same underlying need
Board Retreats
Directors and non-executives who need a full break from company atmosphere. The desert is neutral ground. Conversations that have been avoided in boardrooms tend to happen here.
Leadership Acceleration
Senior teams at an inflection point, post-merger, scaling transition, leadership change. Two nights in Erg Chegaga creates more alignment than a week of workshops.
Strategy Offsites
Annual strategy reviews and planning cycles for companies that want the thinking done somewhere that feels like it matters. The quality of decision-making improves when the environment changes.
CEO Reset
Founders and chief executives who haven't stopped. The desert does not negotiate with your schedule. You come, you stop, you think. Most report that the perspective gained is worth more than any meeting missed.
"We came as a leadership team with a lot of noise in our heads. We left with a plan and a level of trust that two years of weekly meetings hadn't built. The desert does something you can't manufacture."
CEO · Tech company · Group of 7
Getting There
We coordinate all logistics from your departure city
The most common approach for corporate groups is to fly into Marrakech, spend one night in the city, then travel south to M'Hamid (6 hours by road or 1h15 by charter) and transfer into the desert by 4x4 convoy (3 hours). The convoy itself is part of the experience.
For groups with tighter schedules or those who prefer a helicopter entrance, we coordinate a 1h40 flight from Marrakech that crosses the High Atlas and descends directly onto the dunes near camp. It reduces transit time and creates an immediate impact on arrival.
We can also arrange a one-night stop in Marrakech, Ouarzazate or the Draa Valley en route, building the retreat into a wider Morocco programme if the group wishes.
Sample Retreat Schedule (3 nights)
Arrive Marrakech
Flight in, overnight. Dinner together in the medina.
Drive to Erg Chegaga
4x4 convoy from M'Hamid through the desert. Arrive at dusk. Open-fire welcome dinner.
Full retreat day
Morning walk, working session, afternoon at leisure. Stargazing session after dinner.
Morning session + departure
Final sunrise walk, closing session, convoy back to M'Hamid. Fly home from Marrakech.
Your team. The desert. No distractions.
Plan Your Corporate Retreat at Umnya
Share your dates, team size and what you need the retreat to accomplish. We reply within 24 hours with a tailored programme proposal.
Start the ConversationCorporate Retreat FAQ
How many people can attend a corporate retreat at Umnya?
What activities are available for a team offsite in the Sahara?
How does the team travel to Erg Chegaga?
What is included in a corporate retreat at Umnya?
