Desert Nights: A Guide to Stargazing from Your Terrace
Moon phase, season and twenty minutes of patience: how to plan a desert stay around the night sky and get the most from a dark terrace.
31.63° N · 8.00° W · Morocco
Marrakech & the Atlas
Couples and golfers who want riads, hammams, desert nights and Atlas views close to Europe.
Local time
Marrakech is a city of ochre walls, palm groves and a medina of souks and courtyard houses that has drawn travellers for centuries. Within an hour lie two very different escapes: the stony desert of Agafay, a bare plateau of rocky hills facing the snowy High Atlas, and the Atlas valleys themselves, where Amazigh villages of earth and stone climb terraced slopes and mountain lodges look out to the peaks.
The region suits those who want culture and calm in the same stay. Marrakech has riads, hammams, gardens and a deep tradition of bathing and massage, while the Palmeraie and the edges of the city have golf courses and resorts set in large gardens. The short flight from Europe makes it an easy break, and the light in spring and autumn is soft and golden.
When to go
The year in Marrakech & the Atlas
March to May and October to November are the best months, with warm days of 22 to 29 °C, cool nights and the Atlas still capped with snow in spring. December to February is good too, sunny at 18 to 20 °C by day but cold at night, especially in the desert and the mountains. June and September are hot. July and August bring 35 °C or more to Marrakech, though the Atlas valleys stay cooler.
Typical long term values, indicative. Weather in any single year can differ.
Where to stay
Resort styles here
In Marrakech you choose between riads in the medina, intimate courtyard houses often with a roof terrace and plunge pool, and larger resorts in the Palmeraie or on the roads leading out of the city, with gardens, pools and golf nearby. In Agafay, about 45 minutes away, tented camps and stone lodges sit among the bare hills. In the High Atlas, lodges and restored kasbahs lie in the valleys around Imlil, Asni and Ouirgane, and in the Ourika Valley.
Getting there
Marrakech has nonstop flights from many European cities, around three and a half hours. From the airport it is about 45 minutes by car to Agafay and an hour to an hour and a half to the Atlas valleys.
Guides that mention Marrakech & the Atlas
Read before you go
Winter Golf: Where the Fairways Stay Green from November to March
The Algarve, southern Spain, Morocco, the Gulf, Mauritius and the Caribbean compared for winter golf: temperature, rain, daylight and wind.
Tented Camp or Desert Villa: Choosing Your Kind of Desert
Canvas or stone, dune view or walled garden: how tented camps, permanent camps and desert villas compare on comfort, noise, sand and privacy.
Golf Resorts: How to Choose One When Not Everyone Plays
How to pick a golf resort that works for the golfer and the companion who does not play: courses, tee times, coaching, daylight and the days off.
Desert Resorts: Silence, Dunes and the Best Months to Go
Sand sea, stony plateau, canyon or mountain: how to choose a desert, when to go, and what the big temperature swing means for your stay.
