Marrakech to Zagora: private transfer

The first half is the Ouarzazate road: the N9 over the Tizi n'Tichka at 2,260 m, then down the dry south side. After Ouarzazate the N9 climbs a second, smaller pass, the Tizi n'Tinififft, and drops to Agdz at the head of the Draa valley.

From Agdz to Zagora the road follows the river through long palm groves and earthen villages. This stretch is the greenest part of the drive.

At about 6 h 40 without stops, the drive is long for one day. Many guests stop at Aït Benhaddou on the way or sleep in Ouarzazate and reach Zagora the next day.

If you go straight through, leave Marrakech early so you reach the Draa valley with light left. The palm groves are the best part, and you see little of them after dark.

The driver drops you at your hotel or at the meeting point your desert camp gives you. Some camps sit beyond the tarmac; the camp arranges that last part by 4x4 or camel.

The painted 'Tombouctou 52 jours' sign at a road junction is a replica of the original. It takes five minutes for the photo.

Send the camp's name and its meeting point with your booking. The driver needs the current meeting point, and camps sometimes change it.

Zagora is much closer: about 6 h 40 against 10 h 10 to Merzouga. It gives you a desert night in two days. For the tall sand dunes of Erg Chebbi you need Merzouga and three or four days.

Spring and autumn are best. June to August is very hot in the Draa valley, and winter nights in the desert are cold. In winter, check the Tichka the day before; snow can close it for short spells between late November and early March.