Erg Chebbi is a vast desert lanscape next to the village of Merzouga, right at the border to Algeria. The name derives from „erg“ meaning desert with shifting sand dunes and „chebbi“ meaning youthful.
Even though the sand dunes are shifting due to sandstorms and weather conditions, the shape in the different areas of the desert always remains the same. Especially the big dunes keep their exact shape even after intense sand storms.
What to do around Erg Chebbi Dunes, Merzouga?
Visit the Erg Chebbi Oasis
Erg Chebbi is a desert in the East of Morocco that looks like an endless ocean of sand. But: It has an oasis too, called Oasis de Oubira. The oasis sits in the middle of Erg Chebbi and is located right next to one of the big dunes. If you climb this dune, it will take you approximately one hour to go all the way up, but you’ll have the most splendid view after that.
The oasis consists of a diverse range of trees and palm trees and even has a nomad camp, also called Moha’s camp, where you can stay overnight or pass by for dinner. Many people stop by the oasis for a tea break before they head to their desert camp.
Visit The Local Gardens
In Merzouga, just behind the the main street with the restaurants and cafés, on the way out of town towards the mosque, there is a palm tree oasis, which has been planted by the locals to grow vegetables.
The neighboring village of Hassi Labied also has a palm tree oasis before the big sand dune Lalla Alia, as part of the Erg Chebbi, which equally functions as a vegetable garden for the locals. Both are irrigate through a water system from the local water wells.
The well next to the gardens of hassi Labied serves as the main source of water for the village, and you often see women coming in the evening to fill big canisters with water to bring home.
Visit The Lake Dayet Srij in Merzouga
Merzouga has one phenomenon called Dayet Srij. It’s a lake in the middle of the desert, shortly before entering Merzouga when you are coming from Rissani. It only fills up in fall / winter, when there is rain, and once it’s there, it attracts a myriad of pink flamingos and over 30 species of African birds, including storcks, ducks, pipits and more.
The lake has been dry for almost five years, so you would only see cracked earth under your feet. However, last year in September 2024 massive rains started to pour down in Morocco, creating a flood in the desert and filling up the lake again.
When you visit Dayet Srij nowadays, there is small coffee shop out of a car and a few chairs to sit on. It’s a beautiful place to visit for sunset too.
Take a Trip To Rissani
Rissani is a small town with a big Souk, 40km away from Merzouga. You can reach Rissani easily via the highway by car, or you catch one of the small taxis that start in Merzouga. Just know, you have to wait until the taxi is full, which sometimes takes time. đ
In Rissani you can explore the markets, buy food, spices, or berber scarfs, visit a traditional Hamam, or simply chill in one of the cafĂ©s. It’s always worth a trip, if you have some extra time or if you are passing through Rissani on your way to Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes.
Visit Khamlia and Taouz
If you keep driving through Merzouga towards the Algerian boarder, you’ll find a small village called Khamlia, which is populated by people of African descent (rather than Arabic or Berber), who were brought to Morocco as slaves. Through the hardships from those times they developed a unique form of spiritual healing music, called Gnaoua.
Coming to Khamlia, you’ll have the unique opportunity to participate in a Gnaoua concert by the Piegons du sable and listen to this beautiful music in the middle of the desert. Remember to leave some tip, as the small villages after Merzouga are depending on tourism and the growing of their own food, of which there is not much, given the dry weather and the lack of hotels in this part.
Further ahead lies a village called Taouz, which translates as peacock. There are no peacocks here, but some curious fossil sites, where you find fossils that are more than 400 million years old, pre-historic stone engravings, as well as some burial tombs of ancient emperors, that nobody could find out from which century they are.
Visit the Nomads
Even though Merzouga is a nomad village at the foot steps of Erg Chebbi that was founded by former desert nomads, there are actually still „real“ nomads in the desert. A small camp site of these nomads is outside of Merzouga on the black sand, just before the sand dunes start.
Their life is extremely hard and they depend on the goats they have, the water they get from the wells, as well as donations from tourists. So, be it a few Dirhams, food, clothing for their children or anthing else practical, is always welcome.
Even thought the nomad life outside of tourism and the village is harsh, most of the time you’ll be offered tea and freshly baked bread, when you arrive.
Drink Moroccan Mint Tea in Merzouga Town
If you spend a few days in Merzouga, you most likely found a beautiful hotel out of town to enjoy some relaxing time by the pool and wander through the dunes. If that’s the case, take half a day to spend some time in the village itself and sit in one or two of the cafĂ©s for a Moroccon mint tea, eat a delicious berber omelette (which you only get in the desert!), and visit the local shops.
You can even buy local herbal tea with herbs from the desert in Merzouga, get yourself a colorful nomad scarf to cover your head from the sand, talk to the locals, or simply watch the daily life in town with people coming and going on their motorbikes and jeeps.
It’s a joy đ And that’s what the locals do, too.
Take An ATV-Trip (Quads)
Quads have always been an easy transportation vehicle in the Ertg Chebbi dunes, especially to bring food to the desert camps. However, nowadays the business has expanded and many locals offer ATV (quad) tours for tourists to cruise through the dunes for 2 hours!
If that’s your style, you’ll easily find many places offering you guided ATV tours, which combine site-seeing with the exhilarating fun of cruising through the dunes.
Ready to embark on the journey of a life time and spend a week in the Sahara Desert?
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