One experience I will never forget is a two-day trip my friend and I took to the Zagora Desert from Marrakech. We went with a private tour group that took us on an eight hour drive through the Atlas Mountains, with stops for photo ops, lunch, and to stretch our legs in various places along the way. It was a long trip, and the weather during the majority of our drive there wasn’t the greatest, but it made for some cool photos!
In the mountains the roads are very narrow, windy, and much of it is under construction. We were in the car for the better part of a day, so though it was a little scary at first to look out the windows, the further up we went the more I got used to it. That is, until our driver pointed out a car that had fallen into the valley below and was totally smashed, supposedly a couple days before. Well, that made me feel better. Needless to say I didn’t nap much during that part of our trip.
Once we made it out of the mountains, it was smooth sailing through the valley. The weather started to get better too. We stopped to do a little exploring in the cities of Ouarzazate — mainly known for the international film studios that have set up shop there to take advantage of the beautiful desert landscapes nearby — and Ait Ben Haddou along the way.
You’ve probably seen the ancient city of Ait Ben Haddou before. Parts of many movies and TV shows (Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven, and Game of Thrones to name a few) have been shot here and it’s easy to see why. This place is amazing.
A few hours later, we finally made it to Zagora. There we swapped our 4×4 for camels, and spent about an hour riding through the sand before we arrived at camp. And I use the term “camp” pretty loosely here. Though we slept in tents, they were fully furnished (and there was a bathroom “tent” with running water). A traditional Berber dinner of tagine, salads and breads was served after we were settled, and we washed it down with copious amounts of mint tea before we went to bed.
Of course, at around 5am there was a banging on the door (yes, our tent had a door… and a functioning lightbulb too, now that I think of it) and we were all ushered outside where we were told that if we wanted to, we could climb the nearest hill to watch the sun rise. Some people opted to go back to bed, but I was already up, so why not?
Only a small group of us decided to take the twenty minute trek up the hill, which, if you’ve ever hiked up a hill made entirely of sand, you know is no easy feat. Huffing and puffing, and maybe a little sweaty, we finally made it to the top. So. Worth it.
Til next time!
-C