2-day Trip to Zagora desert from Marrakech

1st day: Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Zagora.

Set up from Marrakech in the morning and head southeast. The road follows a magnificent stretch of the High Atlas, winding through the mountains. Certainly, the High Atlas contains some of Morocco’s beautiful sites. At an elevation of 2260m.a.s.l, the Tichka pass which links Marrakech to Ouarzazate offers wonderful sights and beautiful mountain streams. In winter, the pass is likely to be covered with snow.

However, the road brings you from the mountains down to the fortified village (Kasbah) of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a distinctive location for moviemakers. Several foreign movies have been filmed in the village, such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, Gladiator, etc. Once you approach Ait Ben Haddou, take a wander around the Kasbah and have lunch in a restaurant nearby before you continue driving to Zagora.

Reach Zagora before sunset and ride camels for over an hour into the camp. Indeed, you will be ideally-placed to feel the quietness of the desert as well as to enjoy the stars and the Milky-way after a traditional diner.

2n day: Zagora – Draa Valley – Ouarzazate – Marrakech.

Get up early for a spectacular sunrise the next day, eat breakfast and then return to your car by camels. In your way back to Marrakech, go by the great valley of Draa. With its palm groves stretching along the area and the river (Morocco’s longest river) which runs through it, it is certainly worth a stop at Agdez to view the scenery.

Drive another 68km to Ouarzazate (the Hollywood of Africa) to visit or snap photos in its focal places, Taourirt Kasbah and film studios.

Get back to Marrakech by late afternoon.