Desert Trip to Zagora

Several tour operators arrange trips to two of Morocco's deserts called Zagora and Merzouga. They can also organize climbs to North Africa's highest mountain, Jebel Toubkal, which stands at 4,167 meters. At this time of year, there's snow at the top, so it requires special hiking gear—otherwise, we would have been up there. We booked a tour with Sahara Expedition for 550 dirhams per person for two days, including one night in a desert tent, a minivan, meals, and two hours of camel riding each day. The female salesperson sold the tour really well—maybe a bit too well... Luckily, we managed to haggle the price down by 100 dirhams per person, which made us feel a bit better. We were supposed to meet at 7 AM, but we didn’t actually leave until 8. Along the way, we made several stops to take pictures of the stunning views. We had to cross the Atlas Mountains, reaching a high point of 2,260 meters, where we could see snow on the mountaintops. We also drove alongside the lush Draa Valley. Our driver spoke very little English and even less French, so communication was a bit tricky. Many locals speak French, but it didn’t do us much good since the country was a French colony. For lunch, we stopped in the town of Ait Benhaddou, which has been used as a backdrop in many famous films like Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, The Jewel of the Nile, and Gladiator. Instead of eating at one of the expensive restaurants our driver suggested, we sneaked down into the town—away from the group—to get a closer look at the beautiful mud-brick village with its winding streets and well-preserved buildings. It was a long bus ride, and we finally arrived at 6:10 PM, where our camels were waiting by the roadside. We quickly hopped on the camels and got ready to ride through the desert to our camp before it got dark. But wait, after just 30 minutes, we were already at the camp… weren’t we promised two hours? Well, we were all pretty hungry, so we were looking forward to some food. We were served a cup of sweet tea while we waited for the meal. It turned into a long wait, as they didn’t bring out the food until 10:10 PM. A bit late for dinner! It seemed like they had to eat first themselves. Not great service for hungry guests who were left sitting there, confused and waiting for their meal. We had brought a bottle of Moroccan wine into the desert, which we enjoyed while eagerly waiting for the food. It was much needed. The food itself was fine, and there was plenty of it. We started with a yellow soup. You’d think a country with so many spices could make a soup that tasted like more than just water. The main course was a tagine with chicken, and for dessert, we had oranges. There was plenty of bread to go around, and Morocco really knows how to bake bread well. After dinner, there was some entertainment, but most of us just jumped straight into bed after such a long day.