From the
time we decided to visit Morocco, I knew that there was no way to end this trip
without a desert tour. So, I' m happy we eventually did it, since this trip
wouldn't be the same if we hadn't slept under the stars, if we didn't play for
hours with the sand, if we didn't ride camels while the sun was lost between
the dunes...
Zagora vs Merzouga
What
troubled me most was whether we were going to visit the desert of Zagora or
that of Merzouga. Zagora is a desert in southern Morocco and between the above
two is the one closest to the city of Marrakech. Although it is a desert, it is
a dry stone desert that has some dunes but not those huge, impressive dunes
that everyone is waiting for. These huge dunes of course can be found in
Merzouga, which is closer to Fes. Due to its remoteness, all excursions to
Merzouga have a duration of at least 3 days, while those to Zagorra, two days.
Although I
wanted to visit Merzouga, to see the most impressive part of the desert, the
fact that it is located about 600 km away from Marrakech (while Zagora 370 km)
as well as the fact that I only had two days at my disposal made me to choose
the desert Zagora tour.
How to Book a Desert Trip
There are
hundreds of companies offering various types of excursions in the Moroccan
desert. After a lot of research I ended up choosing Desert Morocco Adventure.
The reason was the great reviews I have read about them at Tripadvisor and the
excellent communication I had with Icho, the owner of the company, a young guy
from a small desert village in southern Morocco.
Day 1
The phone
rang at 7:30 in the morning and the driver informed us that he had just
arrived. Two and a half hours later we reached the famous road Tizi N'Tichka.
This road, which connects Marrakech with Ouarzazate, was built by the French in
1936 and its name means difficult path. It is an uphill road, quite narrow and
with many (too many) turns.
A little
further down, we made another stop and it was the first time in the 6 days we
were in Morocco that we remembered that it was winter. We were in the High
Atlas Mountain, at an altitude of 2,260 meters, with the temperature just above
0 degrees Celsium.
We arrived
at Ouarzazate around noon. Ouarzazate is also known as the desert gate, since
the desert starts from the south of the city. What the city boasts is that it
is the Hollywood of Africa, since there are many cinema studios in the area
where many famous films such as Laurens of Arabia, Gladiator and the popular
Game of Thrones series have been shot.
Shortly
before 15:00, we left Ouarzazate and continued our journey to the desert. We
crossed the Draa valley, with the small beautiful oases that interrupted the
monotonous desert landscape and we made a last stop in the huge palm forest
that stretches for about 200 km.
The time
was 17:00, which was more than 9 hours from the time we left Marrakech when the
car stopped for the last time. We had now reached the Zagora desert. Our camels
were waiting for us at the edge of the road to take us to our camp. We
absolutely enjoyed the ride as well as the beautiful sunset. The sun had begun
to set and the sky was painted in beautiful orange shades.
We spent
the night exploring the dunes around our camp, eating an extraordinary tajine
with chicken and vegetables, while after dinner we sat around the fire where
the locals were playing berber music, staring at the stars. And these stars, in
the middle of nowhere, without the glow of electricity to steal their glory,
were the most impressive and beautiful stars I've ever seen in my life.
Day 2
Despite the
last day's fatigue, there was no chance of losing the opportunity to enjoy the
sun rising between the dunes. So at 6:30 the alarm clock woke us up.
The sunrise was just as impressive as the sunset of the previous night. There was something so magical and peaceful to the view of the sun rising above the sand dunes.
Hundends of photos later, we went back to the camels to take a final ride in the Zagora desert before we returned back to the car.
We stopped
once again in the city of Ouarzazate, which we had the opportunity to explore a
little further, and then we headed to Aït Benhaddou. The city of Aït Benhaddou
is a very beautiful and unique city, built of mud, which is destroyed a little
bit every time it rains.
We returned
to Marrakech at around 20:00, quite tired but with our minds incredibly full of
images.
Contact
info
Phone: +212 601-659383
Email: Email@DesertMoroccoAdventure.com
Disclaimer:
We were guests of Desert Morocco Adventure, but all the views listed in this article are
mine!
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