3 Days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga desert & Zagora

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Overview of 3 Days Desert Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga & Zagora

If you love adventure, nature, off-road trails, or if you are a photographer: Then this trip is probably what you need to take to experience the hidden off-roads and Saharan landscapes in southeastern parts of Morocco. 3 Days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga and Zagora desert that covers many remote regions of the Draa Tafilalt region including Mountains, deserts, valleys, Berber villages, palm groves, rock formations…etc.

This Morocco adventure tour of 3 Days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Desert and Zagora starts with the valley of roses trails to Dades gorges after visiting one of the most famous Valleys of Todgha gorge, you will have the opportunity to experience the Berber cultures, food, clothes, you will explore the Sahara desert in southern Morocco which located near the border of Algeria and Morocco, experience camel rides, desert camps, Berber music.

Info of 3 Days Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Desert

+ Duration: 3 Days & 2 Nights.
+ Departure: 08:30 am.
+ Starting Location: Ouarzazate.
+ Ending Location: Ouarzazate.

3 Days Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Desert - Highlights

+ Visit the Touarirt Kasbah.
+ Drive through Draa Valley Via Agdez to Zagora.
+ Drive via the palms grove of Skoura, Rose valley, and Dades valley.
+ Ride a camel in Zagora and Merzouga while assisting in a dramatic sunset.
+ Sleep under the stars in Erg Chebbi Sahara camp.
+ Drive through the Draa valley To Ouarzazate.

Itinerary of 3 days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Desert

Day 1: Ouarzazate - Agdez - Zagora

Begin our 3 days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga desert by a pickup from your hotel/riad. Take a tour of Hollywood of Morocco, where to see Taourirt, the Kasbah, and the film atlas studios, we will take the road of the Anti Atlas to Zagora via the famous village of Agdez. Admire the sparkling colors of Deraa oasis. Have lunch in a Berber restaurant before continuing to Zagora. Called “The Desert gate”, this high-altitude capital is located on a bare plateau south of the mountains. Arriving at the bivouac in the late afternoon, enjoy a camel ride to see the beautiful sunset over the desert. Then, take part in dinner around the fire and enjoy nomadic songs and drum rhythms. Spend a magical night in a traditional tent to complete your desert experience.

Day 2: Zagora to Merzouga Sahara desert

On our second day of 3 Days Desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga, We will depart from Zagora to the incredible Merzouga desert dunes of Erg Chebbi. Enjoy touring the desert landscapes and small villages. We’ll stop to take lunch at Alnif village, and follow that by passing by the Draa valley, Taghbalt, and Rissani, to the Merzouga desert. Camel trekking adventure is waiting for you to reach the high Erg Chebbi dunes while enjoying the sunset. Get prepared to spend a night at Erg Chebbi Camp, where the Berbers are going to welcome you by singing music and serving you a delicious dinner.

Day 3: Merzouga - Todra Gorges – Ouarzazate.

Wake up early to see the spectacular sunrise, where the color of the dunes and the play of shadows are awesome sights. We will continue to Ouarzazate via  Erfoud: famous for its fossilized marbles, where you will visit the workshop production of marble fossils. Continue to the Todra Gorges which is an ideal place for walking and exploring on your own. Have lunch then drive through the town of roses, Kelaa Mgouna. We continue through the Road of a Thousand-Kasbahs passing the Skoura palm grove until we arrive in Ouarzazate named “Hollywood of Morocco” and check into the hotel/riad. the end of Our 3 Days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Desert and Zagora.

3 Days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga desert & Zagora includes

3 Days tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga desert includes

NOTE:

If this 3 Days Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga desert does not match what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will prepare the trip for your needs and requirements.

3 Days Desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Reviews

3 Days from Ouarzazate to Merzouga desert tour

We booked a 3 days tour from Ouarzazate to the Merzouga desert. Everything was well thought out, we had nothing to think about, and everything was arranged. The guide and driver were very kind and told us a lot of interesting things about Morocco, answering all our questions. We had fun in the desert and slept very well. Moreover, the best Tagine we have in Morocco is the desert.
In general, the trip had only one small flaw – Riad in the mountains (the night before the desert). Although the owners and the riad itself were very nice, the food was very delicious, I recommend this business to my friends and family.

Rita H. January 2023
5/5

Perfect 3 days desert tour from Ouarzazate with Marrakech Tour Company

We were three friends traveling through Morocco and decided to join the tour in the desert, it went far beyond our expectations! Said is an excellent driver, and Hassan is an amazing guide, giving information about the place and culture, very fun and entertaining. The ride is long, but the van has air conditioning and is very comfortable, and the views can keep it glued to the windows! We had both nights a double room and a single room, the hotel in Tinghir is really nice and has a pool! The desert camp is more spartan but it has what it takes.

The show after dinner with the Berber drums was so good, we could also try to play ourselves and dance around the fire! Only bathrooms and showers could be better, bring your soap! Also in the tents, there is only one outlet. Ait Benhaddou was an incredible visit, but at one o’clock in the afternoon, it is very hot.

The tour through the gorges and the valley was simply amazing, my personal favorite, you also see how wool is worked to become carpets and all the sense that carpets have in Berber culture. Very intense, impressive experience. You get a complete immersion in a new culture for three days, and praise for the fact that during our tour we had all the travelers who were our age, so great company too!

Francesco. January 2023
5/5

The best 3 Days Desert tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Sahara.

¡Those who visit Morocco can’t miss this trip! It culminates with a once-in-a-lifetime desert camel ride! You can’t find better value for money than doing so many activities. Everything was meticulous and perfectly organized, and people were friendly and supportive of all requests. The organizer was charming to all of us! A tip: during these 3 days you eat mainly tajine and couscous, so avoid eating them before the trip! highly recommend this 3 days tour from Ouarzazate to the Merzouga desert.

Stephanie B. February 2023
5/5

Places to see in Your 3 Days Desert Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga

Zagora

Located in the Draa Valley region, southeast of Morocco, the desert town of Zagora has an interesting history. The city itself was founded in the 20th century as an outpost of the French colonial regime, but before that, the region was an Almoravid stronghold, a Saadian military base, and an important stop for traders on the caravan route through North Africa.

Today, the city is the last large village before Erg Chigaga, one of the largest dune fields in the country. Travelers use it as a convenient base for adventures in the Sahara Desert or to explore the lush oases and date plantations of the Draa Valley. It is also a center for several fascinating annual festivals and southern Berber culture

Draa Valley

The Draa Valley is considered the longest Moroccan river. Taking its source in the High Atlas, it drains painfully at the end of its journey to its estuary on Cape Draa, near Tan-Tan.

The endemic scarcity of rainfall in southern Morocco means that, from the dry lake of Iriki, the Wadi Draa has trouble spawning its river bed in these desert and arid areas. Some writings of Roman times mention that its banks were populated by crocodiles.

After leaving the lake formed by the El Mansour Addahbi dam, the Draa runs a little south of the village of Agdz. From there, its waters manage to irrigate the long and narrow valley, bordered by the Jbel Bani and the Sagho, which forms up to Mhamid, the gates of the Saharan desert, where its flow becomes ghostly.

From Rabat, through the Jbel Kissane, to Tamegroute, its route manages to cover with its benefits this beautiful valley of Drâa, its small cultivated oases where the crops of vegetables, Cereals abound among many birds.

Its descent to Mhamid is a succession of palm groves as magnificent as the others. Equipped with kasbahs and Ksour elders, they tell through their typical architecture, the history of the Moroccan south, and the various populations who stayed there.

Erfoud

Popularly known as the Sahara Gate, the city of Erfoud has much more to offer than the first breathtaking views of the largest desert on the planet. The city is full of ksars (ancient fortified villages), the largest is Maadid, whose lively streets and picturesque houses are a pleasure for the photographer.

The sand and dunes of Erfoud have been the scene of many Hollywood adventure films. Not only the serene desert, the region also enjoys remarkable vegetation and fertility of nearby oases and precious mineral fossils on the road to Merzouga.

Discover the energy of a traditional Moroccan market in the souk of Erfoud, where you can buy Berber crafts or dates and fresh olives. Also visit the nearby royal palace, famous as the only castle in the Sahara Desert, and East Bur Hill which offers picturesque views of the city below.

Merzouga Desert

On the edge of the Sahara desert is the small village of Merzouga located between the sand dunes. With a taste of traditional Berber life, the secluded village attracts travelers to enjoy and experience life in the desert.

Merzouga is a dream desert destination full of camel rides and ethereal desert beauty.

Todra Gorges

Todra Gorge is a trench of giant rock faces that change color and pass through the Great Atlas mountains creating a very cool scene. Many Moroccan travelers visit the Strait of Todra crossing the south on the “A Kabba Road”, a road from Warzazat to Irvod where these ancient fortifications are still of the century.

Tinghir Mining City is the main city to visit Todra Gorge. The gorge is impressive and easy to walk with many places to stop filming along the well-maintained dirt road. Part of the spectacular scene includes an opportunity to learn how the local Berbers live like nomads, they wander through the gorges with many winding paths that hang their beauty.

Ouarzazate ( Hollywood of Morocco ).

A military post isolated during the years of the French protectorate, Ouarzazate, which means “without noise” in the Berber Tamazight language, has long filled its name. Today, however, the city is the Hollywood of Morocco, and filmmakers can regularly find the creation of shops at this desert crossroads with wide boulevards lined with palm trees.

Penelope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, Samuel L, Brad Pitt. Jackson, Cate Blanchett, and many others have honored the suites and streets of Ouarzazate, and a film school offers training in film arts for Moroccan and international students. However, despite the atmosphere of Tinseltown and the huge movie trays accessible to the public, Ouarzazate retains a relaxed atmosphere, making it an ideal place to sit in a café on the sidewalk, have a black coffee, and see celebrities visiting, Or at least chat with the locals, who will gladly share their experiences working as extras on the set (at its peak in the late 1990s, the film industry provided casual work to almost half of the local population).

It is not surprising, however, that the main attraction remains the surrounding cinematic terrain that made Ouarzazate a pillar for filmmakers first: namely the red kasbah in Aït Ben Haddou; the snowy High Atlas, and the Sahara, with huge cannons, Gorges, and lunar steppes in the middle.

3 Days Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga Desert's FAQs

What is the best desert in Morocco?

Merzouga Desert

It is the most popular desert in Morocco and the most visited by travelers who have a little more time to invest in this adventure. Hiking in the desert of Merzouga involves the use of at least 3 days and 2 nights

How do you get to the Sahara Desert?

To get there by car from the Ouarzazate to Merzouga desert you must take the N10 road. The journey takes approximately 5 hours. During the tour, you will pass through magical places of the Dades Valley and you can visit the Todra Gorge, considered one of the most beautiful areas of the country.

How to go to Merzouga on your own?

There are 2 possibilities to visit it from Marrakech: Reach the Merzouga desert with an organized tour from Marrakech. Or go for free to the dunes of Erg Chebbi, hiring a rental car from Marrakech. Another option is from Ouarzazate, the gateway to southern Morocco.

What is the closest desert to Marrakech?

If you want to go to the Moroccan desert from Fez, the nearest desert is Merzouga. To Fez of the desert of Merzouga, they separate it some 8 hours of road, with which this allows us to offer him the route in only 2 days 1 night.

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