HOW TO VISIT THE ERG CHEBBI DESERT IN MERZOUGA (FREE AND ON TOUR)

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The Erg Chebbi desert, also known as the Merzouga Desert, is the most visited in Morocco and a mandatory stop on a trip through this country. The best way to live the experience is to sleep in a camp at the foot of the dunes, and here we will give you a few tips on how to visit the Erg Chebbi desert, so you can plan your trip to this wonderful corner of Morocco.

The Erg Chebbi desert is the closest to the border with Algeria and is located at the southeast end of Morocco. It is one of the many small deserts that form the great Sahara desert. From Marrakech they are just under 600 km taking the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, which passes through such interesting points as the Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, the Todra and Dades Gorges. So the ideal would be to take a trip of several days from Marrakech, and visit all these places on the way.

Unlike Erg Chigaga, where the nearest town (Mhamid) is about 60 km from the dunes, the first sandy mountains of Erg Chebbi are a stone's throw from two villages: Hassilabied and the best known Merzouga (Sometimes this desert is known as “the desert of Merzouga”). And we say a stone's throw away because it is so, many lodgings and riads are just at the edge of the sand, and it is possible to reach some medium dunes walking from your own door. Below we explain more ...

The Erg Chebbi desert is approximately 22 km long and 5 km wide, with several groups of quite important dunes. To the south is the largest of them all (Erg Chebbi) about 150 meters high according to some sources, although the guide told us that it measured 250 meters.

To visit Erg Chebbi there are two ways, which do not have to be exclusive: stay at sleep in a hotel near the dunes (both in the Hassilabied area and in Merzouga), or pass a night in a camp.

Refering to night in a hotel, the important thing is to know what its exact location is, and that it is at the first line of the dunes. We stay in the Riad Kasbah Aiour (which by the way, is a pass), which has the beginning of the desert at the door itself, and in about 25 minutes walking we planted ourselves in a cool dune to see the sunrise. It is in the part of Hassilabied and around it there are other good accommodations in the dune line. In the zone of Merzouga There are also lots of options to stay.

For those who want to spend a night in a desert camp, something must be taken into account. During this year 2019, the Moroccan government has forced to relocate the camps to the limits of the dunes, but not within them. Apparently, the damage to the ecosystem was quite serious, the groundwater that nomadic people used was contaminated and garbage control was non-existent. So don't expect to wake up surrounded by huge dunes around you. Even so, they will usually always have a group of dunes nearby where they can climb to watch the sunset and sunrise. However try to know its exact location and use Google Maps (in Satellite mode) to analyze if they are really close (a correct distance would be less than 1 km to some high dune).

In general there are camps on the 4 sides of the desert, however the highest concentration is in the southeast.

Finally, you will have to choose if you want a camp standard or deluxe. The most notable difference is having a bathroom inside the store, as well as other pijaditas, maybe better food, towels, etc. Our choice was the Sahara Majestic Luxury Camp, and the truth is that it was impeccable.

There is a third option, something more adventurous: camping with tent in the middle of the desert. Since it is no longer possible to install permanent camps within the dunes, local agencies offer the experience of sleeping in a tent, in a much more spectacular location and away from the noise of the drums and the songs of the parties of The camps If you are interested, it is best to ask several local tour operators.

For get to Merzouga For free, the ideal is to rent a car. The location also makes it an excellent stage of a roadtrip, whether you make a trip between Marrakech and Fez (it is about halfway), as well as to make the famous circular route with departure and arrival from Marrakech, passing through the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs.

If you don't feel like renting a car, you can also arrive by bus. The companies CTM and Supratours have a lot of routes throughout the country. You can take a look at their websites / applications to see schedules, prices, etc.

The best months to do the Erg Chebbi desert excursion are October, November, March and April. In summer the temperatures soar above 40 degrees and in winter the nights become quite cold.

We went in mid-September and, although we spent less heat than in Erg Chigaga, the temperatures were quite high. But when night fell I would dare to say that he even managed to cool something. If you travel in winter, don't forget some warm clothes.

If you travel for free, you can find camps both in Airbnb like in Booking.com. On this last page, you will have to do the search for “Merzouga” and then apply the filter of “tented camps". There are also websites of agencies specialized in these services and official pages of the camps, just go to “Erg Chebbi camp” to get a lot of options.

As we advance you, there are two types of camps: the standard and the deluxe. We stayed in a standard in the desert of Erg Chigaga and wanted to try luxury this time. Conclusion? Well yes, the latter is cool, besides having the bathroom inside the store is a replica! But beware, the night at the standard camp will also definitely be worth it!

If you have nothing reserved, obviously also you can get to Merzouga and shop around the agencies, hotels, etc. There everyone will know of someone who offers you the experience of spending the night in the desert. The good? You can try to get a good discount. The bad? You will not have too many references or opinions from other customers.

The prices start from about € 30 per person and night, which includes the night in the store and meals. Transportation may not be included, which can have a supplement of € 15-20 per person if you go on dromedary, and something more expensive, about € 30 per person, if you go in 4 × 4. These prices are fully negotiable and some camps offer the complete experience (transportation, meals and night in store) for a fixed price. For example, the one we reserve (Sahara Majestic Luxury Camp) Yes, it had everything included. So it is best to contact them and ask all your questions.

For the rest, the camps are formed by between 8 and 14 stores (some more), which are arranged opposite each other, and as a vertex a large common store that serves as a restaurant and kitchen. Also in that common area you will find the bathrooms in case they are shared. The stores usually have Electricity, beds with good mattresses and good blankets (for colder nights), some have fans too, and even free WIFI (it was our case, and by the way, quite fast). In addition, everyone has mobile coverage.

These are the tours that leave in Marrakech and include the experience of spending a night in a camp in the desert of Erg Chebbi:

tour of 3 days: Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, Dades and Todra Valleys and night in the Erg Chebbi desert. More info
Excursion of 4 days: Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, Dades and Todra Valleys, night in the Erg Chebbi desert, Berber villages and Draa Valley. More info
tour of 3 days ending in Fez. More info
Excursion of 4 days ending in Fez. More info
6 days through the Imperial Cities and the desert of Merzouga. More info

The program starts at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, at which time you will have to go to the meeting point they tell you (usually a hotel, where you can leave your car safe). From there the desert crossing, which can be in 4 × 4 or in dromedary. We prefer to go in 4 × 4, with which we cross the desert from east to west, in a mini-stage of a Dakar rally!

Once you arrive at the camp, they welcome you with the omnipresent mint tea and you will be able to enter the store, waiting for the sunset. In many they leave tables to make sandboard in these free hours. When the time comes when the sun is close to disappearing, it will be the best time to climb to the top of the dune that you like, and enjoy the greatest spectacle of nature.

Then you will have the Dinner, which is cooked right there and that is usually very rich, both in standard and luxury. And at night everyone will sing, play and dance around the bonfire.

In this camp we were not given the option to take out the beds and sleep under the stars (as if we did in Erg Chigaga). So we spent the night inside, waiting for dawn, to greet the sun again from some high point.

Behind the breakfast, you prepare the backpack and again to the parking lot where you left the car (with 4 × 4 or dromedary).

When traveling long enough and by car, we prefer to spend two nights in Merzouga: one in a hotel in the Hassilabied area and another in a camp in the Erg Chebbi desert. Being each one at a different end of the desert, we could see sunrise and sunset from different points of view. For example, from Hassilabied it is worth the early morning to see the sunrise, which leaves behind the dunes, while in the camp where we spent one night, the sunset was really beautiful.

These were our accommodations:

Riad Kasbah Aiour
Sahara Majestic Luxury Camp

The dead hours from the check out of the hotel and the transfer to the camp we spent working a little in the common areas of the riad, that the caloraco did not give us much room to go for a spin ...

For the desert night, it is important that you take the following:

Water, which you can buy in the little shops of the two towns. Although in the camps they also sell at a higher price (15 dirhams instead of 6), in case you don't want to load.
Cap, turban, etc ... we go with something to cover your head, that the heat hits hard under the sun.
Sunscreen.
Towel (if not included in the camp) and change clothes.
Closed footwear to walk through the dunes by day and flip flops for the bathroom.
Protective bag for the camera, in case a sand blizzard rises.

Surely after reading this guide you have clearer how to visit the Erg Chebbi desert by free, arriving to Merzouga, or how to do it with one of the organized tours that leave from Marrakech. We hope you have an experience as fabulous as ours! And if you have more doubts, you know, leave a comment!