ZAGORA DESERT: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW (2023)
A complete guide to visiting the Zagora desert, a stunning desert spot in the outskirts of Zagora town.
For many visiting the Sahara desert in Morocco is a bucket list experience beating all other notable activities in the country. However, a Sahara desert trip involves careful logistics and planning, making these Sahara desert tours costly and time consuming.
The Zagora desert is the perfect place to get a taste of what a desert experience is like, without comprising too much of your time and money, unless you decide to stay in the Zagora desert luxury camp.
In this guide, I’ll detail everything you need to know about visiting the Zagora desert, how to get there and plan your trip, where to stay, other things to do on the vicinity of this desert spot and I will recap some of my experience, so that it will help you planning your trip.
ABOUT THE ZAGORA DESERT
The Zagora desert is a beautiful desert spot close to Zagora town. It is not the Sahara desert per se but just one of the few Pre-Saharan dessert spots in the area. It is an area of little sandy hills close to the Hamada.
The local name for this desert spot is “Nakhla dunes” , Nakhla coming from the Arabic word كف، نخلة, that means palm. The name originating on the lush and dense palm groves not too far from them.
WHERE IT THE ZAGORA DESERT?
The Zagora desert is located around 12 km from Zagora town center and 362 Km from Marrakech.
It takes just 20 minutes to get from Zagora center to the spot but the trips from Marrakech take longer than 6 hours. If you are planning to visit the Zagora desert from Marrakech and this will be the only activity you will do in the area I recommend you to book a Zagora desert tour from Marrakech.
I visited this desert spot while I was staying in Zagora so I went with a guide that I met in Zagora town.
I am sharing with you here a pin with the location of the Zagora desert.
HOW TO GET TO THE ZAGORA DESERT
Most people visit this desert spot on a one day Zagora desert tour from Marrakech. These tours usually bring you by bus to one of the Zagora desert camps where you will see the sunset and enjoy some Moroccan traditional dinner and tea. You will then spend the night at one of the tents and wake up on time to watch the sunrise, have a nice breakfast and return to Marrakech on that same day.
I would not recommend these tours unless you are on a very tight schedule, as you will spend longer than 13 hours on a bus just to stay a few hours on the desert.
You can always go to Zagora by yourself, by bus or by plane and base yourself there. The area features some of the most breathtaking desert spots in Morocco and some incredible cultural experiences. If you are going to go there by plane check well in advance. There is an airport in Zagora but it does not operate all year round. Buses leave daily from Marrakech and you can usually book one day in advance.
If you are basing yourself in Zagora check with one of the local guides there and they will be able to arrange transport for you to the desert spot. Please take into account that if you are visiting the Zagora desert camp during national holiday it can get pretty crowded with local people, which is amazing, as you will be able to enjoy as the local people do. But you will need to make sure you are booking your spot in advance.
Omar Amdiaz arranged all my tours around Zagora You can always contact him to help you arranging your tour.
WHERE TO STAY IN ZAGORA
If you decide to base yourself in Zagora you can book your spot in one of the Zagora desert camps, or Zagora luxury desert camps.
You can either let your guide arrange accommodation for you or book it by yourself online.
You can also stay in Zagora town and visit the Zagora desert on a half day trip from Zagora.
Zagora offers all sort of accommodation.
My recommeded places to stay.
Hotel Reda– This hotel is huge and has a big swimming pool where you can refresh during the hot Saharian days.
Riad Soleil Du Monde – This charming Riad is located in the middle of a palm grove in Amazraou.
Amazraou is the closest village to Zagora and it is walking distance from the town center.
A ZAGORA DESERT TRIP
In these section I will describe my experience visiting the Zagora desert. I visited the desert with a local guide from Zagora.
As I decided to visit myself in Zagora I took a local guide to visit the Zagora desert and stayed only for one night in the Zagora desert camp.
Early morning we took a motorbike to drive towards the area where the Zagora desert is located.
VISITING THE KSAR TISSERGATE
Our first stop is the Ksar Tissergate. A Ksar usually refers to Pre-Saharan Berber building. The Ksar Tissergate is one of the most well-preserved Ksours in the South of Morocco. It was built 5 centuries ago and it is still inhabited by some Moroccan families.
We park our moped at the doors of the Ksar and my guide leads me through the different passages on the Ksar while he explains to me how this type of buildings are just made of earth and water. Pretty impressive that this place has gone intact through 5 centuries, considering what it is made of, I think for myself.
The reason why these materials are used is for isolating purposes. Earth is best hot insulating material and you can feel it was you walk through the tunnels of the Ksar. It gets even a bit chilly while the scorching Sun is shinning outside.
The doors are beautifully decorated with some Berber symbols and made up of palm trees. We visit a cookie factory, inside the Ksar, where only women work and a rug factory where some women invite me inside to see how they weave them.
At the end of our stroll through the Ksar Tissergate we pass by a couple of prominent symbols. My guide explains me that that sign means “ l´homme libre“ (free man), how the Berbers call themselves. There is other sign close to it that is a symbol usually worn by Berber women in Jewelry to show wether she is married or not.
PALM GROOVE VISIT
In order to get to the Zagora desert camps we need to cross a leafy palm groove. The palm groove that gives its name to the “Nakhla dunes”, AKA Zagora desert.
There some more earthen buildings scattered all around the palm groove and some local people collecting dates.
As we stop in the middle of the palm grove to have a little walk and take some photos, we meet some local people collecting dates and we get offered some to try.
I am also invited to visit a local house in the interior and go on top to the terrace. This is such a cool experience.
MY STAY AT THE ZAGORA DESERT CAMP
Once we have crossed the Palm grove we arrive at the Zagora desert camp where I am offering some tea before dinner is prepared.
After that I have some time to walk around the sandy area to take some photos and enjoy before dinner.
Dinner is some delicious Tagine with some Moroccan bread and fruits. There is a cozy campfire and some people playing drums.
I walked around the dunes a bit to watch the stars before going to sleep.
If you decide to visit this desert spot, please bring your camera, otherwise you will miss some good photo opportunities.
ZAGORA FAQS AND TIPS
IS ZAGORA IN THE SAHARA DESERT?
No, Zagora is not in the Sahara desert. It is the Pre-Saharan area. The gates of the Sahara desert are around 100 km away from Zagora. However, the desert line is not a very clear one as the Sahara desert is expanding every year.
Before the desert officially starts there are some desert spots scattered in the area, such as the Zagora desert and the Tinfou dunes.
IS THE ZAGORA DESERT WORTH IT?
Yes, the Zagora desert is worth a visit. It is a stunning desert spot not too far away from Zagora center where you can test what a desert experience is like.
However, is you are looking for a Sahara desert experience this is not the trip for you as this desert spot is not too far from an urban area, therefore you will have some light pollution at night.
WHICH IS BETTER ZAGORA OR MERZOUGA?
My recommendation is to visit Zagora vs Merzouga. Zagora is a hidden gem in Morocco that has largely remained out of the mass tourims circuits. The advantage of visiting Zagora vs Merzouga is that you have many possibilities to for a desert trip and you will be able to enjoy many of this places in almost complete solitude.
WHERE IS THE BEST DESERT IN MOROCCO?
The best desert in Morocco is without any doubt Erg Chigaga AKA Erg Chegaga. It is located more than 50 km away from any urban area and its tall sand dunes and landscapes are a dream for artists, dreamers and people seeking for peace and solitude.
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