Erg Chebbi, also known as the Merzouga desert, is Morocco’s most famous desert and well worth visiting at least once. Here are some tips to plan your trip. The best way to experience it? Sleep in a camp near the dunes.
Where is Erg Chebbi?
Erg Chebbi lies in the far south-east of Morocco, near the Algerian border, and is one of the small “seas of sand” that make up the Sahara. It is about 550–600 km from Marrakech along the road of a thousand kasbahs, via Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate and the Dades and Todra gorges, so a multi-day tour makes sense.
Unlike Erg Chegaga, where the nearest village (M’Hamid) is about 60 km from the dunes, Erg Chebbi’s first dunes are right next to the villages of Hassilabied and Merzouga. Many hotels sit right on the edge of the sand, and you can walk up some dunes from the door.
How to explore the Merzouga desert
Erg Chebbi is around 22–30 km long and 5–7 km wide, with dunes reaching about 150 metres. There are two ways to experience it, and you can combine them:
- A hotel on the edge of the dunes: choose one right on the sand so you can walk out for sunrise or sunset.
- A desert camp: you arrive by dromedary or 4×4 and sleep in a tent, with dinner and music around the fire. Camps are close to dunes you can climb for sunrise and sunset.
You can choose a standard or a luxury camp: the main difference is a private bathroom in the tent, plus a few extra comforts.
Best time to visit
The best months are March, April, October and November. In summer temperatures exceed 40°C, while winter nights are very cold.
Tours from Marrakech with a night in Erg Chebbi
- 3 days: Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, the Dades and Todra valleys and a night in the desert.
- 4 days: the same route at a gentler pace, with Berber villages and the Draa Valley.
- 5 days: southern Morocco without rushing.
- 3 days from Marrakech to Fes via the desert.
Departures from Fes too: see our tours from Fes.
More about Merzouga on Wikipedia.
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