Agafay Desert
If you have read my previous bucket list post, you would have seen that spending a night in the desert is on my bucket list. So, when planning my trip to Morocco the desert was very firmly on the agenda. At first I had wanted to go to the Sahara desert, but after seeing the six hour drive it became less appealing and I started to look at something slightly closer to Marrakesh. This search led me to the Agafay Luxury Desert Camp, or it led Fiona who actually found the place! Unlike the Sahara desert, the desert just outside of Marrakesh doesn’t have the huge sand dunes that might come to mind when you think of a typical desert experience. What it does have is an almost Mars-like, expansive surface with the beautiful Atlas Mountains in the background. It doesn’t quite have the drama of the Sahara desert, but it does have all of the charm, and when the people at the camp are so nice you’ll be glad that you didn’t take that six hour journey.
The drive to the camp was a little over half an hour from Marrakesh. Our driver took us from our Riad directly to the camp, where the hostess, Israa, met us with the obligatory cup of mint tea. The camp is in the middle of nowhere and straightaway you feel engulfed in a whole different world. The billowing white tents are the only thing that you can see for miles, and once you’re inside your tent you feel like your in some kind of Arabian Nights fantasy. All the tents have running water and a bathroom (separated from the main tent by a curtain, not for the shy), but no electricity; so in the evenings the staff fill the tent and terrace area with dozens of lanterns to act as your light. We decided to let the majority go out on their own and fell asleep to the flicker of candle light.
But camp life, it's not all so romantic! At the main camp you will see three wicker huts slightly off to the side. These are the outside toilets, and they have no doors! Nope, not even a flimsy curtain to protect your modesty.
There is something quite exhilarating about peeing while looking across the barren planes, but it’s definitely not an experience for the coy!
There is plenty to do at the camp, but I think that the time is best spent relaxing.
We spent most of our time lounging around and wandering around the camp area. There is a little village (and I mean really little) nearby, but we opted for aimless exploring to fill our afternoon.
My first and only strong recommendation for anyones time at Agafay Desert Camp would be to order dinner when you arrive at the camp in the morning. There isn’t anything around so, unless you bring food with you, it is your only option. That being said, the food at Agafay Desert Camp was probably one of the best meals we had on our trip so you shouldn't feel too hard done by.
The food is all cooked locally by the Berber women who look after you at the camp, and it is delicious. We were offered a selection of either two type of tagine, or a couscous dish and, since there were three of us, we decided to get one of everything!
Sitting in a tent is the middle of the desert, watching the stars come out, and eating delicious food by candle light is no bad way to spend an evening at all. But the real highlight was after dinner when we got a shisha pipe and had a chance to talk to the berber boys who worked at the camp. Hearing about their lives and learning a little bit of Arabic in this bizarre and magical environment was something that I wasn’t expecting from the trip, and was easily a highlight.
After a night and two days relaxing in the desert you'll be ready to head back to the madness of Marrakech and, although it takes a little bit of effort to get out there (and it isn't the cheapest experience), I don't think anyone will regret going. It was so much fun, and the little bits of wisdom you get from talking to the people there make it so much more than I was expecting. I'll leave this with the words of wisdom from Hammed:
If you don't have what you like, like what you have.
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