By air
Errachidia (ERH), ~2 h by road
Africa · Morocco
Merzouga, Morocco
The Sahara's great dunes
Getting there
Best time to visit
October to April — cool desert nights
Don't miss
Erg Chebbi
Merzouga
The Todra Gorge (on the way)
Rissani's market
Things to do
A camel trek at sunset
A night in a desert camp
Sandboarding
Where to eat
What to pack
Layers (the nights are very cold), a scarf
A quieter corner
The Gnawa music of Khamlia village
Questions travellers ask
When should I go to Merzouga?
October to April, for cool desert nights. The nights get very cold, so pack layers and a scarf.
How can I experience the Sahara at Merzouga?
Take a camel trek at sunset across Erg Chebbi, spend a night in a desert camp and try sandboarding on the Sahara's great dunes.
Which airport is the gateway to Merzouga?
Errachidia (ERH), about 2 hours away by road.
What else is worth seeing around Merzouga?
The Todra Gorge on the way, Rissani's market and the Gnawa music of Khamlia village. Try a Berber pizza (madfouna) too.
About Merzouga
- Desert
Where it is
Merzouga is a small village in south-eastern Morocco, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region near the Algerian border, at the edge of Erg Chebbi, a field of Saharan sand dunes rising up to about 150 m.
History
The area was once part of Tafilalt, whose caravan city of Sijilmasa, near present-day Rissani, was a great terminus of the trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt from the 8th century. The Alaouite dynasty that still reigns in Morocco came from Tafilalt, and nomadic herders grazed the dunes' edges long before tourism grew in the late 20th century.
People
Merzouga's people include Amazigh and Arab families, some descended from nomadic herders such as the Aït Khebbach, and Tamazight, Arabic and French are spoken. In nearby Khamlia, Gnawa musicians whose ancestors came from West Africa play the guembri lute, drums and iron qraqeb castanets.
Known for
- The dunes of Erg Chebbi
- Camel treks at sunset
- Nights in desert camps
- Gnawa music in Khamlia
- Sandboarding
Did you know?
Erg Chebbi is one of several sand seas in Morocco, along with Erg Chigaga near M'hamid; most of the Sahara is stony plateau and gravel rather than dunes.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.