Zagora Oasis Lodge

Zagora lies at the edge of the Draa Valley, two hundred kilometres of palm groves and red-earth kasbahs running south from Ouarzazate to the last stretch of road before the Sahara. Zagora Oasis Lodge sits inside this palm grove, enclosed by a rammed-earth wall built in the traditional style. The property is a restored family palmerie, run by a Tuareg household with generations of history in the region. Eight guest lodges are arranged around the grounds; seven are finished to a Moroccan riad standard, with king beds, tiled floors, and tadelakt bathrooms polished to a soft sheen. The eighth is built from rustic Beldi materials, plainer and earth-toned. Each lodge opens onto a private terrace facing the oasis. There is a restaurant, a pool, and a garden shaded by date palms. Beyond the walls, the desert begins in earnest. The lodge runs its own tours by camel and 4x4 out to the Erg Lihoudi dunes and further south to Chegaga, where the sand rises to around 300 metres and runs for over 40 kilometres. Nights on those trips are spent in nomadic tents, under a sky with no competing light. Quad bikes are available for shorter runs through the palm grove nearer Zagora. It is a working oasis first, a base for the desert second.