3-Day Desert Tour from Errachidia to Merzouga

Errachidia → Ziz Valley → Erfoud → Merzouga (Erg Chebbi)

Pick-up from Moulay Ali Cherif airport or your Errachidia hotel, then south along the Ziz. We stop above the gorge where the palm sea runs to the horizon, and again in Erfoud among the fossil workshops. Arriving at Merzouga in the afternoon, you meet your camels and trek about an hour into Erg Chebbi, stopping high on a dune for sunset. Dinner and Berber drums at camp.

Accommodation: Tawada Desert Camp or similar

Full day exploring the Erg Chebbi region

After sunrise and breakfast, the day belongs to the desert. By 4x4 we circle the erg: the spring-fed oasis and old ksar of Hassi Labied; seasonal Lake Sriji, where flamingos stop when the water is high; Khamlia, where the Gnawa families play the music their ancestors carried across the Sahara; and the open hamada, where we take tea with a nomad family in their tent. In the afternoon there is time for sandboarding or a quad ride before a second night in the dunes.

Accommodation: Riad Chebbi or similar

Merzouga → Rissani → Erfoud → Errachidia

A last sunrise over the dunes, then breakfast and a slow drive north. We stop at Rissani, where the souk overflows with dates and the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif marks the origin of Morocco’s ruling dynasty, and at the nearby ruins of Sijilmassa, the caravan city that once traded gold from Timbuktu. Continue through Erfoud and along the Ziz to Errachidia, ending at your hotel or the airport.