Merzouga



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 above the plain and 808 m above sea level.

Understand
Most visitors come here to take a camel safari into the dunes, and to get a taste of remote (but certainly tourism-influenced) Berber life.

The local population is mix of Arabs and Berber, which are generally welcoming and friendly. Although especially in and around Merzouga far more than usual people will display a touting behaviour and try you to sell a tour or a place to stay.

In general, it needs to be remembered that the dunes barely present an authentic Moroccan landscape. Many tourists come here, ride the camel and bring pictures back home, making people believe that this is what the desert looks like south. However, riding a camel through the dunes and staying in a tent there is nothing authentic about it&mdash;it is a touristy facade. Having said that the region is nevertheless beautiful and interesting, and even the regular stony desert is impressing in itself.

By plane
Airports around with international flights are in Fez and Marrakech. From there you can take an intercity bus to Merzouga.

From Casablanca you can fly to Ouarzazate, then continue to Erfoud, Rissani and Merzouga.

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

By bus


Supratours buses from Marrakech and also from Fez have one daily trip each that end in Merzouga village, for 160 dirham. CTM only goes up until Erfoud and Rissani.

By grand taxi
From Rissani to Merzouga, a grand taxi or van is 12-15 dirham and goes about every 30 min. If you don't want to wait for other people to fill your grand taxi, pay 60 dirham. If you arrive before sunrise (if you come in the 06:00-07:00 bus from Fez) you might have to pay up to 100 dirham for a grand taxi.

From Erfoud to Merzouga, a grand taxi is 25 dirham, every 1-2 hr.

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 dirham (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.

Stay safe
Beware of guides in Rissani or Erfoud who offer to take you to Merzouga for 5 dirham 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.

By car
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 to Rissani, carry on through the village and follow the road southeast for 40 km 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.

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

Get around
The only way to get around Merzouga is on foot. It's fairly small and easily walkable, but you'll likely want to avoid the midday heat.

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.


 * Animals – See the ducks, and in early spring, flamingos, on the Dayet Srji salt lake, just west of Merzouga (according to the visitor information office in Hassilabied, there has been no water for at least the past 2 years, as of May 2018). 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.

Do






Tours
Tour prices are highly negotiable, try 25% less than quoted and use the walking out trick. There is always more than enough companies. And always negotiate with the company directly, not through your accommodation or any arbitrary tout from the street.





Camel Safaris
Almost certainly the reason you came here in the first place. After taking you into the village to buy a proper head scarf (of course from their cousin for a special price) to protect you from the sun, you'll be thrown on a camel and lead off into the desert. (Good luck with your knees.) Meals, water, tents, etc should all be taken care of by your leader, but naturally you will have to confirm this when you do your negotiations beforehand and make sure you're very specific, and ask lots of questions. Speaking of negotiations, do your research before coming (ask other travelers in Marrakech, etc., for recommendations and for what they paid), and be prepared to bargain very hard(!)&mdash;the industry here is smooth and deceivingly vicious. On the first night, most groups end up at a pre-setup camp circle at the base of some large dunes, where the various tour operators have their "authentic" Berber tents set up. Dinner will be cooked here, often some music played, and you can frolic on the sand dunes under zillions of stars. If you're only on a 1-day trip, then you'll wake early, have some tea/breakfast, and head back before it gets hot. Others will hang out during the day, beating the heat in the tents all day, and either spend another night here or venture further out beyond the dunes and stay with a Berber family, where you'll then set out to return early on the third morning. A few operators have their own private camps that will offer a more remote experience, ask around if this is what you seek. This provides a more intimate setting with fewer people and noise where you can relax and enjoy the stars. Cost a little bit more but worth it. Also check to see if showers are included after the camel trek.

Money
There is apparently just at the north entrance of Merzouga, which might not be very reliable. It is better to stack up cash in Erfoud or Rissani.

Eat
Most people eat meals at their lodge, but a few basic restaurants are scattered around the town if you are in need.

Stay healthy
For prepared food try to prefer places with enough customers. This is the desert and hygiene standards are lower than in the rest of Morocco.

Camping
Just head into the dunes and get a place on top of a dune or somewhere close to a tree to be safe from any vehicles. Even though at night probably no one is driving around, because it is too dangerous getting stuck. The desert here is relatively warm at night but a proper sleeping bag is necessary. Check the weather forecast for the temperatures.

Merzouga
Just near the village there are many small to larger estates made of mud which have decent rooms, running water, WiFi and breakfast available for prices starting from 170-300 dirham for a double.



Around Merzouga
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.



Touts
Basically everyone in Merzouga is a tout, trying to sell you a camel, ATV or 4WD tour, or anything else that can be had a commission from. Be sure not to fall for any guy that has nothing to do with the actual tour, operator or accommodation.

Romantic liaisons
As with many places, be cautious with anyone who seems interested in romantic entanglements, as incidents of foreign women being charmed by locals and then discovering that the "romance" was merely a cover to obtain sex, money, or other services are not uncommon and increasing. This seems especially true for young foreign travellers. The cosy camp surroundings and maybe some wine does the rest.

Go next
Supratours 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 in and out 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 Fez and during the day from Marrakech.