Can you do a guided stargazing experience in Morocco?

The Sahara is one of the great stargazing places on earth, and it costs nothing extra to enjoy — there's simply no light pollution. Lying back on a dune at Erg Chebbi near Merzouga after dinner, the Milky Way arches overhead so brightly you can navigate by it, and shooting stars are constant. On a moonless night it's genuinely overwhelming the first time. Most of my desert clients say it's the moment that stays with them longest, and you don't need any equipment at all to be floored by it.

For a guided version, several of the higher-end camps around Merzouga and Zagora now run proper astronomy experiences — a host or visiting astronomer sets up a telescope, points out the planets, the constellations and deep-sky objects, and explains the Berber and Arab star lore that desert nomads used to navigate. If that matters to you, ask when booking; not every camp offers it, but the ones that do make a wonderful night even better. The premium desert camps are where you'll find this.

You don't have to go all the way to the Sahara, either. The Agafay 'stone desert' just 40 minutes from Marrakech has camps that run stargazing evenings — not quite Erg Chebbi dark, but a brilliant option if you're short on time. And up in the High Atlas, the Oukaïmeden plateau above Marrakech is home to Morocco's main astronomical observatory, sitting at high altitude with thin, clear mountain air that's superb for the stars.

Practical tips from someone who does this a lot: go on or near a new moon for the darkest sky, bring a warm layer because desert nights are cold even after hot days, and give your eyes a full 20 minutes away from any phone screen or camp light to adjust — that's when the faint stuff explodes into view. A red-light torch helps. Then just lie back; it's the easiest, cheapest, most jaw-dropping 'activity' in Morocco.