Sahara of Merzouga Morocco: At the gates of the great red desert…
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| Sahara of Merzouga |
Notice to travelers looking for adventure! Merzouga and erg Chebbi are one of the main curiosities in south-eastern Morocco. In this ocher desert, the monumental dunes move and deform over the winds, offering the traveler a spectacle as bright as it is colorful. The landscape becomes increasingly wild as we head east. As a family, as a couple and or even solo, this is an ideal trip!
Merzouga is a small Saharan village located in south-eastern Morocco, at the foot of the Erg Chebbi dunes in the Tafilalet valley. For centuries the region has been a real crossroads between the civilizations of the African desert. Many hostel-kasbahs border Erg Chebbi. Some are run by Berber families who will make you discover all the facets of their culture and their gastronomy.
At the gates of the great red desert…
Go deep into the erg, discover the dunes, on foot, on horseback, by camel, by mountain bike or by 4 × 4. Change of scenery guaranteed!The Merzouga region is also ideal for bivouac. You will be able to experience a night under the stars in the desert: you will have only to let yourself be fascinated by the celestial vault, and by its ocean of stars.
Do not miss the sublime spectacle of sunrises and sunsets over the desert. The shadow and light that slide over the sand reveal to the traveler surprising shapes and colors. A moment of deep serenity.
Let yourself go for a walk through the rich gardens of Merzouga, to meet these oases who have kept their ancestral culture.
Arenotherapy (sand bath): the sands of Merzouga are very famous for their therapeutic properties, especially for the treatment of rheumatism.
In spring, it is frequent to attend the appearance of a seasonal lake, in the northwest of Merzouga in particular: do not miss the site of DAYET SRJI which attracts every year many pink flamingos and other freshwater birds.
Take a detour to the Tafilalet oasis, the largest palm grove in the world. The plantation of date palms is of great interest, but you must especially see its acacia forest, in the plain where the wadis Ziz and Gheris meet. Absolutely superb!
Where is Merzouga located in Morocco?
Merzouga is located in eastern Morocco, near the border with Algeria (some 50 km away). It’s actually a small Moroccan village.To locate Merzouga in relation to the surrounding cities, it is 350 km from Ouarzazate, 200 km from Tinghir, and 650 km from Marrakech. Or 470 km south of Fez, which is not very close ...
We therefore generally include the passage in this desert in a itinerant loop (with the possibility of one or more nights on the spot), rather than in a round trip on a day from one of these cities.
What makes it special is this desert, right next to it. This dessert is actually called Erg Chebbi, the "Merzouga Desert" being, therefore, an abuse of language.
It extends over a hundred square kilometers, over a strip of about twenty km long and about 5 km wide. Compared to the Sahara Desert, it is 100,000 times smaller ... But it is more than enough to venture there and have the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere!
Note that access to this desert is easy. The main road to get there is the N13, and it's a road like any other. However, to get as close as possible to the dunes, and to your camp or excursion starting point, you will normally have to leave the road. But here again the track is passable: there are even tourist buses that take it ...
Admire the view:
At the top of these dunes, it really feels like being in the middle of the desert, out of everything.
The highlight of the show, because the idea is to sleep right away, is to enjoy the magnificent sunsets from the top of the dunes. You can then see the sunset over the desert dunes, which is one of the highlights in principle of this "trip".
Of course, given the formation of the place, we can see the same sunrise. I also regret not having done so.
However, depending on the daylight, the dunes will be illuminated differently. You will always enjoy red paint in the early morning: cool!
When to visit Merzouga?
You can visit the Merzouga region all year round. However, we recommend the winter period and until spring, which enjoy a mild climate during the day and cool at night. In summer, the days are scorching: for your excursions, give priority to mornings and evenings.Spend a night in the Merzouga desert:
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| Sahara of Merzouga |
There are different "camps", generally made up of more or less refined tents, and more or less distant in the dunes.
For a camp "sunk" in the dunes, the goal is generally to join it to spend the night there. And by going through this fact by a provider who will take you there on the back of a camel or other.
For comfort, it depends on which side you choose. It goes from the minimum, that is to say sleeping under the stars, to that sheltered in tents, bivouac type, with beds or just mattresses and blankets.
This comfort can be pushed a little further in camps with more showers and toilets in an annex. Certainly summary, but which have the merit of being there. You have to keep in mind that it is not the comfort that one comes to seek here.
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