The one thing I had my heart set on for the trip to Morocco was riding camels into the desert. Spending the night out there, getting drunk and watching the brightest stars I’d ever had the chance to see. Packing up in the morning, saddling the camel again and heading back towards civilisation. This story really happened, it just has a few small tweaks. You’ll find the whole truth about Erg Chebbi in the lines below.
You can read more inspiration for Morocco here.
How to get to the town of Merzouga
The fundamental question, and the first one to answer. Broadly you have two options – under your own steam or with an agency. Under your own steam you arrange everything yourself (I can’t give you a cost estimate). With an agency we can be more forthcoming.
We decided to carve three days out of our packed itinerary for this experience. We chose the comfortable route over the road of endless arranging and planning. We found a list of agencies online and picked one based on various reviews (Google, Tripadvisor).
For anyone who finds even that too demanding, just type this search query into Google: “desert trip marrakech”.
So we set off for Merzouga and on into the Erg Chebbi desert from Marrakesh. The other very common route, a few hours shorter, is from Fez.
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The price of a desert adventure at Erg Chebbi
If, like us, you go with an agency, you can choose between a two-day or a three-day package. Personally I’d recommend the three-day one, because the journey from Marrakesh is genuinely long and at times uncomfortable. Spread over several days, you won’t feel quite so much like your body and mind have been shaken apart.
The agency we chose can be found here.
Our tour cost €89, and as I worked out during that long drive, it comes to roughly the same as doing it yourself. For the number nerds – running the costs, I estimated the gross profit per person (before deducting bribes to various checkpoints) at around €15-20.
The picture shows a record of the conversation between me and one operator who arranges the experience. What isn’t included in the price will come to about €20 across the whole three days.
A 3-day itinerary for the trip to the Erg Chebbi desert
Day one
On the first morning the driver picks you up right at your accommodation and takes you to the main departure point. Don’t be surprised by the number of cars and people setting off with you. The desert is big enough for everyone. The group we were assigned to was very pleasant.
Right after we were sorted into groups we set off towards the Atlas Mountains, to the first stop at Ait Ben Haddou, then on to Ouarzazate and the Dades Valley, where we also spent the night. Written down like that it may seem like too little and too short. Believe me, the journey is genuinely long and the stops were very welcome.
“What do you do on the road? Back on the drive from Rabat to Marrakesh we invented a game – guess who I am. The game degenerated to the point where all someone had to say was the word I’VE GOT and our whole group instantly knew what to do.”
The accommodation was in the valley, very nice and alcohol-free. There was plenty of Berber whisky, though.
Day two
There’s a direct correlation: the earlier you leave your accommodation, the earlier you’ll be in the desert. Our driver was very keen, and looked a bit like my own father, so early in the morning he gave the order and our whole group was the first on the road.
The first stop was Todra Gorge, where we got to see traditional carpets being made up close. It was very comfortable in that nobody pushed us to buy anything. But if you did want to buy something, you can. The Berbers have taken ancient trading to a modern level. You can choose a carpet, pay for it and they’ll ship it to your home.
The last stop but one before Merzouga was Toudgha El Oulia – a beautiful valley with an incredible play of colours.
At last we reach Merzouga. Because we didn’t have much stuff with us, we could saddle up a dromedary straight away and wait for everyone else in the group to do the same. As soon as the caravan was ready, we set off.
We were lucky to arrive so early, which meant we got to see the sunset in all its glory… with its back to us :D. Never mind, it was a phenomenal experience anyway. The setting sun lights up every inch of the dunes along the whole route and plays with the colours so beautifully that you’ll feel like a frantic tourist who has to photograph everything.
The caravan moves very slowly – roughly at human walking pace. Yes, the caravan is led by a man on foot.
After about an hour and a half we arrived at the camp in a rather lovely oasis. A few tents, a fire pit and several tables made up the whole of our campsite. It was so dark inside the tent that in the evening you could see better outside than in. The same goes for the temperature, which especially in the evening wasn’t exactly comfortable.
Dinner by candlelight was tajine cooked over the fire with Moroccan bread, plus soup. I’m not a big fan of not being able to see what I’m eating, especially in the desert, where there’s no electricity and your food is cooked by someone who has had a decent few drinks. It was very tasty, though. It’s just that the stomach trouble is still bothering me as I write this article.
Day three
All good things come to an end. You can get back to “base camp” outside the desert either by dromedary again, or in some kind of buggy. We chose the buggy and it was brilliant – it’s like a rollercoaster, where you climb to the highest point and then hurtle down the dune at almost a 90° angle.
We had breakfast at the campsite and set straight off on the long 10-hour drive to Marrakesh, where we arrived around nine in the evening.
The Erg Chebbi desert
The Sahara reaches into Morocco only very marginally. The sand dunes here are more like blown-in sand. It’s remarkable that the highest dune in the Moroccan desert measures roughly 150 m.
If you’d like to know more about deserts, I gave myself a crash course on desert bedrock and desert structures around the world from articles I’d screenshotted while on the road. Write to us and you’ll find out more.
Camel or dromedary?
Sadly, even though the agency advertises “camel treks”, the truth is different. There are no camels in Morocco. According to Wikipedia, you’ll only find two-humped camels in Central Asia and the Mongolian deserts.
In North Africa there are only dromedaries. But that’s no problem at all. No, you don’t need to ask yourself: “How do you even sit on a single hump?” The dromedary has a special saddle on its hump that’s more or less comfortable.
Desert camps at Merzouga
The agency will offer you a choice of two camps in the Erg Chebbi desert. The first camp is basic – no electricity, water or light. That was exactly our choice. The second camp has electricity, a toilet and light. That camp is essentially telling you, for a surcharge, that it will rob you of a unique experience you could otherwise have had.
At the camp we chose we had dinner by candlelight and entertainment around the fire, provided by some distinctly merry Berbers. Our big mistake was bringing only one small bottle of beer with us.
Useful tips and advice
1. The weather in the desert is different by day and by night – be ready for temperatures to change dramatically. In winter it’s around 24° in the desert, and about -1° in the evening.
2. Watching the brightest stars – when you’re in the desert, where there’s nothing but yellow sand, a clear sky and a moon shining so brightly you don’t need any other light, stargazing is actually very hard. Sadly, a starry sky is more of a bonus.
3. Desert animals – worried about the wildlife? Then head into the desert in winter. That’s when snakes, scorpions and other creatures are buried deep underground.
4. Alcohol in the desert – what you don’t buy at a liquor store before you set off, you won’t have. There was no opportunity along the way (apart from the hotel) to buy alcohol.
5. Expectations – if you have no expectations, you can’t be disappointed. I had modest expectations and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Bear in mind that when you go with an agency, you go with plenty of other people. It always depends on the perspective you choose while living the trip. That’s what decides whether you enjoy it or end up annoyed.
6. Don’t take so much stuff with you – we had a small rucksack we could take with us on the dromedary. That way we had all our things on us the whole time. If you’re travelling with a suitcase, you’re better off leaving it somewhere.
