“The Agafay Desert is a lonely place,
straight out of a Thousand and One Nights!”
Most travel lovers have been or, at least, already know the charm of Marrakesh: the famous markets, the enchanting mosques, the Arab palaces, the Medina, the gardens… Probably Marrakesh is the most well-know city in Morocco, even more than the capital city Rabat, or the coastal city of Casa Blanca.
What most travel lovers still don’t know though, is the gorgeous little gem that sits just 30km away of Marrakesh: the Agafay Desert!
The Agafay desert presents itself sandy-like in some parts, and rocky in others: it’s lunar-like barren conveniently located just outside Morocco’s most popular city, which boasts incredible views of the nearby Atlas mountains.
In this article, we will give you a peek inside an Agafay Desert Quad & Camel Tour with Dinner Show, a popular tourist attraction that allows visitors to experience the Moroccan desert in small groups and in an intimate way.
With round-trip transportation arranged and a vast array of activities to choose from, diving into the heart of the Agafay Desert has never been so convenient!
In this article, we will bring you to 5 of the most epic experiences you should try when visiting the Agafay desert.
Let’s dive right in!
5 Awesome Experiences
to Try in the Agafay Desert!
1. Start the Tour with a Quad Tour
through the Vast Nothingness
When you say quad, I am already booked!
Quads are easy-to-drive, well-stabilized vehicles ideal for crossing mud, beaches, hills, mountains, and of course… deserts!
I believe that in deserts quads give their best: you can drive wherever you like, and there are no obstacles!
In the past, I’ve been driving quads in the Namibian Desert, and in the desert outside of Dubai and it has always been a blast: there is something, about driving a quad, that always feels like “adventure”!
Riding a quad in the Agafay desert has a special feeling too, as while you ride, you can spot the gigantic Atlas Mountains on your side and that feels gorgeous!
My suggestion, is to start the tour a few hours before sunset, when the temperatures start falling (you’re going to sweat anyway… but still!), to admire the first lights of the sunset too!
2. Second Thing: Dress up like a Local!
After the quad, a second experience you can try at the Agafay desert is to dress uplike a local!
To do that, you will need a traditional loose fitting, breathable Moroccan cloak (called “Djellaba”) and a head-scarf!
In addition to being a cool outfit to make great souvenir photos with your group, these dresses are extremely comfortable and will grant you the optimal range of motion for what’s coming next in a complete Agafay tour ;D
3. Take a Camel Ride with the Sunset as Backdrop!
No visit to a desert is complete without a serene camel ride.
The rides offered with camels are usually 7-10km long, and that’s not to strain them too much the animals (camels can walk up to 40-50km a day, they don’t run, but they don’t break up halfway too ;D ).
It’s not super long, but it’s also more than enough to experience a true desert vibe, take memorable photos, disconnect from modern life, and relax the mind while slowly following the desert road.
Remember: hold tight to the saddle handle-bars, and then just relax your body and breathe deeply. The less tension you hold in your body, the more comfortable the camel ride will be! 😉
If you’re looking for an experienced local tour operator offering a camel ride at a fair price, I can recommend Marrakesh Budget Tours, a professional company with a rating of 5/5 on TripAdvisor.
4. Enjoy a Moroccan Traditional Dinner
in a Berber Tent
Berbers are the indigenous population of Maghreb and 31% of the population of Morocco.
The traditional Berber tents, which come from a millenary tradition, are colorful havens originally woven from the hair of domesticated sheep and goats (today not anymore!), and their design is thought to have originated in Mesopotamia.
Having a traditional Moroccan dinner in a Berber tent is an intimate and incredible experience, that I would classify as a “One Thousand and One Night” experience (I love that book, and most of the fascination I have for Arab countries comes from that ahah).
Typical Moroccan foods generally include tangine (those conical bowls full of meat and sauces), the harira soup (made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, and lamb, a squeeze of lemon juice and chopped coriander), kefta (beef or lamb minced with garlic), Couscous and Makouda (fried meatballs of any meat possible).
During the dinner, also don’t forget to try the Moroccan Tea: drinking is such a surprising ritual, as it is preparing it! 😉
5. Enjoy the Berber Music, the Dances,
and the NightSky from One Thousand One Nights!
When the dinner is over, a good way to close the day in the Agafay desert is to relax and enjoy the traditional Berber music, its African rhythms, the oboes, and the bagpipes!
Depending on the tour you’re booking, you might be also able to witness a traditional belly dance show!
When the entertainment is over, and you are leaving the tent, be aware that an even greater entertainment is usually waiting outside the night sky!
Deserts are the most awesome places to sleep under a blanket of stars, and Agafay is no exception!
Without light pollution nearby, from the dunes encircling the camps the view of the sky is the one you find only in fairytales: the first time I saw the stars pulsing in front of me, a tear of joy came down my cheek!
Most people don’t believe that stars pulse, as we rarely see them pulsing in the sky! But when you’re in such places, and you see it with your own eyes, it’s the most gorgeous experience of all!
In our case, that’s also a great conclusion for a one-day Agafay Desert experience 🙂
Conclusion
And here we are at the end of the article!
In this article, we discovered together the Agafay desert and we’ve shown you 5 cool experiences worth doing if you’ll be happening to travel there 😀
Before going, I would like to ask you:
- What do you think about the article?
- Have you already had the chance to experience the Agafay desert before?
- What did you like most about your time there?
If you’d like to share your experience, we would be happy to hear it! 🙂
So please, let us know in the comments below!
Thanks for reading, and as always…
See you in the next article! 🙂
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