Things to do in Merzouga: dunes, camels and camps

Camel ride to the camp

The caravan sets off in the afternoon and stops on a dune for sunset. It takes an hour to an hour and a half; you'll feel it in your legs the next day.

Campfire and stars

After dinner, many camps have music around the fire. With no moon, the sky fills with stars.

Climbing a dune

It means an early start and climbing before the sun comes up. Soft sand is more tiring than it looks.

Gnawa music in Khamlia

A village with a Gnawa tradition and sub-Saharan roots; many visits include a performance with tea.

Rissani market

The old historic centre of the Tafilalet, with a market full of local life.

4x4, quad bikes and sandboarding

By 4x4 you see old mines, seasonal lakes and nomad camps.

The minimum from Marrakech

About 550 km over the Atlas, nine or ten hours without stops. One night in the Dades Valley and another in the desert.

More relaxed

With an extra day you don't spend so many hours at a stretch in the car.

Fez to Marrakech

Fez is a little closer, and it's common to cross to Marrakech by way of the desert.

Merzouga or Zagora

Zagora is closer to Marrakech, but with three days or more we choose Merzouga: its tall dunes are the ones people picture.

Hassilabied

The village closest to the tall northern dunes. Many hotels have a back door that opens straight onto the sand, so you can climb a dune at sunrise without a car.

• Good base for two nights
• Guesthouses and hotels with pools

Merzouga village

It has shops, cafés, a small market and basic services. Get cash beforehand, in Erfoud or Rissani, because the ATMs here can break down or run out of notes, especially on long weekends.

Taouz

At the end of the road, near the Algerian border. Around it there are rock carvings and old mines, and the landscape changes from golden sand to black stone.

Erfoud

The town of fossils and dates. In its workshops, blocks of stone with ammonites and trilobites are cut and polished; in autumn it holds a date festival.

Rissani

The old centre of the Tafilalet, with a big souk several days a week and the donkey car park at the entrance. This is where they make medfouna, the meat-stuffed bread known as Berber pizza.

Merzouga lake

Dayet Srji is a seasonal lake west of the erg. If it has rained in winter, it fills up and flamingos arrive; in dry years it's a plain of dried mud.

Arrival, dunes and departure

You arrive between 4 and 5 pm, camel ride at sunset, dinner and a night at the camp. Sunrise on the dune, breakfast, and at 8 or 9 you leave for Fez or Marrakech.

Leaving from Fez

You come via Ifrane, Midelt and the Ziz Valley in about seven or eight hours with stops. If you leave at 8, you're in the dunes in time for sunset.

A full day around the erg

In the morning, 4x4 through Khamlia, the mines and a visit to a nomad family; lunch in Rissani, perhaps a medfouna; afternoon by the hotel pool, a siesta, and another sunset from a different dune.

Trekking through the dunes

A third night at a more remote camp, reached by walking two or three hours with a guide and a camel carrying the luggage. There are fewer lights around and you see the sky better.

Children in the desert

Ask for a camp near the edge of the erg: if someone gets tired or cold, getting out is a matter of minutes. The camel ride can be shortened.

Dinner in the tent

The usual is harira or salad, chicken or kefta tagine and fruit. If you're vegetarian or coeliac, say so when you book: there's no shop near the dunes to improvise.

Water for the night

At the camp, bottled water costs more than in the village; buy a pack in Erfoud. Many camps don't serve alcohol, so ask beforehand if it matters to you.

Toilets and showers

At standard camps the bathroom is usually shared, in a separate tent; at superior and luxury ones, it's private with hot water. At night, take a head torch to get there.

Sockets and batteries

Many camps run on solar panels and the lights go off at a set time. Charge your phone and camera in the car on the way and bring a power bank.

Signal in the dunes

Near the edge of the erg there's usually signal; at more remote camps it can drop out. Warn your family that you may not have a connection that night, and download anything you want to read beforehand.

Scorpions and insects

They're rare, but in summer shake out your shoes before putting them on and don't walk barefoot on the sand at night. Keep your clothes bag zipped.

Dromedary ride at sunset

A slow walk up to a tall dune, tea on the sand and the sunset. You can go back to the hotel or carry on to a camp.

Quad bike behind a guide

You drive and the guide leads the way. An hour is enough to start with; with two you reach the big dunes for sunset. Before setting off they explain the controls and you practise on flat ground.

Buggy for two

More stable than a quad on the big dunes, with seatbelts and a roll cage. Two of you share it and take turns at the wheel; a good choice if one of you is nervous about quads.

The highest dune in the erg

It's a good hour's climb from the northern camps, along the ridge so you don't sink as much. Leave before sunrise with a head torch and water, and come straight down the soft face: that's the fun part.

Sandboarding

Many camps and hotels lend you a board. The tall northern dunes have good slopes, but climbing back up is hard work: three or four runs are usually enough.

Roadside offers

Between Erfoud and Merzouga there are motorbikes and cars that follow you or wave you down to sell you a camp or activities. If your night is already booked, keep driving without stopping. If it isn't, book the camp before the trip, not on the hard shoulder.

Visiting a family

Done properly, it's tea and a conversation. If they take you to a tent full of rugs for sale, that's something else. Bring tea, sugar or fruit, not sweets for the children.

Helmet and goggles, always

Insist on them before setting off and ask where the route goes. Riding with an engine past the camps disturbs the people sleeping there, and the crests of the tall dunes aren't for beginners.

Cameras and fine sand

Sand gets into the lens when you change it. Swap lenses inside the car or the tent, and don't leave your phone on the ground on the dune.

Midday sun

From May to September, don't go out on the dunes between 12 and 4 pm. Drink even if you're not thirsty, cover your head with a scarf and save activities for early morning or sunset.

Painted stone fossils

At the roadside stalls, some trilobites are resin copies or have been touched up. If you want a good one, buy it at a workshop in Erfoud where you can see how the stone is worked.

Standard or superior

There are three levels of camp: standard, superior and luxury. In the upper two, the tent has a private bathroom.

Luxury camp

We recommend it for a honeymoon.

Hotel at the foot of the dunes

Hotels and guesthouses with pools and views of the erg, comfortable for a second night or with children.

Tizi n'Tichka route

The High Atlas, a stop at the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, then Ouarzazate, the Dades Valley and the Todra Gorge.

Middle Atlas

Ifrane, Midelt and down through the Ziz Valley.

Errachidia or Ouarzazate

Errachidia is the nearest airport, with few flights; Ouarzazate is another option.