THROUGH DESERTS & WATERS
AN ARTISTS PILGRIMAGE
26th of April - 4th of May,
Morocco
Images by Yaqine Hamzaoui from our pilgrimage 2025
THE INTENTION
My first encounter with the Sahara Desert was 2024 in the Tafilalet Region of Morocco, where I’ve spent a whole month in an artist residency in a traditional desert village, to listen and be moved by the lands. I had no idea what the desert would open in me, yet alone how these experiences are still rippling through my whole being until this day. The desert instantly evoke in me a reverence, a recognition of a mystery that will never be possible to be grasped or conceptualized. A kind of presence that invites and devours at the same time. I’ll be now returning to the Sahara for the third year; I can truly say these experiences have been altering my reality. My work has grown in dialogue with this landscape, and the return to this pilgrimage arises directly from that place.
As an artist, I came to understand the significance of pilgrimage early on, through a close intimacy with the natural world, and perhaps through lineage as well. My grandmother’s mother carried the name Pellegrini, translating to pilgrim; an inheritance that has always felt more like a call than a coincidence.
Pilgrimage is often imagined as a journey toward a holy site or an end destination of significance. Yet in the desert we will not walk to arrive somewhere specific but to embrace the whole journey as sacred in of itself. Like a microcosm of life; every challenge, every encounter, every emotion arises along the way, not as an interruption, but as part of the rite. An artists pilgrimage in specific, for me is an unlearning of linearity. To recognize the path, the process as inherently creative, with its thresholds, uncertainties and undeniable joys. It asks for a slowing of time, to trust in a process that unfolds, to embrace the unknown and to keep walking. This is a practice of becoming undone, becoming really really naked, whilst putting one foot after the other.
THE INVITATION
This is an elemental journey. Before I started working with the desert, I was (and still am) in deep apprenticeship with waters. Rivers, tides, rain, tears. It was through this ongoing relationship, from the depths of this research, that I was guided to step into the desert landscape and its waters there.
The desert was once an ocean. Specifically this region where our pilgrimage will take place, is rich of fossils, whispering from its ancient past, where the desert once was ocean. These traces remain embedded in the land, reminding us that what appears dry and empty on the surface is layered with memory and movement. This is an elemental journey, through our senses, our sweat, our tears, our bones, our longings in our dreams. A passage shaped by sand, wind, vastness and the intelligence of time moving differently.
Challenges will arise. Fatigue, discomfort, uncertainty, moments of doubt or resistance as part of the terrain. They ask for presence rather than control, for listening rather than pushing through. Each challenge becomes an invitation to meet oneself more honestly, to soften where possible, and to draw on the collective support of the group. The desert will ask for humility, attentiveness, and adaptation. In meeting its conditions, heat, distance, simplicity, we are shaped in return, learning how to dance with what is, rather than against it. The group that gathers becomes an integral part of the journey itself. Rather than filling the pilgrimage with predetermined content, we allow the collective presence to shape what unfolds. We leave space, for silence, for emergence, for creativity to arise in its own rhythm. We will collaborate with what presents itself.
GUIDANCE & RECIPROCITY
Our journey is made possible through being accompanied by our experienced guides. A family run business, “Etoile du Desert” Stars of the Desert, is a group of nomadic people who have walked the desert all their lives. As they like to say, they are trained and formed in “the language and secrets of the desert,” a knowledge carried through the body, through generations, and shared with great generosity. Their origins lie within the Nouaji tribe local to the region, and named after their ancestor and grandfather, Sidi Naji, who was buried here hundreds of years ago. Inevitably our guides will share their stories and ways with us, on our path and in the intimate moments around meals, and with the fire.
As foreigners walking these lands, it is essential to acknowledge that we are guests. This pilgrimage unfolds on ancestral territory, and our presence is held with care and responsibility. Reciprocity is therefore central to how this journey is shaped. Sixty percent of the income directly supports the family business of Etoile du Désert.
We walk not alone, but in relationship. We walk the path, to be shaped by its way.
In the following sections, you find more practical and logistical details about the pilgrimage, to help you prepare and understand what to expect throughout this journey.
TRAVEL & ARRIVAL Our first and last nights will be spent in a simple riad in Ouarzazate (ورززات in Arabic and ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ in Berber). This town, situated in the Dadès Valley, is considered the last outpost before the vastness of the desert. You can reach Ouarzazate by air. Depending on your departure location, you may find direct flights or need to connect through Marrakesh or Casablanca. We can also organize a shuttle bus that goes from Marrakesh to Ouarzazate for our group depending how many people will require this.
Our opening will begin by 5 PM on April 26th, so please ensure you arrive before then. If you need or wish to arrive a night earlier, we can arrange an extra night at the Riad for an additional cost. The same applies for the departure, as we'll spend our last night in the Riad as well. We plan to conclude our journey at lunchtime on May 4th.
OUR RHYTHM The rhythm of our pilgrimage will be shaped by the landscape and by the group itself. Movement, togetherness, and rest will be guided by the conditions of the desert—particularly the heat. We will travel during the cooler hours of the morning and rest as the air begins to warm. With this in mind, the rhythm offered here is a general orientation rather than a fixed schedule, held with awareness of its fluid and responsive nature. Our days will begin at sunrise, when we gather for intentional practice. After breakfast, made by our dear guides on the open fire, we will set off for our trek ahead. Each day we will trek, with our camels who will carry our bigger travel bags, around three to four hours according to our itinerary. Throughout this time we will have opportunities to stop and drink water, stretch and continue on. Some days the trek will be silent and others we might have specific intentions that we will carry through our walking. Lunch will be served upon our arrival at camp. After some time of rest, while our camp is being set up, we will meet again before sunset for practice, togetherness and ritual. Night meals will be shared around the fire, perhaps with music or storytelling from our friends and guides.
& DETAILS TO CONSIDER
Aside from our first and last nights, which will be spent in a shared double room at a riad, the remainder of our time will be spent sleeping in the desert. This, in itself, is an experience, a return to simplicity, and to the experience of resting in deep contact with the land. Our guides will set up traditional desert tents, also known as nomadic bivouacs, sheltered between the dunes. We can ether sleep in the tents or for those who feel can sleep directly beneath the desert’s night sky. Mats and blankets will be provided, allowing you to rest in close proximity to the land, held by the vastness and void of the night.
Meals will be freshly prepared over an open fire by our desert guides. These will include tagines, dips, salads, and traditional sand bread. Vegetarian options are available upon request. Please inform us of any needs as early as possible.
Each day, we will journey deeper into the desert. Our small caravan (about 15 people) will travel with camels, who will carry our belongings, allowing us to walk with more ease. Daily hikes will last approximately three to four hours, with regular pauses for rest, water, and attunement to the landscape. We encourage packing lightly, and a detailed packing list will be shared closer to the time of our gathering. April is one of the idealest months to be in the desert, however we can’t guarantee what that means in temperatures, as the desert is a place of extremes, which means we might have strong encounters with heat and / or cold during the night. Please note that during our time in the desert, we will not have access to sanitation facilities, nor to large amounts of water beyond what is provided for drinking. This is part of the simplicity and immersion of the experience, inviting us to move lightly, care for our basic needs consciously, and attune more deeply to the rhythms and limitations of the environment.
THE PREPARATIONS. Preparation always begins when we say yes. The journey starts not in the desert but in the intentions we set, and the connections we make before we meet in person. My intention is to create a shared field of presence with the group that is forming before we start walking together. To support this, we will gather online once or twice depending on availabilities before our pilgrimage in April begins. These are opportunities to meet one another, and to begin listening to the journey ahead. Exact times will be communicated once the group is formed.
The group for this pilgrimage will be invite/ or application only, due to the nature of the experience. If you have a partner, friend, or loved one you would like to join, please get in touch with me so we can explore whether this is possible and discuss the details.
THE INTEGRATION. I personally place a lot of value on the art of integration. We cannot know in advance what this passage will reveal, nor can we fully anticipate the attention needed to process and integrate what arises afterward. I encourage you to allow spaciousness in your time following the pilgrimage, in whatever form is available and possible for you.
For those who would like to extend their stay; I will be staying in a guesthouse for a week after the pilgrimage, a place I experienced last year as a true sanctuary, perfect for resting and allowing what has unfolded to settle and be integrated. A few places will be available for you to join me there. Be in touch if this is something you’d like to consider, and I can share more details around additional costs and practicalities.
NEXT STEPS & PAYMENTS
The full price is EUR 1200. (60% of the price of this pilgrimage goes directly to the guides and their family business, honoring their expertise, labor, and the generations of knowledge that make this journey possible)
A place is confirmed with a non refundable deposit of EUR 250. The rest of the payment can be split in installments if required. All payments must be done by 12th of April 2026.
This includes;
-Two nights in a Riad in a shared room
-Dinner and breakfast in the riad
-Return trips to/from the desert (Ouarzazate/M'Hamid - M'Hamid/Ouarzazate)
-Trekking with a camel caravan in wilderness bivouacs with large shared tents accompanied by a family team
-Facilitation and daily guidance to support and deepen the experience
Does not include:
-Flights
-Travel insurance (optional)
-Personal expenses
-Tips
If you have any questions or specific inquiries, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly by email or phone. If we haven’t met before, we’ll have a short phone conversation to connect and clarify intentions, to feel whether this pilgrimage is right for you.
movewith@yaminalyara.com // +44 7544491784
WITH SO MUCH LOVE & FIERCE DEVOTION
