Explore The southern oases routes
ZAGORA seems unpromising at first sight: a drawn-out modern market town with a big crop of hotels and government buildings and few sights of specific interest. Even the famous Timbuktu road sign that once adorned the edge of town has been removed in an overzealous bout of city-council tidying. As the region’s main staging post for trips to the fringes of the Sahara, it attracts more tourist attention than it deserves in itself, yet still manages to make a pretty agreeable rest stop, particularly if you’re staying in the Amazrou palmery south of town.
Aside from its relative proximity to the desert, another draw are Zagora’s festivals. The Drâa’s big event, the Moussem of Moulay Abdelkader Jilali, is celebrated here during the Mouloud, and like other national festivals in the town, such as the Fête du Trône in July, is always entertaining.
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Desert trips from Zagora
Desert trips from Zagora
Nearly every tourist in town is here for the Sahara, and yet Zagora is still some way from the desert proper, so make sure you know exactly where your trip is headed. The closest dunes are at Nakhla, northeast of town, and Tinfou, about 25km south along the N9, which are easy to get to but not particularly impressive. Closer to M’Hamid lie the Erg Lihoudi and the Erg Ezahar, though the latter – also known as the Screaming Dunes due to the incredible sound they make (the noise is actually caused by vibrating sand grains) – are usually only offered on trips out of M’Hamid. Finally, around 60km southwest of M’Hamid (and a good 3hr from Zagora), is the unforgettable Erg Chigaga, the real deal, offering relative isolation and a sea of golden sand ebbing out into the distance; though getting here involves a much longer (and expensive) journey.
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A date to remember
A date to remember
The dates of the Zagora oasis are reputedly some of the finest in the country, a claim you can put to the test at the twice-weekly souk (Wed & Sun), where stallholders sell several dozen of Morocco’s 220 or so different date varieties – look out for mejhoul, bouskri, jihel and, particularly, the sweet boufeggous, which will last for up to four years if stored properly. If you’re not in town for the market, never fear: you can’t get too far along the Drâa’s roads before being accosted by kids brandishing boxes of the sugary snacks, often encouraging you to make a purchase by leaping out in front of your car.
