2-Day Desert Trip to Zagora: Camel Rides and Desert Wonders

8 o'clock departure in a 4x4 from your Marrakesh hotel or riad across the High Atlas Mountains and over the famous Tizi-n-Tichka (2260m) From these mountains, the views over the valleys and the Berber villages perched on the mountain sides, sometimes barely distinguishable from the mountains themselves, are spectacular.
Having crossed the pass, you continue to descend until you finally reach Ouarzazate where you stop for lunch. Afterwards, you will have a glass of tea with us at the office in the centre of town. From there you cross another smaller pass, Tizi-n-Tinfifite, before reaching the head of the Dra'a Valley at Agdez. We go off-road along the ancient caravan route between the mountains and the river, passing many villages and gardens so that you can gain a better idea of the way of life along the oases. You then reach Zagora and have a camel ride to reach the dunes from where you can watch the sunset. Dinner is in the dunes at the bivouac of nomad tents where you spend the night.

If you get up early enough to see the sunrise, you will be rewarded by the wonderful play of shadows across the sand. After breakfast you return north, taking another short off-road route. From Ouarzazate, you leave the main Marrakesh road to reach the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ait Ben Haddou. This Kasbah, the most famous in Morocco, has been used as a backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters and was one of the most important fortress strongholds on the old Salt Road caravan routes, where traders brought slaves, gold, ivory and salt from sub-Saharan Africa to Marrakech and beyond. From there, you continue along the new and truly magnificent road to Telouet Kasbah, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family, and which now stands in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country following the departure of the French. The return to Marrakesh is along the main road, passing many Berber villages along the river and through the mountains. At times you come down into the valleys to drive alongside the river bordered by oleander and fruit trees. The gardens are full of olives, walnuts, pomegranates, apples, pears and quinces. Berber women and children tend goats and sheep and climb even the steepest slopes in search of fodder and firewood. We reach Marrakesh at the end of the afternoon.