About Sahara desert

A tour to Sahara is definetely a highlight on your Moroccan holiday. You will experience the desert silence and be surrounded by beautiful sand dunes. Ride on camel and sleep under the magnificent starlit sky. There is nothing quite like it.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ERG CHEBBI AND ERG CHIGAGA?

The Moroccan desert has 2 big sand dunes areas. One is Erg Chebbi near Merzouga. The other is Erg Chigaga near M’hamid El Ghizlane. The both areas are located about 8-10 hours drive from Marrakech. But on the way you will see many great sceneries and visit beautiful places. FUN FACT: Did you know that the word « Erg » means « Dune » in Arabic?

ERG CHEBBI

Erg Chebbi dunes gets more visitors as it is more established then Erg Chigaga. When you arrive to Merzouga there is a 2 hours camel ride to reach your desert camp in the sand dunes. The area has more desert camps, situated closer together than in Erg Chigaga. At the edge of the dunes, there are luxury hotels with swimming pools and a beautiful view of the desert.

ERG CHIGAGA

Erg Chigaga is a «newcomer» compared to Erg Chebbi. It opened for tourisme in the 1990’s. The tour from M’hamid is made by 4wd car through vaious desert landscapes. It takes around 1,5 – 2 hours with off-road driving to reach your desert camp in the dunes. The camel treks start from the camps. Erg Chigaga is the more authentic and gives you the wilderness feeling. It is in this part of the Moroccan desert that nomad families are still living the traditional nomadic life style together with their animals.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Among our selection of tours, you can find 2 days tour from Marrakech to Erg Chigaga. In addition; 3 days tours from Marrakech to Erg Chigaga or to Erg Chebbi.  The 3 days tours include 1 night in a guest house on the way. We would recommend to do the 3 days tour, at the least. Even better is to choose a 4 days tour. Then you will have more time to enjoy the amazing sceneries and visit beautiful places along the way. And not the least, you will have more time to experience the desert silence and the spectacular surroundings.

You also find desert tours starting from Casablanca, Ouarzazate and M’hamid village in our selection.

Wild Camp Tour: M’hamid and Erg Chegaga are the best areas to organize wild camp tours from, with start in M’hamid village. See: Desert Nomadic Life – Camel Trekking.