Zagora travel guide

Where is Zagora?

Draa Valley · Southeast Morocco. 360 km from Marrakech by road, about 6 h 30 min without stops.

by road from Marrakech, 360 km

6 h 30 min

private tour comes here

1

About Zagora

Zagora sits about 6 hours from Marrakech, so set the expectation now: this is a stop on a multi-day desert trip, not a day trip from anywhere. It is the principal oasis town of the Draa Valley, Morocco's longest river valley, which runs roughly 200 km south-east from Ouarzazate through date-palm groves, mudbrick kasbahs and nomadic encampments before dissolving into the pre-Saharan hammada. Famous for the tongue-in-cheek road sign 'Tombouctou 52 jours' (52 days to Timbuktu by camel), Zagora was a staging point on the old caravan route and a Saadian stronghold. Today it is the closest town to Erg Chigaga, the remotest and wildest of Morocco's dune fields, reached by 4x4 from M'Hamid 98 km south. Plan at least an overnight here, ideally en route to a night in the dunes.

Drive from Marrakech with normal stops

7:15 with pass and lunch stops

How long to stay

1–2 nights (en route to Erg Chigaga)

Nearest airport

Ouarzazate (OZZ) + 2h drive, or Marrakech (RAK) + 6h drive

Getting there

2h from Ouarzazate on the N9; 6h from Marrakech via Tizi n'Tichka and Ouarzazate

4x4 required

The piste to Erg Chigaga is unpaved and requires a high-clearance 4x4 — we arrange the vehicle and an experienced driver

Best combined with

Ouarzazate, Aït Ben Haddou and the Dadès Gorge on a full southern loop

Currency

Cash only in M'Hamid; ATMs in Zagora town centre

Highlights of Zagora

• Draa Valley palm groves

  One of the world's longest date-palm oases — two hours of road south from Ouarzazate threads through hundreds of thousands of palms, kasbahs and gardens that have sustained Berber and Arab communities for centuries.

• Erg Chigaga expedition

  Morocco's wildest dune field, 45 km south-west of M'Hamid by 4x4 track — a sea of dunes rising to 100m with no asphalt and very few camps. Our preferred choice for travellers who have already done Erg Chebbi.

• Jbel Zagora viewpoint

  The flat-topped volcanic mesa above the town offers a panorama over the entire oasis corridor and the Anti-Atlas ridgeline; a steady 90-minute ascent on a marked trail.

• M'Hamid and the nomadic piste

  The last town on the tarmac road, a 2-hour drive south of Zagora — starting point for camel treks, overnight bivouacs and the piste west to Foum Zguid.