KM ~215 · as far as Ouarzazate
2 Days / 1 NightsDeparts from Marrakech
2-Day Tour from Marrakech to the Zagora Desert
The desert in a single weekend: the Tichka pass, Ait Ben Haddou and a night camp beneath the stars of Zagora.
The route
Day by day
Day 01 · Zagora · ~730 m
Over the Tichka to the Gates of Zagora
Marrakech → ZagoraDrive — approx. 225 mi / ~7h
You set out early and cross the Tizi n'Tichka, Morocco's highest pass at 7,415 feet, among hairpins and earthen villages clinging to the slope. You stop at Ait Ben Haddou, the mud ksar UNESCO protects and the cinema made famous, then at Ouarzazate, the 'gate of the desert'. From here the road enters the Draa Valley, the country's longest river: sixty miles of dense palm groves dotted with honey-coloured kasbahs, the Anti-Atlas mountains turning pink. At Zagora a faded sign reads 'Timbuktu, 52 days': here the caravans ended and the great emptiness began. You mount a dromedary and reach the bivouac among the first dunes as the sun drops and the sky fills with stars.
Overnight · bivouac in the Zagora desert
- Tizi n'Tichka Pass
- Ait Ben Haddou (UNESCO)
- Draa Valley
- Bivouac at Zagora
Day 02 · Marrakech · 466 m
Desert Dawn and the Road Back through Ouarzazate
Zagora → MarrakechDrive — approx. 225 mi / ~7h
You wake in the dry cold of dawn and watch the sun rise over the dunes, the sand shifting from grey to gold within minutes. After breakfast at camp you head north again, pausing at Ouarzazate: here stand the Atlas Studios, the largest in the world by area, where The Sheltering Sky, Gladiator and dozens of epics were shot; nearby watches the Kasbah Taourirt, once the residence of the Glaoui pasha, a labyrinth of raw-earth rooms. Then the Tichka again, its panoramas and the mineral sellers at the switchbacks. You descend to the Marrakech plain in the late afternoon: two days were enough to touch the desert and come back changed.
- Dawn over the Dunes
- Atlas Studios
- Kasbah Taourirt
- The Tichka Pass
Distances, driving times and properties shown are approximate: every figure is reconfirmed in detail at booking.
What the journey includes
Included
- Private, air-conditioned 4WD SUV/minivan
- Fuel
- Vehicle insurance
- Italian-speaking driver
- Pick-up and drop-off
- Local tour guide
- Accommodation as shown in the itinerary
- Camel ride in the Merzouga desert (one camel per person)
- Overnight stay in a Desert Luxury Camp
- Private rooms — tents and breakfast
- One-of-a-kind experiences
Not included
- Lunch
- Drinks
- Travel insurance
- Entrance tickets
- Tips
- Extras
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