Zagora Desert Excursion: Scenic 2-Day Journey from Marrakesh through Atlas Mountains
4.9
167 Ratings

You’ll have the opportunity to discover an array of enchanting locations and landmarks, such as the towering Atlas mountains, the protected hamlet of Ait Ben Haddou, the Kasbah of Taourirt at Ouarzazate, and the Draa valley. Enjoy a camel trek and spend the night amidst the dunes.

Duration: 2 days
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Marrakech - High Atlas Mountains - Ait Ben Haddou - Zagora

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou - Begin your journey from Marrakech at 8am and head towards Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified village listed as a UNESCO heritage site since 1989, by crossing the High Atlas mountains via Tizi N’Tichka pass while you enjoy the stunning landscapes of the mountains and Berber villages along the way. During a 4-hour drive, you will have several stops for short breaks and pictures before getting to Ait Ben Haddou. After the visit of the Kasbah (old castle) and lunch, you will continue to Zagora through Anti Atlas mountains and Draa valley.

Arrive in Zagora around 17pm and ride camels for one hour into the desert of Zagora until you get to the camp where you will spend a starry night. After dinner in the camp you will enjoy a drums party around campfire (if the weather allows) held by local camp staff.

Zagora - Ouarzazate - Marrakech

Taourirt Kasbah - After breakfast, drive back to Marrakech via Ouarzazate to visit the Kasbah of Taourirt (one of Morocco’s most spectacular historical legacies) and films studios. Ouarzazate is known as Africa’s Hollywood, many foreign and local movies have been filmed in the area including Gladiator, Game of Thrones, The Mummy…etc. After having lunch continue to Marrakech.

You will be expected to arrive in Marrakech at 6pm approx.

What's Included
  • Overnight stay in a desert camp with half-board (dinner and breakfast included)
  • Camel riding experience (individual camels for adults, shared for children with parents)
  • Air-conditioned transportation
  • Multilingual driver (English, French, Spanish)
  • All-inclusive travel with fuel, tolls and expenses covered
  • Convenient pick-up and drop-off service for hotels outside the Medina
What's Not Included
  • Lunches and drinks
  • Local guide in Ait Ben Haddou and in Taourirt Kasbah (about 2€ each)
  • Tips (optional)
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(167 Ratings)
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Rahulb953
Apr 8, 2024
The 2 day trip was a beautiful taster, at times magical journey; dotted with regular pit stops and mostly excellent food - We booked Maroc Expedition through GYG as it’s convenient. Having said that if I were to book again I would have booked directly. Their office is conveniently located next to the Kautubia! When we requested they helpfully picked up close to our Riyad. They were early to pickup. Our guide and driver Hasan was professional and truly multilingual! We loved Ait Ben Haddou; the drive across the snow capped high Atlas with pit stops; Ouzazate and off course the camp night in the desert near Zagora! The tents were clean and spacious and a decent spread for dinner and breakfast (especially during Ramadan). Omar our camel guide was super friendly and gets a special shout out!
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T5681gkmarianam
Feb 25, 2024
Perfect - Our driver was Hamed Yacoubi for the next two days to Zagora desert from Marrakesh. We could talk in spanish with him and he's a really good driver! We stopped several times to rest/wc and to visit some places. Quads, camels, and the campament was perfect! 10 ou of 10
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M9006fglarad
Jan 25, 2024
Top excursion to the Zagora desert - An incredible excursion that you have to do if or if you come to Marrakech. Everything is very well organized and they make you feel at home. It is important to highlight our guide Mustapha, a very nice and attentive person. He told us many interesting things and treated us very well throughout the trip.
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Naiaraa930
Jan 24, 2024
Trip to Zagora Desert - An incredible experience and highly recommended if you come to Marrakech. Highlight the excellent company of Mustafa, our guide.
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Carmenlg5110hg
Jan 24, 2024
Trip to the desert with friends - A great excursion and highly recommended!! Mustapha is the best guide we could have had, he has explained many things to us, he has played us very good music and, above all, he has treated us great.
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R120lpdanielap
Jan 24, 2024
GO TO THE ZAGORA DESERT - Amazing trip! Highly recommended! Above all, I would like to highlight how enjoyable the trip was made thanks to the kindness and company of Mustapha, our van driver!!!
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T3476ommar_am
Jan 24, 2024
The guide Mustapha the best - The guide Mustapha was the best, he was very kind and attentive. We were very comfortable with him and we will definitely repeat. It was many hours of travel and it made the journey very enjoyable.
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Marta1234tiwkfns
Jan 24, 2024
2 DAYS TOUR TO ZAGORA WITH MUSTAPHA - We have gone on the 2-day excursion in Zagora and it has been incredible, Mustapha has made it even more unforgettable. Very friendly and has always explained everything to us brilliantly. I would repeat
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I6416yqsaraf
Sep 26, 2023
Route with many charms and a very good guide. - This route is very worth it. We saw very beautiful places until we reached the desert, which is impressive. But one of the best things about the trip was our guide Hamed, a friendly and very funny guy. He made the journey very pleasant for us. I would definitely repeat the experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sam_i_am_boise
Mar 19, 2024
2 days in the Dunes with very handsy tour company staff - We were an all-female group of cousins on this tour. We opted for the private tour option so that we would have our own van and some flexibility over the tour itinerary, esp. on the return day. The positives: The camp itself was clean and well maintained. When one is in the Dunes, sand is everywhere, and that's not unexpected. WC were really clean and we were OK with the food and music. The rest: Communication from the company is non-existent. Emails are not answered and when I called internationally using WhatsApp, there were assurances that everything will be fine, everything is fine...i.e., a rush to terminate the conversation. On the day of departure, pick up was to be at 8 am from our Riad. 8 am came but.... Crickets. Not a chirp. So I called the office again (like it's our job). Again... everything will be fine... everything is fine... rush to hang up the phone. 15 min later, the Riad staff tells us that the van and driver had arrived. I'm squaring off payment with the Riad but their internet is not working. Within a minute, one of our group comes to tell me: hurry, driver is angry that we are late. We are late?? I had to call to find out if anyone was even coming, not 15 min ago! The gall. Thus began our odyssey with the driver Mohammad - not with a hello or a welcome but with him barking at us that we were making him late. Over the next two days, the Mohammad calmed down but then the next issue emerged. The all-Muslim, Ramadan-fasting camp staff and Mohammad became extremely HANDSY. Considering that prior to one's visit to Morocco one reads so much about how conservative the society is and how, as travelers, we must be modest (which we were - we are a group of 5 Asia-born women, ave age 50), it was appalling how much harassment we endured just because our group did not have any males. Every time we were boarding the van after a pit stop, in the guise of helping us get in, Mohammad would just leave his hand on our body a little too long. When one of us nearly jumped, he eventually stopped. But the group member on the front seat found the driver's hand on her knee when she woke up after having dozed off during the long drive. In the camp, the staff would follow us around and ask to go into the dunes further away to "stargaze" better where there was no light (yeah, right)... and on and on and on. To the point that we made sure to band together to go to the WC, and did not feel comfortable being outside the tent by ourselves. Solo female travelers or female traveler groups, please note.
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