Zagora: 2-Day Desert Trip from Marrakech

Your drive starts out from Marrakech and proceeds to the Zagora Desert via the Tizin’tichka Pass, in the heart of the Atlas Mountains. Along the way, you’ll see Berber villages tucked away in the mountainside and stop to visit Ait Ben Haddou, one of the most magnificent kasbahs (fortresses).

The authentic Berber villages have appeared in many movies, including Lawrence of Arabia, Hidalgo, The Black Stallion Returns, Babel, and Cleopatra.

Continue through Ouarzazate, the location of the area’s film studios, to the Kasbah Taourirt, and the old Galoui Palace. Along the river that passes through the Draa Valley you’ll see many kasbahs, and the long palm tree oasis that’s an important source of dates.

After the village of Agdz, you’ll soon arrive in Zagora. The massive adobe structures you see en route are divided into houses for families, in kasbah villages where life has continued unchanged over many centuries.

Zagora is the last town before the palm oases where the road dissolves into nothing but sand and rocks.

Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Zagora
• Pick-up at your Marrakech accommodation at 07:30
• Drive through the High Atlas Mountains
• Visit Ait Ben Haddou
• Transfer to Zagora, through Berber villages in the Agdz and Draa valleys
• Camel ride to the camping site (1-2 hours)
• Dinner in the desert, with Berber music

Day 2: Zagora – Agdz – Ouarzazate – Marrakech
• See sunrise from the campsite
• Camel ride back to the starting point
• Transfer to Marrakech, stopping at Ouarzazate
• Visit Ouarzazate to see the Kasbah Taourirt
• Drop off at your Marrakech accommodation at approximately 18:00