Draa valley Trip

FROM OUARZAZATE: Day Trip Desert: Draa valley – Zagora – Tinfou dunes
We drive to the village Agdz, which means “resting place” and it is located on the old caravan route from Marrakech to Timbuktu. You will see the characteristic moutain Jbel Kissane in the middle of the Draa Valley to the east of Agdz. Kissane means “glasses” in Arabic and the mountain is so named because it looks like glasses of tea behind a tea pot.

The Draa valley starts here. Draa river is Morocco’s longest river, 1,100 kilometres. The valley is a beautiful oasis with Berber villages, 17th and 18th century kasbahs built of mud and straw, green palm groves and snowcapped Atlas Mountains. Tamnougalt is one of the famous kasbahs, among others. The valley has a rich history and is becoming one of the top tourist attractions in Morocco.

We continue to Zagora which is an administrative centre in the region. Here you will see the iconic signs for «Tombouctou 52 jours» – the number of days it takes to reach Timbuktu by camel (52 days).

Next village is Tamegroute, famous for its green pottery, Koranic library and religious school. You visit a pottery to see how the aritsans make the charactiristic pottery with traditional methods.

It is possible to visit the Koranic library (if open at the time you visit). The manuscripts of the library used to be the richest in North Africa. It still contains some fine collections of ancient Koranic scripts written in beautiful calligraphy. Also astronomy, astrology, geography, medicine, mathematics and science etc. To get to the library, a guide will accompany you through a ksar (a fortified village). The walk through the labyrinthic streets built into the ground is impressive by itself. The place is authentic and alive, as families are living here. It is intimate and not crowded with tourists, because most travellers drive past the village unaware of the hidden treasures.
From Tamegroute it is not far to the Tinfou dunes. Here you can ride a camel or just walk in the sand to the top of a sand dune to have a wonderful view of the Sahara desert.

Lunch in Zagora and then we return to Ouarzazate in the afternoon.

This trip will give you a taste of the Sahara desert if you only have one day.