Zagora Desert, Morocco

Zagora Desert


We booked a one night desert camping excursion which was an incredible experience. The whole tour only cost about €70, which was very reasonable for what is included. The tour picked us up from Marrakech early in the morning and we spent most of the day driving, stopping along the way to use the toilet, get a coffee or snack, and stretch our legs. I enjoyed getting to see so much of the stunning and ever changing landscape. Driving in Morocco is insane, there is so tailgating, honking and risky passing, it is a bit unsettling at times. I saw tons of stray dogs, donkeys, sheep, goats, etc. We saw lots of local people just hanging out on the side of the road or walking/riding bikes to go to school and kids playing football in the road or on rocky 'fields'. The views were stunning, contrasting red rock and beautiful green plants. We drove past the most beautiful hiking area called Les Gorges de Smiha. We also drove through the Atlas mountains which was a really cool experience, it was cold, windy, and snowy. I was even a bit nervous for part of the drive when the roads were a bit slushy/icy. 

We stopped at Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO world heritage site and historic ksar (fortified village). It is made up of a  group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls. The houses crowd together within the defensive walls, which are reinforced by corner towers. A local Berber guide led us on a little tour through the village and told us about the culture and history and the movies that have been filmed there. We had a group lunch where we began to get to know other people on our tour and I had the most delicious dessert - orange slices with cinnamon on them. We also learned how to properly wrap our head scarves for the desert to keep the sand out of our hair and faces (though in our cases they worked more to keep our heads and faces warm).

We continued driving and then finally arrived in the desert where it was raining for the first time in 4 years! Luckily it stopped for the duration of our visit. We visited the Zagora Desert which is right at the beginning of the Sahara Desert - I would've really liked to visit the Merzouga Desert with the bigger dunes but it is further away. The camels were honestly a little bit scary at first, Tara's was freaking out and and three others escaped and were chasing each other. We rode the camels to the camp which was so an unreal experience, they were a lot comfier to ride them than I anticipated. I felt a bit bad for the camels and was worried when they kept foaming at the mouth and blowing some weird looking thing out of the side of their mouth. I felt better after talking to our local Berber guide though, he explained that all the camels are males (females aren't ridden because they have babies) and they foam at the mouth during mating season. He also explained that the thing coming out of their mouth is called a dulla which is a pink organ in their throats that they blow out to attract females, it may be one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed. 

I believe the camp we stayed at is called Tizi Camp Caravane du Sud. It was a bit apocalyptic looking at first but was really nice. When we arrived we went for a walk and played in the sand dunes before it got too dark, I 10/10 recommend rolling down a sand dune. After, we removed our shoes and went into a tent with our group and Berber guides and had some tea, pastries, and peanuts and chatted with each other. We had a traditional dinner of bread, harira soup, chicken tagine with olives and lemon, tea, and fruit for dessert. After dinner we had a campfire with traditional Berber singing and drumming, it was so much fun, such a surreal experience. I had a wonderful, if not a little chilly, sleep in our tent and woke up at 7am to Berber people yelling good morning. We had a traditional breakfast, went for one more walk up the sand dunes and then got on our camels and rode back to meet our driver at the van. 

We visited a museum on the way home where we were given tea and taught about some Berber culture/history. I got talked into buying a rug. 



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