TRAVEL
Zagora or Merzouga: what desert to choose
One of the most unforgettable experiences you can live as a traveller going to Morocco is to make an excursion to the Sahara Desert. Depending on the days you have available for your trip to the desert, you will be interested in visiting Zagora or Merzouga From Marrakech, there are mainly two excursions to visit the Sahara: the one that goes to the Zagora desert, and the one that has the destination of the Merzouga desert. Two deserts that, although they are part of the same Sahara desert, are totally different from each other. Keep reading, because in this post we will tell you the peculiarities of each one so you can choose the desert trip that suits you best. You should take a look at desert tours in Marrakech for all the excursions you can do there.
Visiting the desert from Marrakech is an adventure that you will remember in a lifetime.
Zagora or Merzouga: defrosting the margarita
There are many factors to weigh when choosing whether to end up going to Zagora or Merzouga. One of the main points to consider is the time you will spend. An excursion from Marrakech desert tours to Zagora is ideal if your idea is to make a short trip of 2 days and sleep 1 night in the desert. If you have one more day, it would be best to opt for an excursion to Merzouga. The minimum number of days you must use to go to the desert of Merzouga is 3 days and 2 nights. Normally one of the nights you will stay in the Atlas Mountains, and the other falls you will sleep in a jaima in the desert of Merzouga. You should know that this desert is famous for its sand dunes: some reach 150 meters high!
Map of the Zagora desert and the Merzouga desert
Where are the deserts of Zagora and Merzouga with respect to Marrakech? How many kilometers are they from the so-called Red City?
Zagora Desert
The Zagora desert is about 355 kilometers away from Marrakech and to get there you have to make a journey of about 6 hours by road. Although it seems that it is quite a long time to spend there, visiting this desert is perfect for a short 2-day, 1-night desert getaway. The big difference with the other great desert of Morocco, Merzouga, is that Zagora is much more arid and rocky. But that does not take away charm, in fact, it is one of the most visited deserts in Morocco.
It is quite different from the concept of the Moroccan desert that most of us have in our heads, but it is really beautiful and well worth visiting. In this desert you can do activities such as riding a camel at sunset, go quad biking and of course sleep in a jaima enjoying the night and the desert sky. Zagora is a more rocky desert, although you will also find dunes in it.
MerzougDesert
The desert of Merzouga is 562 kilometres away from Marrakech, and it takes about 9-10 hours to reach by road. That is why the trip to this desert is usually done in 2 stages. This is the most popular dessert in Morocco and the most visited by travellers who have more time to invest in this adventure. Taking an excursion to Merzouga means using at least 3 days and 2 nights.
In this desert, you can enjoy large sand dunes of more than 150 meters and watch the sunset while riding a camel through its dunes. If all this is not enough to make this excursion unforgettable, the camel ride will take you to the jaima, where you can enjoy the starry desert sky. Seeing the Milky Way while lying on a sand dune is something you will never forget.
Huge dunes and film landscapes are waiting for you in Merzouga.
What desert is better? It’s a matter of time
As we said before, going to one area or another of the desert will depend, to a large extent, on the time you spend there. The time you should spend in Zagora to enjoy the whole area is about 2 days minimum, while if you go to Merzouga the ideal will be to spend at least 3 days. Apart from the question of the time of your getaway, it would be better to choose Merzouga desert, as we have said before we recommend you the desert of Merzouga, since it has the largest and most impressive dunes; while the Zagora region in Morocco is closer to Marrakech, but it is more rocky and arid. You should take a look at desert tours in Marrakech for all the best excursions you can do there.
Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at bloggerjohnsmith12@gmail.com.