Gram weekend in the Agafei Desert

With its moon-like mountain waves similar to Sahara dunes, the Agafei Desert is a nugget on the outskirts of Marrakech. Very close yet very exotic, these wide open desert spaces help glamping in the style of last year’s great expedition, and are useful for Zen and sporting activities. 100% oxygen escape.

At Marrakech, you don’t have to drive for hours to play tea remakes in the Sahara! Just 45 minutes away, Agafay Desert rolls over 400km² of Moon Mountain waves at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. Rather than a pinch of sand, regs were mowed in a gorge worthy of the South, where the barriers of snowy mountains in winter and the gentle golden swells form a striking contrast.

Enjoy a Grump weekend of sports, wellness and even cultural activities. To your respective desert: gentle hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking or camel trekking, buggy or sidecar rides, astronomy sessions, and even electro or trail parties under the moon!

1. Meharry and Picnic Chic

If he wears an orange scheese and indigo suit, it is not folklore. Like the entire Inara camp team, Brahim was from the Zagora region to the south and grew up in Sahara nomadic tents. When he is unaware of the camels in the stables in the company, he accompany Meharry with his supple steps, accustomed to stepping on the Erg. There is no sand in the way. It’s just the gentle rhythm of the caravan. Before hanging one of the desert boats, you can see the pink canyons rising for a rare picnic, light tones of beans, small green fields, and pink canyons.

2. Vintage Sidecar Escape

You can pass the agafay dessert in quad or buggy Paris Dakar style. Or a bright yellow expedition style ride in a vintage sidecar. Controls include double hat pilots, experienced drivers and enthusiasts from this area. The helmet is screwed into the basket or saddle to settle on, allowing the truck to sit smoothly. Along the way, we stop enjoying mint tea and spectacular lunch overlooking Mount Atlas at the historic Zauaua (religious complex).

3. Feller’s Day of Life (Local Farmer)

Soft green flowerbeds, trellis… “I chose 10 kg of vegetables this morning!” I delighted Pierre-Yves Marais. Murray’s utopia of creating self-sufficient eco-lodges and greening the desert has become a reality. Fellers can be played before sampling garden dishes between the organic vegetable gardens where head gardener Larsen runs a permaculture workshop, between the orchards, horse and camel stables and farm gardens. And take a walk with Abdu, the son of the house, to immerse yourself in real farm life. Along the way we run across our father and his sheep. Upon arrival, the Tajines simmer in the Brazilians: mother and grandmother Messaouda give honors on the farm.

4. One Night Astronomer

Ali has been an astronomer “from passion” for 15 years and he knows how to share it! The co-founder of Morocco’s Dark Sky Reserve Project, he hosts a night of skywatching far from the bright lights of Marrakech. Before we trace the dance of his laser torch across the sky, we scan the lunar craters and nebulae with his telescope. The winter triangle became a shape, followed by Orion’s belt, which is said to have influenced the alignment of the Giza Pyramid. In Morocco, he guided elders when planting crops. “If you saw it before the fourth prayer, it was too late, and in the fifth we had to hurry!

5. Exclusive Starlight Dinner

“A monotonous desert? Are you kidding Monsieur?” We recall this line from the great Sahara surveyor Théodore Monod in the dark rocks of Roche Noir. Even in that pocket, this desert knows how to become a chameleon. In this careful small corner where scarab camps set up temporary camps and tables, a 360° panorama of 50 shades of desert is the only thing that occupy our minds. At dusk, the lanterns were on, the tables were set, and it was time to meet the stars and eat.

6. Artistic Bath and Relaxation

La Pause is a secret oasis between the canyon and the hills and is the first nomadic refuge in the Agafei Desert. Here you can bathe naturally under the olive tree, settle in Seguias’ tweets (irrigation pipes) and bathe in a spring water pool (17 x 9 meters) that stretches (17 x 9 meters) facing the copper dome of the desert. Below, a monumental sculpture unleashes its propeller. 1.54 La Pause, a partner at the Contemporary African Art Fair, is also a residency for artists who are visited when the calendar is permitted.