Agafay desert at night: the evening, the dark and the cold
This page is about the evening and the night itself: when it gets dark, how cold it gets and how you spend it. The Agafay desert at night comes early and cools fast. On the plateau south-west of Marrakech the sun sets at 17:31 in mid-December and it is dark by 17:58; in mid-June sunset is at 19:39. A dinner trip puts dinner and a show after sunset, then the drive, so you are back in Marrakech at 20:31 to 20:51 in December. A night in a camp keeps you out until morning, through a January night low of 6°C (43°F) at the Marrakech station.
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Agafay after dark, month by month
Each row is one night, on the 15th of the month, drawn from the middle of the afternoon to the next late morning. The ground shows the light: daylight, the short civil twilight after sunset, then dark until sunrise. Over it run the two ways to spend the night: a dinner trip from the medina and back, and a night in a camp, back in the city the next morning. The night low is the Marrakech station's mean minimum; on a clear night in open country a camp can feel colder. In January that mean is 6°C (43°F).
-
November 2026
- Sunset
- 17:34
- Dark from
- 18:00
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 16:04
- Back in Marrakech
- 20:34 to 20:54
- Sunrise
- 7:01
- Night low
- 11°C (52°F)
-
December 2026
- Sunset
- 17:31
- Dark from
- 17:58
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 16:01
- Back in Marrakech
- 20:31 to 20:51
- Sunrise
- 7:25
- Night low
- 7°C (45°F)
-
January 2027
- Sunset
- 17:52
- Dark from
- 18:18
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 16:22
- Back in Marrakech
- 20:52 to 21:12
- Sunrise
- 7:32
- Night low
- 6°C (43°F)
-
February 2027
- Sunset
- 18:20
- Dark from
- 18:44
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 16:50
- Back in Marrakech
- 21:20 to 21:40
- Sunrise
- 7:14
- Night low
- 8°C (46°F)
-
March 2027
- Sunset
- 18:41
- Dark from
- 19:05
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 17:11
- Back in Marrakech
- 21:41 to 22:01
- Sunrise
- 6:42
- Night low
- 10°C (50°F)
-
April 2027
- Sunset
- 19:01
- Dark from
- 19:26
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 17:31
- Back in Marrakech
- 22:01 to 22:21
- Sunrise
- 6:04
- Night low
- 12°C (54°F)
-
May 2027
- Sunset
- 19:22
- Dark from
- 19:49
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 17:52
- Back in Marrakech
- 22:22 to 22:42
- Sunrise
- 5:36
- Night low
- 15°C (59°F)
-
June 2027
- Sunset
- 19:39
- Dark from
- 20:07
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 18:09
- Back in Marrakech
- 22:39 to 22:59
- Sunrise
- 5:28
- Night low
- 18°C (64°F)
-
July 2027
- Sunset
- 19:39
- Dark from
- 20:06
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 18:09
- Back in Marrakech
- 22:39 to 22:59
- Sunrise
- 5:39
- Night low
- 21°C (70°F)
-
August 2027
- Sunset
- 19:16
- Dark from
- 19:42
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 17:46
- Back in Marrakech
- 22:16 to 22:36
- Sunrise
- 5:59
- Night low
- 21°C (70°F)
-
September 2027
- Sunset
- 18:39
- Dark from
- 19:03
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 17:09
- Back in Marrakech
- 21:39 to 21:59
- Sunrise
- 6:17
- Night low
- 19°C (66°F)
-
October 2027
- Sunset
- 18:01
- Dark from
- 18:26
- Dinner trip: leave by
- 16:31
- Back in Marrakech
- 21:01 to 21:21
- Sunrise
- 6:36
- Night low
- 16°C (61°F)
The 15th of each month, at the Agafay Desert point, in Morocco's legal time. Dark from: the end of civil twilight, when the sky is too dark to read outdoors. The dinner trip is a sunset camel ride with dinner and a show, timed with the slower drive of 40 to 60 minutes by road and the longest programme the listings state; the overnight trips are back in Marrakech at about 10:30 the next morning. Night low: the mean daily minimum at the Marrakech (Menara) station, 1991 to 2020.
How to read your night
Three times matter more than the rest. Sunset sets the programme: camel rides end there, and dinner starts after it. The end of civil twilight is when the desert goes properly dark, and in Agafay it follows sunset closely in every month: compare 17:31 and 17:58 in December, 19:39 and 20:07 in June. The third is the time you need to be back: an early flight, a riad that locks its door, a child's bedtime.
In winter the whole evening slides earlier. A dinner trip on 15 December gets you back in Marrakech at 20:31 to 20:51; on 15 June at 22:39 to 22:59. That makes a December dinner trip easy to fit after a day in the medina, and a June one a late night. If you want the leave-by time for any date, the dinner in the Agafay Desert page has an hour-by-hour evening for each month, and the Agafay sunset page gives the sunset for every day.
A dinner trip or a night in a camp
Both start the same way, with a drive out of the city in the afternoon and the sunset at a camp. The difference is what happens after the show.
Back by late evening
The dinner trip
A pickup in the afternoon, the sunset, dinner, music and a fire show, then the drive back in the dark. The Agafay Desert Sunset Dinner, Music & Fire Show costs USD 20 per person on GetYourGuide (as listed on 14 November 2026), with hotel pickup, soft drinks and a stop at an argan oil cooperative, for 5 hours as listed. The listing shows 3,560 reviews.
The Agafay Desert Dinner, Camel Ride, Traditional Music & Fire Show on Klook shows AUD 53.70 without saying per person, with an afternoon departure in the window it gives, 16:00 to 16:30, dinner, music, a fire show and a short dance show. Its title names a camel ride, but its own list puts the camel ride under not included, so ask before you pay.
USD 24
Sunset camel ride and dinner from Marrakech, two sharing
about GBP 18 or EUR 22
Fits a night with an early start the next day, children who need their beds, and anyone who wants the sunset and the show without the cold small hours.
Stay until morning
The night in a camp
The same sunset and dinner, then a campfire and the dark, a tent, breakfast and a late-morning drive back. The Agafay Desert Retreat, Tent, Dinner, Show & Pool costs USD 53 per person on GetYourGuide (as listed on 14 November 2026), with the welcome tea, a three-course dinner, music, a fire show, a campfire with guitar, a pool, a private tent or a bed in a shared one, and breakfast. The listing gives the return at 10:30 next day and shows 7,036 reviews.
If you would rather book the room and get there yourself, The Original Camp Agafay, a simple camp at USD 59 per night before taxes and fees (USD 77 in total), gives a fire show in its name.
USD 106
Overnight camp package with transfer and dinner, two sharing a tent
about GBP 80 or EUR 96
Fits a free next morning, a wish to see the camp quiet after the shows end, and warm clothes in winter.
Choosing between a package and a camp plus transfer is on Agafay overnight; the evening menu, show and leave-by times on Agafay desert dinner; a camp for your month and budget on Agafay camps; and the budget end on camping in Agafay. If your evening is free but your day is not, a pool day pass is the daytime version of the same camps.
What the dark is like out there
Agafay is a stone desert of rocky hills and plateaus, with no town of its own, a short drive from the lights of Marrakech. After twilight the light at a camp comes from the camp: lanterns on the paths, the fire, the stage for the show. Step past the last tent and the ground goes black. Bring a small torch or use your phone's, and keep to the paths; the ground is stony and uneven.
The night sky is a reason to stay, but nobody can promise it. How many stars you see depends on the moon and the cloud on your night, both yours to look up before you book: a full moon lights the hills and washes out the faint stars, a new moon leaves them. Away from the stage and the fire your eyes need time to adjust, so the darkest corner of the camp beats the best seat at the show.
The dinner listings put the show after dinner, and a camp that sells dinner evenings is likely to stage one on most nights. If the quiet matters, ask the camp whether a show runs on your date and how late. For pictures of the night sky and the camp lights, the Agafay photography page covers what to bring.
Drones at night, or any time
Leave the drone at home. Moroccan customs state that a drone needs an import licence from the department in charge of Foreign Trade; without one it is held for at most 45 days, then treated as abandoned. The UK FCDO states that flying one also needs permission from the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC).
January night low at the station
6°C (43°F)mean daily minimum
Against a mean day high of 19°C (66°F) in the same month.
The night cold, and what it means for dinner outside
Agafay has no weather station, so the night figures here are the Marrakech (Menara) station's, 1991 to 2020. Its mean night low is 6°C (43°F) in January, 7°C (45°F) in December and 8°C (46°F) in February. Those are means: some nights go lower, and an open camp loses its warmth fast once the sun is down. If dinner is served outside or in an open tent, you feel it, and the drive back is in the dark and the cold.
From June to September the nights stay mild, 21°C (70°F) in July and 21°C (70°F) in August, after day highs near 38°C (100°F). Then the evening is the pleasant part of the day, and a dinner trip or a camp night is the cool end of a hot one. March and November sit between, near 10°C (50°F) and 11°C (52°F).
For a winter night in a camp, ask three things before you book: is there a heater in the tent, are there extra blankets, and is the bathroom inside the tent. What to pack for each month is in the Agafay packing list by month; day highs, rain and wind are on the Agafay weather page.
Drinks, fire and where to sleep
A desert evening is relaxed, but three rules from the governments that advise travellers apply out here as in the city.
The UK FCDO states
Alcohol is available in licensed venues, but drinking in the street or anywhere other than a licensed restaurant or bar is illegal and can lead to arrest. Some dinner listings exclude alcohol or do not serve it; the Klook dinner lists alcoholic drinks as not served, and the GetYourGuide camp night excludes them.
The UK FCDO reports
Deaths and serious illness in Morocco from alcoholic drinks containing methanol.
The US Department of State advises
Travellers who camp in Morocco should use guarded campgrounds and should not camp in isolated areas. In Agafay that means a camp with staff on site, not a tent pitched alone in the hills.
How to check that a camp or a tour operator holds its licence, and where a complaint goes, is on the Agafay safety page.
Morocco's clock after dark
Every time on this page is in Morocco's legal time. A decree returned the country to Greenwich Mean Time on 20 September 2026 at 02:00, and Morocco's legal time has been UTC+0 since then. Guides and tour pages written before then give summer sunsets an hour later than the clock now shows, so a tour that "starts at sunset" starts earlier than an old blog suggests. Your phone sets itself; a printed itinerary from last year may not. During Ramadan the evening moves around the meal that breaks the fast; how tours change then is on Ramadan in Marrakech.
Questions people ask
What time does it get dark in the Agafay Desert?
It depends on the month. On 15 December the sun sets at 17:31 and civil twilight ends at 17:58; on 15 June sunset is at 19:39 and it is dark by 20:07. Times are in Morocco's legal time, which has been UTC+0 since September 2026.
How cold is the Agafay desert at night?
At the Marrakech station, the nearest with long records, the mean night low is 6°C (43°F) in January and 21°C (70°F) in July. Those are means, so some winter nights are colder, and an open camp cools fast after sunset. From December to February bring warm layers, and ask a camp whether the tent has a heater.
What time do dinner trips get back to Marrakech?
A sunset camel ride with dinner and a show puts dinner after sunset and the drive of 40 to 60 minutes by road after that. On 15 December that brings you back to Marrakech at 20:31 to 20:51; on 15 June at 22:39 to 22:59. The listings give pickup and timings when you book; ask for the return time if you have plans after.
Can you see the stars in Agafay?
Often, but nobody can promise it. It depends on the moon and the cloud on your night: a full moon washes out the faint stars, a new moon leaves them. Look up both before you book a night for the sky, and step away from the camp's fire and stage lights. A night in a camp gives you more dark hours than a dinner trip.
Can you camp anywhere in Agafay?
The US Department of State advises travellers who camp in Morocco to use guarded campgrounds and not to camp in isolated areas. Moroccan law treats a tourist camp as a bivouac: decree 2-23-441 has its operating authorisation requested from the local authority, with a guide and insurance. In practice, sleeping out in Agafay means booking a camp.
Sources
- The US Department of State advises travellers who camp in Morocco to use guarded campgrounds and not to camp in isolated areas. US Department of State, Morocco country information, Safety and security (Terrorism), 13 August 2026.
- At the Agafay commune centroid (31.4872°N, 8.1971°W) sunset on 21 June 2026 is, per the US Naval Observatory in UTC: 19:41 UTC. US Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications API (rstt/oneday), computed with tz=0 (UTC), 21 June 2026.
- At the Agafay commune centroid (31.4872°N, 8.1971°W) sunset on 21 December 2026 is, per the US Naval Observatory in UTC: 17:34 UTC. US Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications API (rstt/oneday), computed with tz=0 (UTC), 21 December 2026.
- At the Agafay commune centroid (31.4872°N, 8.1971°W) civil twilight ends on 21 June 2026, per the US Naval Observatory in UTC, at 20:09. US Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications API (rstt/oneday), computed with tz=0 (UTC), 21 June 2026.
- At the Agafay commune centroid (31.4872°N, 8.1971°W) civil twilight ends on 21 December 2026, per the US Naval Observatory in UTC, at 18:01. US Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications API (rstt/oneday), computed with tz=0 (UTC), 21 December 2026.
- Decree no. 2.26.530 of 25 June 2026 returns Morocco's legal time to Greenwich Mean Time at 2:00 on Sunday 20 September 2026 by setting clocks back 60 minutes 20 September 2026 at 02:00. Kingdom of Morocco, Bulletin officiel (Arabic edition) no. 7521, 13 Muharram 1448 (29 June 2026), p. 3768: Decree no. 2.26.530 of 9 Muharram 1448 (25 June 2026) on legal time, 25 June 2026.
- Since 20 September 2026 Morocco's legal time is Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0), as set by royal decree 455.67 of 2 June 1967 and restored by decree no. 2.26.530. Kingdom of Morocco, Bulletin officiel (Arabic edition) no. 7521, 13 Muharram 1448 (29 June 2026), p. 3768: Decree no. 2.26.530 of 9 Muharram 1448 (25 June 2026) on legal time, 25 June 2026.
- At the Marrakech station (WMO 60230), the mean daily minimum temperature in January is, per the WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 published by NOAA NCEI: 5.9°C. WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020, station sheet MARRAKECH (WMO 60230), archived by NOAA NCEI (accession 0253808, v6.6).
- At the Marrakech station (WMO 60230), the mean daily minimum temperature in February is, per the WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 published by NOAA NCEI: 7.6°C. WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020, station sheet MARRAKECH (WMO 60230), archived by NOAA NCEI (accession 0253808, v6.6).
- At the Marrakech station (WMO 60230), the mean daily minimum temperature in March is, per the WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 published by NOAA NCEI: 10.3°C. WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020, station sheet MARRAKECH (WMO 60230), archived by NOAA NCEI (accession 0253808, v6.6).
- At the Marrakech station (WMO 60230), the mean daily minimum temperature in July is, per the WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 published by NOAA NCEI: 20.6°C. WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020, station sheet MARRAKECH (WMO 60230), archived by NOAA NCEI (accession 0253808, v6.6).
- At the Marrakech station (WMO 60230), the mean daily minimum temperature in August is, per the WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 published by NOAA NCEI: 21.1°C. WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020, station sheet MARRAKECH (WMO 60230), archived by NOAA NCEI (accession 0253808, v6.6).
- At the Marrakech station (WMO 60230), the mean daily minimum temperature in November is, per the WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 published by NOAA NCEI: 10.7°C. WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020, station sheet MARRAKECH (WMO 60230), archived by NOAA NCEI (accession 0253808, v6.6).
- At the Marrakech station (WMO 60230), the mean daily minimum temperature in December is, per the WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 published by NOAA NCEI: 7.3°C. WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020, station sheet MARRAKECH (WMO 60230), archived by NOAA NCEI (accession 0253808, v6.6).
- Moroccan customs (ADII) state that importing remote-controlled unmanned flying objects (drones, model aircraft) is prohibited unless the traveller presents an import licence from the department in charge of Foreign Trade (the Idarati portal separately lists a Customs authorisation for the temporary admission of drones, 60 days' processing, free); issuing body Foreign Trade. Administration des Douanes et Impôts Indirects (ADII), Particuliers, Etrangers en visite au Maroc (Q&A).
- Moroccan customs (ADII) state that a drone arriving without an import licence is held in deposit pending regularisation for at most this many days, after which it is treated as abandoned 45. Administration des Douanes et Impôts Indirects (ADII), Particuliers, Etrangers en visite au Maroc (Q&A).
- The UK FCDO states that to fly a drone brought to Morocco you must get permission from the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (the Idarati procedures portal lists no DGAC drone-flight procedure, only a Customs temporary-admission authorisation); body DGAC. UK FCDO, Morocco travel advice, Safety and security, 19 August 2026.
- The UK FCDO states alcohol is available in licensed venues, but drinking in the street or anywhere other than a licensed restaurant or bar is illegal and can lead to arrest. UK FCDO, Morocco travel advice, Safety and security, 19 August 2026.
- The UK FCDO reports deaths and serious illness in Morocco from alcoholic drinks containing methanol. UK FCDO, Morocco travel advice, Safety and security, 19 August 2026.
- Sunrise, sunset and civil dusk at Agafay, in Morocco's legal time. NOAA solar calculation for the Agafay Desert point (31.48396°N, 8.19105°W, Wikidata Q86301994), clock times in Morocco's legal time (time zone Africa/Casablanca; UTC+0 since 20 September 2026 under decree 2.26.530)
- Climate normals, Marrakech (Menara) station (Agafay has no station of its own). WMO climate normals 1991 to 2020 for the Marrakech (Menara) station, WMO 60230, published by NOAA NCEI; sunshine hours from the 1981 to 2010 normals
- Tour prices, times and the drive to Agafay. Partner listings on GetYourGuide, Viator and Klook with the date of each price, in the partner's currency; transfer times as the operators and the Moroccan National Tourist Office state them
- Headline costs. The price of the named partner listing each cost uses (the most-reviewed of its kind), with the date of each price
- Camp prices for one night, and night cold. Booking.com search for Agafay, 2 adults, 1 room, night of 2026-12-14, prices as printed in US dollars; night cold: Marrakech (Menara) station mean daily minimum, 1991 to 2020
- Leave-by times from the day-shape planner. The planner's rules over the partner itineraries' stated minutes, the drive to Agafay as operators state it (40 to 60 minutes) and the NOAA sunset at the Agafay Desert point in Morocco's legal time