The Agafay Desert

Agafay is the belt of dry, stony hills southwest of Marrakech, where the plain crumples into bare grey ridges and dry riverbeds with the High Atlas rising behind. There is no sand here in the Saharan sense: this is hammada, a desert of gravel and rock, and its appeal is the emptiness, the shapes of the hills and the way the Atlas snowline appears above them in winter. Because it is so close to the city, it has filled with camps offering dinner, music and a night under canvas for people who do not have two days to reach Merzouga. Sunset from a ridge, with the mountains lit and the city out of sight, is the real draw.

What you actually see

• The grey hills - bare, eroded ridges and dry riverbeds with almost no vegetation.
• The Atlas backdrop - the High Atlas, snow-capped in winter, above the desert.
• Sunset from a ridge - the light that most visitors come out here for.
• The camps - tented sites in the hills, from simple to elaborate.

When to go

October to April is comfortable; from May the heat is punishing and there is no shade at all. Winter nights are genuinely cold, so a camp stay needs warm clothes. Late afternoon into sunset is the time to be here, and the Atlas is clearest after rain. Weekends bring quad bikes and noise, so weekdays are calmer.

Honest expectations

It is not the Sahara, and anyone expecting dunes will be let down; this is grey gravel desert with a view. The area has been built up quickly with camps, and quad and buggy tours churn dust and noise across it. Prices at the smarter camps are high for what is essentially a tent an hour from a city. Nothing here needs more than an afternoon.

Nearby

The reservoir at Lalla Takerkoust lies on the far side of the hills, and Marrakech is under an hour away.