Illustrative photo of Sahara & South — property galleries are on each booking page.

Where to stay in the Sahara & South

The long road southeast from Marrakech over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to the dunes at the Algerian border — this is road-trip country, and here's how people actually move through it.

Sahara & South follows the long road southeast from Marrakech over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260m) to the dunes at the Algerian border — Skoura, Agdz, Zagora, Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate and Boumalne Dades, ending at Merzouga. Unlike the Atlas day-trip belt, this is road-trip country: most people move through it over two to four days, sleeping a night or two en route rather than basing in one town. Ouarzazate is the hub, home to the Atlas Film Studios that have hosted over 200 productions since 1983, and the region splits into two roads from there.

South runs the Draa Valley through Agdz and Zagora, a palm-grove corridor along Morocco's longest oasis that once carried trans-Saharan caravans. East runs through Skoura's palm oasis and the Dades Gorge to Merzouga, where the Erg Chebbi dunes rise up to 150 metres at the desert's edge. Ait Benhaddou, the fortified ksar used as a backdrop in Gladiator and Game of Thrones, sits just off the Ouarzazate road and is usually a stop rather than a base. What unites the region is adobe architecture — kasbah after kasbah, from restored hotel to crumbling ruin — building toward an overnight camel trek and a night under the dunes at Merzouga.

Things to do in Sahara & South