Discovering...
One road runs south from Ouarzazate into the longest oasis corridor in Morocco. This guide covers every stop worth making, how long it all takes, and what it costs.
Omar Benali· Sahara & Southern Routes Editor
A former desert driver turned writer, Omar has guided and travelled the routes from Ouarzazate to Merzouga and Zagora for years. He writes about the Sahara, kasbah roads and the Draa and Dades valleys. Ouarzazate · 14+ years covering Morocco
Published 16 March 2025 Last updated 12 April 2026
A Draa Valley day trip from Ouarzazate is one of the most rewarding drives in the Moroccan south — and one of the least crowded. While most travellers head east toward the Dades Gorge or north back to Marrakech, the road south on the N9 quietly threads through 100 kilometres of continuous date-palm oasis, past crumbling earthen kasbahs and fortified ksar villages, before reaching Zagora and the edge of the pre-Saharan desert.
The valley follows the Draa river — Morocco's longest — which flows south from the Ouarzazate reservoir before disappearing into the desert near Mhamid. For day-trippers, Zagora (165 km south) is the sensible turn-around point: far enough to feel genuinely remote, close enough to be back in Ouarzazate well before dark. The road is fully paved with no tricky sections. You do not need a 4×4 and you do not need to rush.
What makes this route special is the sustained quality of the scenery rather than a single landmark. The palmerie is not just a strip of trees — it is deep, layered, and stretches for so long that you stop believing the oasis will ever end. When a kasbah tower rises above the palms, terracotta against the blue sky, the composition almost does the photography for you.
Everything you need before you turn the key — distances, timings and practical numbers.
| Distance (one way) | ~165 km / 2 hrs without stops |
| Total driving | ~330 km return; allow 8–10 hrs door to door |
| Road surface | Tarmac all the way; no 4×4 needed |
| Best departure | 7:30–8:00 am from Ouarzazate |
| Fuel & tolls | No tolls; fuel available in Agdz and Zagora |
| Entry fees | None for roadside stops; kasbah "donations" 20–30 MAD pp |
These four stops make a natural route from Ouarzazate south to Zagora — each adds 15–30 minutes to your day without backtracking.
~75 km south of Ouarzazate
The Draa proper begins after the Tizi n'Tinifift pass. At Aït Saoun the first date-palm groves close in on either side of the road — the trees are dense enough that the air temperature drops a few degrees. Tiny Tinfou, a few kilometres further, has a small erg (sand dune field) that appears almost theatrically at the edge of the palms. It is walkable in ten minutes and usually quiet.
~76 km south of Ouarzazate
Agdz is the first proper town along the Draa. Just south of it, a dirt track leads to the Kasbah de Tamnougalt, one of the best-preserved fortified villages in the entire valley. Sections of the interior are open to visitors (expect a small guide donation of 20–30 MAD). The rooftop view over the oasis is one of the finest on the route.
~110 km south of Ouarzazate
Between Agdz and Zagora, the valley widens into the Grande Palmerie de Drâa — reputedly the largest date-palm grove in Morocco, stretching for roughly 100 km. The roadside Ksar Timidarte is picturesque and accessible without a long detour. This is the section to slow down, stop on the verge and simply look at the scale of it.
~165 km south of Ouarzazate
Zagora is the commercial hub of the southern Draa. The famous sign — "Tombouctou 52 jours" (52 days by camel) — still stands at the south edge of town near the Amezrou crossing. Across the Draa river, the village of Amezrou has a Jewish mellah (historic Jewish quarter) worth a short walk. Zagora is a sensible lunch stop before heading back north.
Departing Ouarzazate by 7:30–8:00 am gets you south before the midday heat peaks and gives you enough time to linger without rushing the return drive.
Card payment is rare once you leave Ouarzazate. Bring enough dirhams for lunch (60–120 MAD), any kasbah donations (20–30 MAD), and bottles of water from roadside stalls.
The light in the Draa Valley is extraordinary in the late afternoon when ochre walls glow amber. If you can time the return drive for around 5–6 pm, the palmerie looks its best.
Many ksour are still inhabited. Ask before photographing residents, keep voices low in active village alleys, and tip small guides who approach you near kasbahs — they often know sections of the interior tourists miss.
The N9 is a straightforward two-lane highway and a confident driver could handle it solo with good maps. The practical complication is the stops: many of the best kasbahs and ksar villages sit on unsigned dirt tracks a kilometre or two off the main road, and without local knowledge you will drive past them. A guide also knows which sections of Tamnougalt are currently accessible to visitors and which residential alleys are not.
The other advantage of a private guided trip is flexibility on timing. The palmerie genuinely rewards slow driving and spontaneous stops — a self-drive itinerary tends to stick to the main road because you are watching navigation. A driver who knows the route can take the back road through the palm groves between Agdz and Timidarte and stop for coffee at a village café where no tourist bus has ever parked.
If you are already in Ouarzazate on a private tour, adding the Draa Valley as an excursion day is one of the easiest extensions to arrange. Many operators — including Serenity Morocco Tours, whose CTA appears below — can build it into a southern circuit combining Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate and a full day in the Draa.
The Draa Valley is a 200-kilometre-long river corridor running south from Ouarzazate toward Mhamid, fed by the Draa river — Morocco's longest. It is famous for an almost unbroken succession of date-palm palmeries, fortified ksar villages and red-earthen kasbahs, set against a backdrop of ochre hamada (rocky desert) and, further south, sand dunes. The valley is one of the most scenic drives in the entire country and has been inhabited since antiquity, serving as a caravan route to sub-Saharan Africa.
The Draa Valley begins almost immediately south of Ouarzazate — the first palmeries appear within 30 km. The main destination for a day trip is Zagora, which sits roughly 165 km south on a well-paved N9 road. The drive takes around two hours without stops, making Zagora easily reachable by late morning if you leave Ouarzazate by 8:00 am. The road crosses the Tizi n'Tinifift pass (1,660 m) about 30 km out, which gives a panoramic view back toward the Ouarzazate basin.
Yes — it is one of the most visually rewarding drives in southern Morocco and is often overlooked by travellers who focus solely on Merzouga. The combination of lush date-palm groves, crumbling kasbahs, and desert hammada is unlike anything else in the region. You do not need dunes to make the valley feel Saharan. That said, it is primarily a scenic driving route rather than a packed day of activities, so it suits travellers who appreciate landscapes, photography and slow exploration over a schedule of ticketed attractions.
Yes, comfortably. Zagora is around 165 km from Ouarzazate on a straightforward tarmac road — no off-road sections. Leaving at 7:30–8:00 am puts you in Zagora by mid-morning, gives you two to three hours to explore the town, cross to Amezrou and have lunch, and still gets you back to Ouarzazate well before sunset. A private driver makes the logistics seamless and lets you stop wherever you like along the palmerie without worrying about bus schedules. There is no direct public bus that suits a same-day return.
The highlights — roughly south to north on the return — include: the pass view from Tizi n'Tinifift; the first palmerie appearance at Aït Saoun; the small Tinfou sand dunes; the Kasbah de Tamnougalt near Agdz (one of the most intact fortified ksour in Morocco); the Grande Palmerie de Drâa stretching for nearly 100 km; the ksar at Timidarte; and Zagora itself, with its famous Tombouctou sign and the Amezrou mellah across the river. Photographers tend to stop repeatedly along the central palmerie section, where ochre towers rise from a sea of green palms.
They are very different drives. The Dades Valley (running east from Ouarzazate) is dramatic and gorge-heavy, with vertiginous cliffs and the well-known Monkey Fingers rock formations. The Draa Valley is longer, flatter and greener — its appeal is in the sustained richness of the oasis corridor and the scale of the palmerie rather than big geological drama. If you only have one day, the choice depends on your preference: gorges and mountain scenery (Dades) versus date palms, kasbahs and desert atmosphere (Draa). Many travellers based in Ouarzazate for two nights split the days between them.
A private guided day trip typically starts from around 700–1,200 MAD per person (indicative, depending on group size and vehicle type). A shared grand taxi from Ouarzazate to Zagora runs roughly 80–120 MAD each way per seat, but the return timing is unpredictable. Driving a hire car yourself is possible — fuel for the 330 km round trip costs around 250–300 MAD — but the palmerie stops are hard to navigate without local knowledge of which tracks are passable. Kasbah entry donations are 20–30 MAD; lunch in Zagora runs 60–120 MAD per person at a mid-range local restaurant.
Plan it with a local expert
Crafting extraordinary journeys through Morocco's timeless landscapes. 100% private journeys, handcrafted around you.
from $2,011Sahara Desert Luxury Expedition
from $2,054Essential Morocco: Imperial Cities Circuit
from $5,978Sahara to Sea: Morocco Complete