Merzouga Morocco - desert erg

Merzouga is a village in the Sahara Desert in Morocco, on the edge of Erg Chebbi, a 50-km long and 5-km wide set of sand dunes that reach up to 350 m. Most visitors come here to take a camel safari into the dunes, and to get a taste of remote (tourism-influenced) Berber life.

The local population is mix of Arabs and Berber, and generally welcoming and friendly.

GET IN:
From Marrakech, drive east to Erfoud (2 days drive, stop for the night in or near Ouarzazate). From Fez, drive south to Erfoud (1 day).

From Erfoud, continue south 14 km (11 miles) to Rissani, carry on through the village and follow the road southeast for 40 km (24 miles) to Merzouga. The road has been asphalted to Merzouga, and also to Taouz, a southern military border town (foreigners cannot cross here). The short access roads (1- or 2-km long) from the main road to the hotels alongside the sand dunes are normally not asphalted, but well maintained. There is now an asphalt road to Hassi Lybed, a smaller village about 4 km before Merzouga.

From Rissani to Merzouga, a grand taxi or van is 10/12 dirhams. If you don't want to wait for other people to fill your grand taxi, pay 60 dirhams. If you arrive before sunrise (if you come in the 6-7AM bus from Fez) you can pay up to 100 dirhams for a grand taxi.

Beware of guides in Rissani or Erfoud who offer to take you to Merzouga for 5 dirhams each, but instead strand you at their auberge 20 km north of the village. If you decline their offers of camel rides and lodging, it is often quite difficult (and expensive) to make your way back to town.

You can also fly to Ouarzazate from Casablanca, then continue to Erfoud, Rissani and Merzouga.

There are also weekly flights into Errachadia, about 2 hours north of Merzouga by car.

Supra Tour buses from Marrakech and also from Fez have daily trips that stop in Merzouga village.

If you're continuing on to one of the small villages nearby, such as Hassi Labied, the usual tourist price is a fairly steep 50 dirhams (total, not per person) for the 5-km drive. Beware that overnight buses may sometimes arrive more than an hour early, putting you in Merzouga before sunrise. If this happens, you may find yourself with no cabs available, so be prepared to wait for someone to arrive.

Tour operators can arrange 4x4s with driver/guides from Marrakech or Casablanca and back.

From Marrakech, drive east to Erfoud (2 days drive, stop for the night in or near Ouarzazate). From Fez, drive south to Erfoud (1 day).

From Erfoud, continue south 14 km (11 miles) to Rissani, carry on through the village and follow the road southeast for 40 km (24 miles) to Merzouga. The road has been asphalted to Merzouga, and also to Taouz, a southern military border town (foreigners cannot cross here). The short access roads (1- or 2-km long) from the main road to the hotels alongside the sand dunes are normally not asphalted, but well maintained. There is now an asphalt road to Hassi Lybed, a smaller village about 4 km before Merzouga.

From Rissani to Merzouga, a grand taxi or van is 10/12 dirhams. If you don't want to wait for other people to fill your grand taxi, pay 60 dirhams. If you arrive before sunrise (if you come in the 6-7AM bus from Fez) you can pay up to 100 dirhams for a grand taxi.

Beware of guides in Rissani or Erfoud who offer to take you to Merzouga for 5 dirhams each, but instead strand you at their auberge 20 km north of the village. If you decline their offers of camel rides and lodging, it is often quite difficult (and expensive) to make your way back to town.

You can also fly to Ouarzazate from Casablanca, then continue to Erfoud, Rissani and Merzouga.

There are also weekly flights into Errachadia, about 2 hours north of Merzouga by car.

Supra Tour buses from Marrakech and also from Fez have daily trips that stop in Merzouga village.

If you're continuing on to one of the small villages nearby, such as Hassi Labied, the usual tourist price is a fairly steep 50 dirhams (total, not per person) for the 5-km drive. Beware that overnight buses may sometimes arrive more than an hour early, putting you in Merzouga before sunrise. If this happens, you may find yourself with no cabs available, so be prepared to wait for someone to arrive.

Tour operators can arrange 4x4s with driver/guides from Marrakech or Casablanca and back.

SEE /
Sunrise/sunset over the dunes. Folk dances and black G'naui music. Visits to villages near Merzouga inhabited by Senegalese musicians and dancers such as Khamlia can be arranged with some guides, ask at your hotel.

ANIMAL/
Animals – see the ducks, and in early spring, flamingos, on the Dayet Srji salt lake, just west of Merzouga. There are many other species of birds (ruddy sheldrack and Kittllitz's plower during the spring migration, Tristram's desert warbler, the Egyptian nightjar, the Arabian buzzard and falcons), and the desert sparrows are unique to this region and can be seen all year round. There are also reptiles (Algerian sand lizards, Berber skinks and snakes), mammals such as gerbils, desert hedgehogs, field mice and desert foxes, and scarab beetles. In the morning, you can often see their tracks in the sand. Brown scorpions can occasionally be seen, but they come out at night and tend to avoid humans.

SLEEP/
There are about 50 small hotels of varying categories along the sand dunes, and most of them own camels or can at least arrange your trip into the dunes.

GO NEXT/
Go next[edit]
Supra Tour Buses travel from the center of Merzouga village north to Meknes, Fez and also over to Ouarzazate and then Marrakech. This is new and an affordable way to get to the desert- but there are no stops to visit the Todra Gorge, Dades valley or Ait Ben Haddaou or Ifrane. Or to take rest stops at your leisure! They travel overnight from fes and during the day from Marrakech.

Thanks for your follow up and I am at your service for more information on the area. The area is worth a visit
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