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Traveller questions · Sahara and desert

Is Zagora worth visiting?

Yes, for the Draa valley more than for the dunes.

Answered by
the Marrakech Tours team
Checked
October 2026
Jemaa el-Fnaa square in Marrakech by day

The short answer

Yes, for the Draa valley more than for the dunes. Zagora is the main oasis town of a long palm-grove valley lined with mud-brick kasbahs, about 6 hours of driving from Marrakech. The dunes near town are small. It is best as a stop on the way to M'Hamid and Erg Chigaga, or for a short desert taste.

In more detail

The drive is the reward. South of Ouarzazate the road follows the Draa, Morocco's longest river valley, through a corridor of date palms, gardens and kasbah villages. Zagora itself was a halt on the old caravan route, and the painted road sign saying 52 days to Timbuktu by camel is still a favourite photo.

Above the town, Jbel Zagora is a flat-topped hill with a steady 90-minute climb and a view over the whole oasis. M'Hamid el Ghizlane, the last town on the tarmac, is 98 km further south, and from there a 4x4 piste leads to Erg Chigaga.

Go knowing what it is. First-timers who expect the towering dunes of Merzouga can come away underwhelmed by the sand near Zagora. Our destination notes suggest October to March: summer regularly passes 42 °C. Take cash for M'Hamid, where there are no cash machines; the ATMs are in Zagora.

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