Our base camp for this trip was Marrakech. We love this city but won´t talk about it in this article as we have already covered it in our Great Destinations of Morocco series. Our goal in this trip is the town of Zagora. My first experience of going there back in the 1970s involved hitching rides on trucks and finally walking 10 kilometres along a desert track. Thankfully, things have improved today and we now have the opportunity to experience the charms of the desert in luxury without having to suffer the hardships that I faced all those years ago.
Most visitors to the desert take a local three day tour with a minibus. We did this and had a good time, but there are serious drawbacks which is why we repeated the experience with a car. With the tour you go in a small group and are on a schedule. The seating on the minibus is not very comfortable, a whole lot of minibuses are doing basically the same itinerary at roughly the same time, meaning that the places you visit can get overcrowded. There is no time for you to stop and take photos where you want and no time to really interact with local people. You do not have much control over your accommodation and the desert tent that you sleep in may not be as comfortable as it could be. Having warned you of some of the drawbacks, don´t let me put you off doing such a tour. If you are tight on time, tight on money, and don´t mind a bit of discomfort, then a minibus tour might be just what you need. We can recommend this one: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/jOZmSFkh However, what is much better is a private luxury tour where you will not be sharing with anyone, is tailor made according to your preferences and interests, and is in a more comfortable vehicle. We recommend this one: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/T03FcVse Also, because this is tailor made, you can extend the duration of the trip so you have more time in the desert, and the time to visit Zagora, not just Merzouga. We will now look at some of the stops and experiences you can have.
Our first stop, if you are feeling energetic that is, is an old castle set on a steep hill, and called Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou. Its architecture is typical of southern Morocco.
Our second stop is the famous film making town of Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of Morocco. There are several studios you can visit and a museum. You don´t need to spend long here, maybe 4 or 5 hours, but it makes an interesting stop.
Storks love to build their nests on minarets, this one being in Ouarzazate.
Looking out at the main square of Ouarzazate from the museum.
Our third stop is the beautiful Dades Gorge, ideal for photography and walking by the stream that cuts through it. We recommend you spend a night or two in this area. We stayed at a very simple hotel with delicious food called Le Chateau du Dades. However, a much more awesome and comfortable hotel would be the Eden Boutique Hotel which is absolutely incredible to look at, both from the inside and the outside, and with top notch food and facilities. You can book here: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/EnZOpmeZ
This shows the valley and oasis by the Dades Gorge.
The simple hotel where we stayed - you can book here: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/iPO4OKlI
Typical Berber village bordering the Dades valley.
Our next stop is the Todra gorge near Tinghir, a beautiful town where we recommend spending several days just exploring the area and soaking up the atmosphere. We recommend two hotels here, one in Tinghir town called the Hotel Tomboctou which is a converted old Kasbah. You can book with this link: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/mvVWh9XF The other, the Bio Palace Hotel, is about 6 km. out of Tinghir, has beautiful gardens and pool aswell as delicious food, being family run. Lean and I love family run boutique hotels so being less grand and more informal, we choose the Bio Palace every time. You can book here: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/VRZj19ak
A farmer´s wife proudly talking about their crops.
Lean taking a walk through the beautiful agriculturally rich Todra valley near Tinghir.
View of the Todra gorge.
Our next stop is Merzouga which is worth staying for quite a few days. Here you can explore and soak up the peace of the Sahara desert. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. The Erg Chebbi dunes tower high and are best traversed by camel. For hiking, desert tracks abound but don´t forget your water. We recommend two hotels here. One, the Desert Villa Mezourga, is known for its luxury and excellence. It has great food, but is a little dark and the pool is hidden away in a terrace come patio. It is located right in the centre of Merzouga so is good for exploring the local markets. You can book here: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/Uoa5VvG1 The other one Hotel Kanz Erremalo is a few kilometres out of Merzouga fight at the foot of a sand dune. It has a nice pool and garden, and we love being able to swim with such a fine view around us. For this reason we are happy to accept slightly lower standards and less luxury in exchange for the beautiful surroundings. You can book here: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/HCYpvf7q
Lean is dressed up in a local turban to protect her against sandstorms whilst riding a camel in the Sahara desert.
Inside a luxury tent in a camp in the Sahara desert. These tents come with their own bathroom and air conditioning.
Spending one night in a luxury desert tent is an experience we recommend... unforgettable!
Serving tea and biscuits to welcome the guests to the desert camp.
Away from the lights of the city, the sunset, moon and stars can be spectacular.
A camel train in the Sahara desert, taking tourists to a camp in the evening.
Lean, on the right hand camel, arriving into the camp.
Dusk at the desert camp.
Waiting to take a client back to Merzouga.
Now we set off on the final leg of our journey to M Hamid. We will pass through Zagora which is worth stopping off at for a few hours for lunch. M Hamid is a real jewel, an unspoilt oasis in the wilderness, a perfect place to chill out for a few days. And talking of chilling out, no better place to do so than the Sbai Palace which you could call the perfect dream hotel... beautiful gardens, excellent food, nice rooms, first class service, really we couldn´t fault it. You can book here: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/hMFsCQmc You will want to stay as long as you can here before it´s time for you to return to Marrakech, a journey you could do in a day.
We hope you have enjoyed this blog. The links in it recommending places can benefit us financially - we humbly ask you to make your bookings through these links as that helps us to keep this site up and running - and it won´t cost you any more than if you were to book directly on the provider`s own website. Also, in the event of a problem, it makes it easier for us to resolve it. Happy Travels! And we would very much appreciate it if you could forward this to those of your friends who love deserta and travelling. Thank you, and may God bless you. Lean and Anthony, the travelling donkeys.
