Merzouga: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Merzouga is a village on the edge of Erg Chebbi, a sea of sand dunes about twenty-two kilometres long on the edge of the Sahara, near the closed border with Algeria. Most people come for one night: a camel ride at sunset, a night in a desert camp and the sunrise from the top of a dune. An afternoon, a night and a morning; bring warm clothes for the night.
The 9 best sights in Merzouga
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1Merzouga
The village at the foot of the dunes
2Erg ChebbiThe great sea of dunes; camel at sunset, sleep in a camp
3HassilabiedA village right against the dunes
- 4Dayet Srji
A desert lake with flamingos after the rains
5KhamliaThe village of the Gnawa musicians
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6Mfis
Abandoned mines in the black desert
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7Taouz
Rock carvings near the edge of the Sahara
8SijilmasaThe ruins of the medieval gold-caravan city
9ErfoudFossil workshops and the date festival
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Merzouga →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Merzouga:
Free walking tours in Merzouga
Into the dunes
Merzouga is a village on the edge of Erg Chebbi, a sea of sand dunes about twenty-two kilometres long on the edge of the Sahara, near the closed border with Algeria. Most people come for one night: a camel ride at sunset, a night in a desert camp and the sunrise from the top of a dune. An afternoon, a night and a morning; bring warm clothes for the night.
- Merzouga · The village where the road ends and the sand begins. The guesthouses and camel guides of Merzouga are almost all run by Berber families, many of them once nomads who herded goats and camels between the dunes and the oases.
- Hassilabied · A village built right up against the dunes, where the camel trains leave in the late afternoon. The ride to the camps takes about an hour and a half, timed to reach the high dunes as the sun goes down and turns the sand from gold to red.
- Erg Chebbi · The dunes are shaped by the wind and rise up to about a hundred and fifty metres. They are among the few great sand seas in Morocco; most of the Sahara is rock and gravel, not sand. At night, far from any light, the Milky Way crosses the whole sky.
- The sunrise dune · Before dawn the guides wake the camp to climb the nearest high dune for the sunrise, a hard climb in soft sand. Coming down is fast; many slide down on sandboards.
- Dayet Srji · A shallow lake that fills only after rare rains. When it has water, flocks of pink flamingos and other migrating birds stop here, a strange sight against the dunes; in dry years it is a white salt flat.
- Khamlia · A village of the Gnawa, descendants of people brought across the Sahara from West Africa as slaves. Their musicians play for visitors with iron castanets and drums, songs that mix African rhythm and Sufi prayer.
The Tafilalt and its Jews
North of the dunes lies the Tafilalt, the largest oasis in Morocco, a green ribbon of palms along the Ziz river. Here stood Sijilmasa, the city of the gold caravans; here began the dynasty that still rules Morocco; and here lived Jewish communities whose rabbis are revered in Israel to this day. Half a day by car.
- Rissani · The market town of the oasis, where on market days the donkey park fills and traders sell dates, spices and livestock. The Alaouite dynasty, the royal family of Morocco since the seventeenth century, came from here; its founder’s mausoleum stands just outside the town.
- The Jews of the Tafilalt · The Tafilalt was home to old Jewish communities living in their own fortified villages among the palms. The Abuhatzeira family of rabbis came from here: Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, and his grandson Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira, the Baba Sali, born in the Tafilalt in 1889, whose tomb in Netivot draws tens of thousands every year.
- Sijilmasa · Founded in 757, Sijilmasa was for five centuries the northern port of the Sahara, where caravans arrived with gold from West Africa after crossing the desert, and left with salt, cloth and copper. Jewish merchants of Sijilmasa took part in the trade, and their letters appear in the Cairo Geniza. Little remains but mud walls.
- Erfoud · About four hundred million years ago this desert was the floor of a sea, and the black rock around Erfoud is full of its fossils — trilobites, ammonites and the long cones of orthoceras. Workshops cut and polish the stone into tables and sinks. In October the town holds a date festival.
- Mfis · On the way back south, abandoned lead and barite mines in the black stony desert east of the dunes, with the ruins of miners’ houses. A few families still dig by hand.
- Taouz · The last village before the Algerian border, south of the dunes. In the hills around it are ancient rock carvings of animals — elephants, giraffes and cattle — from a time when the Sahara was green.
Around the erg
A day around the dunes by four-wheel drive: the villages, the lake, the music, the black desert and the oasis. Start early; the midday heat in summer is extreme.
- Hassilabied · Breakfast at the edge of the sand, with the dunes turning from orange to pale gold as the sun climbs.
- Dayet Srji · If there has been rain, the lake is the place for birds; if not, its cracked salt crust shows how quickly the desert takes water back.
- Khamlia · Tea and Gnawa music with the families of the village, whose ancestors walked the caravan routes in chains.
- Mfis · The black desert of rock and old mine shafts, a stark contrast to the orange sand a few kilometres away.
- Rissani · Lunch of medfouna, the Berber pizza of the Tafilalt: flatbread stuffed with meat, onion, egg and spices, traditionally baked buried in the hot sand or in a clay oven.
- Merzouga · Back to the village for the evening, when the heat breaks and the dunes glow again at sunset.
Getting to Merzouga and getting around
- Errachidia Airport · The nearest airport, about two hours’ drive; most come by road from Fes or Marrakesh
Cheap eats in Merzouga
The desert eats simply: medfouna, the stuffed Berber bread of the Tafilalt; tagines slow-cooked over coals in the camps; dates of the oasis, among the best in Morocco; and sweet mint tea at every stop. In the camps dinner is part of the price.
- Rissani · Medfouna in the market town
- Erfoud · Dates of the Tafilalt
- Erg Chebbi · Tagine in the desert camp
- Hassilabied · Breakfast at the dunes
Museums in Merzouga
The history here is in ruins and rocks: a lost caravan city, ancient carvings and fossils four hundred million years old.
- Sijilmasa · The gold-caravan city
- Erfoud · Fossil workshops
- Taouz · Rock carvings
Nature and day trips near Merzouga
Sand sea, black stone desert, a lake that comes and goes, and the largest oasis in Morocco.
- Erg Chebbi · The dunes and the stars
- Dayet Srji · Flamingos after rain
- Mfis · The black desert
Things to do in Merzouga with kids
With children: camels, sandboarding down the dunes, a night in a tent and fossils to hold.
- Hassilabied · Camel rides
- Erg Chebbi · Sandboarding
- Erfoud · Fossils
Holy places in Merzouga
The Tafilalt gave Morocco its royal dynasty and Moroccan Jewry some of its most revered rabbis.
- Rissani · The Abuhatzeira family and the Alaouite mausoleum
- Khamlia · Gnawa Sufi music
Nightlife in Merzouga
The night here is the desert itself: drums around the camp fire and one of the darkest skies in North Africa.
- Erg Chebbi · Drums and stars in camp
- Khamlia · An evening of Gnawa music
- Merzouga · Guesthouse roof terraces
Frequently asked questions about Merzouga
What is there to see in Merzouga?
The top sights in Merzouga are Merzouga, Erg Chebbi and Hassilabied. The full list on this page has 9 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Merzouga?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Merzouga without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Merzouga?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Merzouga, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Into the dunes.
How do you get to Merzouga and get around?
The main ways are Errachidia Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Merzouga, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Merzouga that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Merzouga for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.