What you need to know about Erg Chebbi:
Erg Chebbi! We finally arrived in the Moroccan desert! The dunes of Erg Chebbi were waiting for us, the excursion to the desert of Merzouga would be the next stage in our journey to Morocco.
I think that those who live in a big city, without sea and we spent all day locked in an office, surrounded by houses and cars, we miss the open spaces and see a landscape that is lost to the horizon.
One of the attractions of traveling to the desert of Morocco is to spend the night in the desert tents.
But before I say anything, I want to dismantle some cliches. Surely you have read around phrases like the desert the best experience of my life, spending the night under the stars, the peace, and the quiet of the desert? Man is very respectable, but it’s a bit exaggerated. Keep in mind that Erg Chebbi is a very tourist destination where a lot of people go.
There is no doubt that the site is beautiful and attractive. It is a pleasure to walk among the dunes and enjoy the immense landscapes. But that of sleeping in the desert of Morocco under the stars, I’m afraid it’s a bit of a chimera unless you make a bivouac and take your own sleeping bag to the open air, which you can also do. What you’ll probably do is sleep in a tent and not under the stars. At most, you will take the mattress or bed out of the tent, if you are allowed to, at the risk of hearing the snoring of your kayak neighbor.
The landscape is beautiful and if you have the opportunity it is worth going to the desert of Morocco, but without flipping out. To find a desert where you’re alone, there is absolute silence and the dunes are not completely destroyed by quads and 4×4 wheels, I’m afraid you’ll have to travel to deserts in more distant countries, which do not have as much flow of tourism. Unless you go on your own, you will not be taken to areas where you are alone, but all tourists go to the same places and also all the tents camps are located at the edge of the desert, where the sand dunes end. So it is not a Lawrence of Arabia experience.
Erg Chebbi or Erg Chegaga:
If you are planning to make an excursion to the Merzouga desert and you are wondering how to get there, how many days you need, if it is easy to organize it by yourself or if it is necessary to book in advance and how to sleep in the desert of Morocco. I will try to answer these questions. Also, another question I asked myself before traveling to Morocco was which dunes we would choose if Erg Chebbi or Erg Chigaga.
What a question! But they are really the ones I asked myself before traveling there. I’ll try to answer all of them and tell you about our experience, which I’ll tell you about now, was based on the most absolute improvisation, on our own and without having anything organized. So we made some mistakes which I’ll tell you about later.
How many days do I need to go to the Merzouga desert?
Note that from Marrakech, Ouarzazate or Fez is not possible to go and return on the same day to the desert of Merzouga. These cities are separated by a lot of kilometers from Erg Chebbi and Erg Chiaga (which is where the dunes are) and it takes many hours to get there.
The trip to Merzouga from Marrakech or Ouarzazate will take you at least 10 and 8 hours respectively, in the best case. It can be done in one go, but it can be exhausting. Another option to
save a day would be not to sleep in the desert of Morocco, but go to the desert to miss the experience I do not know …
Many agencies offer this organized trip to the desert from Marrakech in 3 days or worse, two days and one night. I think it’s a monumental stick, but for the taste of colors. It forces you to make the tug between 8 and 10 hours of travel one way, spend a few hours in the desert, and then make another 8-10 hours of travel back.
If you want to go to the desert, you will have to book for at least three days and it is still very short time. Think that from these cities you will need one day to go and another to return, to spend only one night sleeping in the desert.
Which dunes I choose Erg Chebbi or Erg Chigaga:
A part of the Moroccan Desert Tours territory is occupied by Western Sahara. Most of the Sahara that crosses this area is characterized by a rocky desert or as it is called there “hamada” and a smaller part, the one that tourists are looking for, is formed by sand and dunes. This is what in Morocco is called “Erg”.
In Morocco, we can find two places that have sand desert with an extension of dunes of more than 20 kilometers. “Erg Chebbi” located very close to Merzouga and “Erg Chigaga” which is located near Mhamid, a village that is south of Zagora.
Both Erg, are separated by almost 400 km but have in common the dunes and a desert of sand. The extension and the highest dunes you will find in Erg Chigaga. But the choice of which of the two Erg you choose, you can not base on the color of the sand, the height of the dunes, or which of the two has the largest extension of sand
Although the dunes of Erg Chebbi are smaller than those of Erg Chigaga you will find some with more than 150 meters.
What is the best time to travel to the desert of Merzouga Morocco:
The best time to travel to the Moroccan desert is in spring and autumn. That is from March to May and from September to November. This is when the temperatures are more pleasant. In summer you can burn during the day and in winter spend a tremendous cold at night.
Apart from this, take into account the periods that are high season in Morocco, such as Christmas vacations, Easter, and early summer, which are the periods in which the Spanish have vacations and many more people go.
- Read what is the best time to travel to Morocco.
How to find a company in Morocco?
In Morocco, there are thousands of companies willing to organize a suitable itinerary for you. For the best Morocco tours, you need to book will locals. Therefore, you need to check Tripadvisor and read the reviews and for sure book with the ones who have good ones.
