In the heart of an immense desert steppe located at about thirty kilometers south of Marrakech, hides the Agafay Desert, an arid expanse of several hundred hectares that will amaze you by its lunar and rocky aspects. A beneficial escape far from the incessant noise of the city, where the deafening silence and the feeling of immensity will carry you away from the worries of everyday life, for an unforgettable discovery.
Also called "Marrakchi desert", Agafay is discovered at the end of a motorable track that will lead you to this white and ochre colored area. However, Agafay is not a desert in the bioclimatic sense. Consisting of rocky masses rather than sand dunes, its topography reminds you of the Sahara and gives you the feeling of immensity and simplicity of desert landscapes.
Its white hills stand out from the landscape and are similar to the dunes of the Sahara. Lost in Agafay Desert universe, there are a few small oases, true havens of peace and tranquility where the fauna and flora remain. Some Berber villages cling to this austere land to make it welcoming and sublime.
Agafay Desert is impressive for its isolation and its desert expanses; composed of hills shaped by erosion, deep canyons, cliffs and dry wadis give it an impression of an American movie set. The whitish color of its limestone rocks, the sandstone of the slate contrast with the blue of the sky and the snowy summits of the Moroccan High Atlas.
THE FLORA OF AGAFAY
The nature clings to this greedy and hot land.
The vegetation composed of oleanders, groves, wild asparagus, prickly pear trees and date palms share the rare water points with pretty gardens where pomegranate and olive trees are cultivated.
Some ancient eucalyptus trees complete the landscape.
THE FAUNA OF AGAFAY
Scarabs, locusts, small rodents and foxes live between the rocks and crevices of Agafay Desert.
Kestrels, owls, great horned owls, and African bee-eaters nest in the cliffs that border the dry wadis.
The curiosity of this territory is the Eugastère spinulosa, this impressive insect that one crosses on the tracks of Agafay.
To sum-up, The Agafay Desert is really incredible, it is a fabulous place where you feel very small and which deserves to be seen. Especially in the evening when the sky is filled with stars all as scintillating as the others.
