Jebel Zagora

The hill above town with Almoravid ruins and the classic Draa valley sunset view

The flat-topped hill rising south of town is what gives Zagora its name. The walk to the top takes about an hour and a half on a rough switchbacking track; you can drive most of the way and walk the last stretch if the heat puts you off. At the summit are the foundations of an Almoravid fort, the eleventh-century watchpost over the caravan route to Timbuktu.

Go for sunset. The Draa valley unspools below you, a narrow green ribbon of palms threading through red rock and brown plain, the river often dry but the trees somehow still green from the deep water table. Bring water — there is no shade — and a torch for the way down.

things to do sight hiking viewpoint
A story
The ruined fort on the summit is Almoravid, dating to the 11th century, when this was the staging point for the dynasty's push north into Spain. The hill is also said to be the source of Zagora's most famous sign — 'Tombouctou, 52 jours' — pointing across a Sahara that, until the borders closed, you could in fact cross by camel.