3-Day Agadir to Zagora Desert Tour

Agadir is Morocco’s beach capital, with long sandy bays and mild weather all year. But just over the Anti-Atlas lies a completely different country of saffron fields, earthen kasbahs, palm oases and the first dunes of the Sahara. This private three-day round trip takes you there and back from your hotel in Agadir, Taghazout or Tamraght. Along the way you walk the walls of Taroudant, visit a women’s saffron cooperative in Taliouine, explore the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, and follow the palm groves of the Draa Valley south to Zagora for a camel ride and a night in the desert.

It’s the shortest desert trip we offer from the Atlantic coast, designed for holidaymakers who want a real change of scene without giving up more than a few days of beach time.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Agadir → Taroudant → Taliouine → Tizi n’Bachkoum → Tazenakht → Ouarzazate (about 370 km)
• Day 2: Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Agdz → Draa Valley → Zagora, then by camel to camp (about 225 km)
• Day 3: Zagora → Tamegroute → Draa Valley → Ouarzazate → Agadir (about 560 km)

Day 1: from the coast to Ouarzazate

We pick you up from your hotel in the morning. Leaving the coast, the road heads east up the Souss valley, where argan trees grow in scattered forests across the plain. This is the only region in the world where the argan tree grows wild, and its nuts produce the oil used in Moroccan cooking and cosmetics.

The first stop is Taroudant, a market town often called “little Marrakech”. Its earthen ramparts, several kilometres long and punctuated by towers and gates, are some of the best preserved in Morocco. Walk along a stretch of the walls, or through the souks inside, where the pace is much slower than in the big cities.

From Taroudant, the road climbs into the Anti-Atlas to Taliouine, the heart of Moroccan saffron country. At a women’s cooperative, you learn how the purple crocus flowers are picked by hand at dawn in the autumn harvest, and how their tiny red stigmas are dried to make one of the most expensive spices in the world. You can buy saffron directly from the women who grow it.

The road then crosses the Tizi n’Bachkoum pass into a landscape of bare, colourful mountains and reaches Tazenakht, a centre of carpet weaving, where the region’s women still weave rugs by hand in natural colours. You arrive in Ouarzazate in the late afternoon and spend the night at a riad in town, with dinner.

Day 2: Ait Ben Haddou and the Draa Valley

After breakfast you drive 30 kilometres to Ait Ben Haddou, the most famous ksar in Morocco. Its earthen houses and towers rise up a hillside above the Ounila river, and the village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has appeared in Gladiator, Game of Thrones and many other films. Walk up through the lanes to the granary at the top for the view over the valley.

From Ouarzazate, the road heads south over the foothills of the Jbel Saghro to Agdz, where the Draa Valley begins. The Draa is the longest river in Morocco, and its valley is one long oasis: palm groves, fields of wheat and henna, and fortified villages and kasbahs built of the same earth as the land around them. For centuries this was a main caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech.

In Zagora, you stop at the famous sign that reads “Tombouctou 52 jours”, a reminder that camel caravans once took 52 days to reach Timbuktu from here. Then you meet your camels and ride into the dunes for the sunset, arriving at the desert camp for dinner and the night.

Day 3: Tamegroute and the return to the coast

Wake up early to watch the sunrise over the dunes, then have breakfast at camp. The first visit of the day is Tamegroute, a village a few kilometres south of Zagora. It’s known for its distinctive green-glazed pottery, still made in wood-fired kilns by families of potters, and for its centuries-old Koranic library, which holds a collection of ancient manuscripts. The library is open to visitors, although access rules can change.

The long drive back takes you north through the Draa Valley and Ouarzazate, then west across the Anti-Atlas to the Souss valley and Agadir. You arrive at your hotel in the evening.

About the Zagora dunes

The dunes near Zagora are smaller than the great sand sea of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga, but they’re much closer to Agadir and Marrakech. Riding a camel among them at sunset, then spending the night at a desert camp, gives you a genuine taste of the Sahara in a much shorter trip. The camp is a traditional desert camp, simpler than our luxury camp in Erg Chebbi.

If the big dunes are your priority, the 5-day Agadir to Merzouga loop reaches Erg Chebbi, and the 4-day Agadir to Marrakech tour goes there on the way to Marrakech.

Where you’ll sleep

• Ouarzazate (1 night): a riad in town, with a private room and bathroom.
• Zagora (1 night): a traditional desert camp in the dunes, with a private tent for your booking.

Dinner and breakfast are included both nights.

Best time to go

October to May is the best period, with warm days in the desert and cool nights. The saffron harvest in Taliouine takes place in late October and November, when the fields turn purple. In summer, Agadir stays pleasant, but the Draa Valley and Zagora are very hot in the afternoon, so the camel ride is timed for the late evening.

Who this tour is for

Holidaymakers in Agadir, Taghazout or Tamraght who want to swap the beach for a taste of the Sahara in just three days. It suits couples, friends and families with older children who enjoy a road trip.

Good to know

• Long drives on days one and three (about 6 and 8.5 hours with stops). The scenery changes constantly, from argan forest to mountain passes to palm oases.
• Pack for two climates: Agadir is mild all year, but the desert is hot by day and cold at night from October to April.
• Entrance fees at Ait Ben Haddou and the Tamegroute library are paid on the spot.
• Arriving that day? We can pick you up at Agadir Al Massira Airport instead of your hotel.
• Want the big dunes? The 5-day Agadir to Merzouga loop reaches Erg Chebbi.