Experience the best of Foum Zguid

Foum Zguid is a small oasis town in southern Morocco, about 94 km south of Ouarzazate as the crow flies, where the Anti-Atlas gives way to the Sahara. Foum is the Arabic word for a mouth or gap, and the town stands where the hills open onto the desert plain. Date palms and fields cluster around it, with bare rocky ridges beyond.

Desert tracks lead from town to the large dunes of Erg Chigaga, where desert camps offer camel treks and nights under open skies. Nearby, the dry bed of Lake Iriki, which fills only after exceptional rains, spreads across a wide basin. Tata and Zagora, two oasis towns, are a long drive away along desert roads.

Meals are tagines of lamb or chicken with vegetables, couscous and flatbread, with dates from the oases and mint tea. Summers are extremely hot, while winter days are mild and the nights are cold. The desert is at its most comfortable between October and April, when walking and camel trekking are pleasant.