2-day desert tour from Marrakech: Zagora and Ait Benhaddou

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (5 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/7

Duration2d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · DE +3

PickupAt your hotel

A camel ride at sunset ends your first day in the Zagora desert, then sunrise comes before the ride back.

A 2-day private tour from Marrakech crosses the High Atlas to Zagora, where you spend the night in a Berber bivouac and ride a camel toward the desert camp at sunset. The second day brings a sunrise ride back, a stop at the Atlas cinema studio in Ouarzazate, and time to walk the 11th-century kasbah of Ait Benhaddou before returning to Marrakech. Hotel pickup, a night's accommodation, dinner, breakfast, the camel ride and Berber music are included; lunch and studio entry are separate.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Marrakech to Zagora desert camp

Pickup from Marrakech hotel
Stop at Tizi n'Tichka pass
Brief coffee break in mountains
Visit Kasbah of Taourirt in Ouarzazate
Lunch at Kasbah of Taourirt
Drive through Draa valley palm grove
Arrive in Zagora desert camp
One-hour camel ride at sunset
Enjoy traditional dinner
Overnight in desert bivouac

Day 2 — Zagora to Marrakech via cinema studio

Watch sunrise in desert
Breakfast at desert camp
Camel ride to transport
Return drive to Ouarzazate
Visit Atlas Cinema Studio
Visit Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou
Lunch at Ait Benhaddou
Explore Ait Benhaddou kasbah
Drive back to Marrakech
Transfer to hotel in Marrakech

The Experience

Day one starts with hotel pickup and a drive south through the High Atlas, climbing to the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 meters before a coffee stop in the mountain peaks. The route continues through successive villages toward Ouarzazate, where you stop at the Taourirt Kasbah—a 19th-century UNESCO site built by the El Glaoui tribe—for lunch and a walk through the compound. Then the road drops into the Draa valley's palm groves toward Zagora, and as the light softens you mount a camel for a one-hour ride to the desert camp, watching the sun sink across the dunes. Dinner and Berber music happen at the bivouac under the open sky.

The second day begins before dawn. You ride the camel back to the waiting transport, then have time to watch the desert sunrise and eat a traditional breakfast before heading north. On the return to Marrakech, a stop at the Atlas cinema studio in Ouarzazate—the world's largest film studio—lets you see where The Mummy, Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and Game of Thrones were shot. The final stop is Ait Benhaddou, an 11th-century kasbah and UNESCO site where you walk the narrow streets and earthen buildings before lunch and the drive back to your hotel.

What’s included

Private transportation throughout the two days.
hotel pickup and drop-off in Marrakech.
one night in a Berber bivouac in the desert.
a one-hour camel ride to the camp at sunset and another back at sunrise.
traditional dinner at the camp and breakfast the next morning.
Berber music and shows in the evening.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomeNot for pregnant travelersNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by LynxTrip

Is this one for you?Your guide speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French or a fifth language—choose the one you're comfortable with when you book, so the commentary and the route make sense as you travel.