Morocco desert tour from Marrakech

Morocco desert tour from Marrakech: Marrakech is the most visited city by tourists in Morocco, not only because of its undeniable attraction but also because it is often used as a starting point for a trip to the desert, south of the city. But is there only one or several, how far away are they and how can you travel there? In this post we tell you what options you have to travel to the desert from Marrakech depending on your available days and your interests.

These are the deserts of Marrakech

The term Marrakech desert is often used, although in reality there is not one that can be considered as such. It is more appropriate to speak of different deserts that are located relatively close to the ‘red city’ and to which trips of different lengths are organized. Below we present them to you.

Agafay Desert, the closest to Marrakech

The Agafay is perhaps the one that best fits the term desert of Marrakech, as it is the closest, about 40 km. Therefore, it can be easily visited in the form of a 2-day excursion. To reach it you do not have to cross the Atlas, but its mountains rise as a backdrop, with snow-capped peaks for much of the year. That is one of its main attractions, but not the only one: its terrain based on compacted earth and pebbles gives it a very characteristic lunar landscape air. In addition, in this desert, there are Berber tent camps, so it is possible to sleep under the stars in comfort.

The ergs: the purest Sahara a short distance from Marrakech

South of the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara desert opens up to us, which in Morocco is made up of different areas according to their landscape and level of aridity: oases, rocky canyons, wadis, dunes… None of them is called the Marrakech desert, but takes its name from the nearest town or reference. And undoubtedly, the three most popular deserts are those with their own erg, i.e. large spaces of fine golden dunes, which fit the image that comes to mind when we think of the Sahara desert.

In this sense, we can speak of three ergs:

Zagora Desert: this locality is located about 350 km from Marrakech, so it is feasible to get here in circuits of 2 days or more. However, its most interesting point is almost 100 km to the south: M’Hamid, from where 4×4 routes to Erg Chegaga depart.

Merzouga desert: here is the biggest and most famous erg: Erg Chebbi. There is a distance of 550 km from Marrakech, which can be covered in 4 days desert tour or more.