Deep Desert

For the more adventurous traveller, the desert in the south east of Morocco is well worth the long journey to it through mountains. It is a highly scenic and atmospheric region with breathtaking sights such as gorges, stony desert, stunning earth architecture and peaceful palmeries, as well as the Saharan sand dunes.

The Region

The Moroccan Sahara offers far more than sand dunes. For visitors who find the time to travel to this area of great beauty and peace - we suggest a minimum of 5 days - the reward is an exciting mix of scenic gorges and valleys, dunes, beautiful oasis towns and a culture distinct from that in the north of Morocco. Many areas have a stunning backdrop of the Atlas Mountains, which you need to cross to access the desert from Marrakech, Taroudant and Fez.  

The Sahara, the largest arid desert in the world, starts in Morocco with a mixture of sand and rock.  It is a vast area, but one that is readily accessible from other parts of Morocco if a visitor has sufficient time to travel the vast distances involved.

Things to do or see

The region has a wide range of interesting settlements - the oasis towns of the desert were historically the arteries for much trade in Morocco, providing routes into the rest of central Africa - beautiful oases and stunning desert landscapes to explore, with a number of opportunities to see dunes, trek or ride camels.

Places in the Region

The main towns and areas of interest are:

Ouarzazate, the largest town of the desert and less than 5 hours from Marrakech, is a French garrison town which has been transformed into a tourist centre. We recommend that you stay in the countryside or other towns nearby, such as near Skoura or Ait Benhaddou rather than in Ouarzazate itself.

Ait Benhaddou is a striking fortified settlement (ksar) under half an hour’s drive from Ouarzazate (off the Marrakech road). Renowned as a backdrop to many films including Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator, it houses some of the best conserved kasbahs in Morocco. The nearby film studios are well worth a visit.

Skoura is set by a peaceful palmery with many superb ruined kasbahs. Just 45 minutes' drive to the northeast of Ouarzazate, it is also a good base from which to visit the Dades Valley.

The Dades Valley and Gorge starting east of Skoura, including the famous “Valley of the Roses” and “Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs”, offer stunning, varied and colourful landscapes with superb kasbahs. The dramatic Todra Gorge lies further east.

Merzouga is a village due east of Ouarzazate, about 6 hours by road; it enjoys a fantastic setting on the edge of the impressive reddish gold Erg Chebbi, sand dunes which rise to heights of around 160 metres.

Agdz is a small town with an attractive palmery; it is situated under 2 hours' drive south of Ouarzazate or may be reached by a lovely drive via a relatively low mountain pass 4 hours drive east from Taroudant

Zagora, the gateway town to the desert, is about 3.5 hours' drive south of Ouarzazate along the dramatic Draa Valley; there are some lovely places to stay in the attractive adjacent palmery in Amezrou, just to the south of the town. Nearby are small sand dunes at Tinfou and the larger dunes at M'Hamid are a further 80 minutes' drive.

M’Hamid, the access point for the largest dunes, lies due east of Agadir on the edge of the Sahara, accessible by picturesque routes through the mountains from Taroudant (7 hrs), from Marrakech (about 9 hrs) or Ouarzazate (about 5 hrs).

Climate

The climate of this area varies a great deal due to its vast size and variations in altitude – much of it is mountainous - but a safe rule is that the deep desert is too hot for most visitors in June-September though cooler areas such as Skoura in the north are more comfortable. The climate becomes more extreme as you go inland and further south. Weather statistics for the Desert, Ouarzazate and Zagora are: