I rang in the New Year at an all-night rave in the Moroccan desert. It left Times Square in the dust.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

• After years spending New Year’s in New York City at bar crawls, house parties, and underground raves, I was determined to find a New Year’s Eve party while visiting Morocco that would blow the bash in Times Square out of the water.
• I scoured the internet and found out there was an all-night dance party arranged by Moroccan electronic-music partiers RAK Electronik in the Agafay Desert, a lunar landscape just an hour outside of Marrakech. I bought tickets.
• With just 130 attendees and music blasting all night amid a stunning landscape, this New Year’s Eve bash was one I won’t soon forget.

Every year, I scramble for something to do come New Year’s Eve. Living in New York City, as I have for the last seven years, can be a bit exhausting around that time of year.

There’s the huge expectation that you want to do something cool and the crushing realization that all the bars cost hundreds of dollars a person. Some years, I’ve pushed myself to do a bar crawl at the few free bars in Brooklyn or, when I’ve gotten lucky, some far-out underground party. But most of the time, New Year’s means having a few friends over and watching the ball drop in Times Square on the television.

This year, I wanted to go big. I had plans to be in Morocco, and I figured there must be something interesting happening. Cue a montage of me frantically scouring the internet.

On Resident Advisor, every raver’s favorite website, I found out that Moroccan electronic-music outfit RAK Electronik had arranged an all-night dance party at a luxury camp in the Agafay Desert, a lunar landscape just an hour outside of Marrakech. A few friends and I bought tickets.

It blew all of my New Year’s Eves in New York City out of the water. Here’s what it was like:

The party was held in the Agafay Desert, a hilly, lunar landscape about an hour outside of Marrakech. It’s a popular spot for Moroccans to head to on the weekends for horseback riding, riding ATVs, or just staring at the stars.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

There are a number of camps you can stay at in the area, but the RAK Electronik party was being held at the Agafay Desert Luxury Camp. It seemed to be farther into the desert than most camps. You could see the stunning Atlas Mountains in the distance.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Agafay Desert Luxury Camp

Tickets to the event weren’t cheap at $80 and up, depending on your tent setup. But I’m used to paying through the nose to stand in a crowded bar in New York City for the same amount of money or more. And don’t get me started on Times Square.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider


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See Also:

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• A luxury hotel in Times Square hosts a rooftop New Year's Eve party where guests are only 150 feet from the ball drop and box seats cost up to $125,000
• A 7-bedroom Swiss cabin has been named the world's best ski chalet for 2 years in a row — and an inside tour quickly proves why

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from Business Insider https://read.bi/2R2D8mV