Zagora is known as the closest gate to the Sahara desert in Morocco, traveling from Marrakesh.

If you have a lot of time traveling Morocco, Merzouga would be another possibility to visit the Sahara. This is a much more popular and a well known Sahara location. I noticed there is not a lot of information to find about Zagora and how to visit the the desert from there, I hope this can help you plan your trip.

So, if you don’t have too much time traveling in Morocco, Zagora is an absolute worth going alternative for Merzouga for a Sahara experience.

It is only 6 hours from Marrakech and 3 hours from Aït Benhaddou, while Merzouga is more than 9 hours’ drive from the capital.

When you want to spend the night in the Sahara, you’ll find a lot of luxury or more basic camps to choose from online. Don’t hesitate to ask for some information in your hotel, they will be happy to help and advise you.

Compared to nearby countries, Morocco only has a small part of the Sahara on its territory, but offers the best service to visit!

Fun fact: With an area of 9,200,000 square kilometers, it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic.

How does a trip to the desert look, leaving from Zagora? Here is an example.

09h00

Pick up at the hotel. The road to our first stop, Mhamid, is just stunning. Along the way, you might stop in some small villages. Buy enough water, it will get hot!

11h00

Arrive in Mhamid, the last village with a concrete road before you enter the beginning of the Sahara. If you want, you can do a camel ride in a small part of the desert. If you do, don’t wear shorts but long pants. The saddle is very thick and itchy. This will take an hour. Make sure to take water and sunscreen on the camel as well.

12h30

After riding a camel, you leave Mhamid and you will enter the beginning of the Sahara. From here, there are no concrete roads. At the beginning of the drive, there are some dunes and small trees, but after a while, you’ll enter a moon looking landscape. Rocks and sand it is!

From here it is another 2 hours driving through the desert. It is a real experience! Along the way, some lunch will be provided in the middle of nowhere.

14h30

Arriving in the camp. While the most part of the drive is just flat, the impressive Sahara dunes will just rise out of nowhere. Very impressive!

Rest of the day

Enjoy some food, thee and the landscapes. Make sure to hike to a large dune to catch the sunset!

Next day

After breakfast, you will return early to Zagora.f