Erg Chigaga or Merzouga? How to choose your Sahara

Morocco has two great seas of sand: Erg Chebbi, at Merzouga, and Erg Chigaga, past Foum Zguid and M’Hamid. Both are beautiful. They are not the same trip.

We live and guide on the Erg Chigaga side, so we are not neutral. But a desert you chose for the wrong reasons is a disappointing one, so here is the honest comparison we give friends who ask.

Merzouga and Erg Chebbi: the famous one

Erg Chebbi rises right behind the village of Merzouga, in the east of Morocco near the Algerian border. A paved road runs to the edge of the dunes, so you can arrive by car and be on a camel within minutes.

• Tall, photogenic dunes. Erg Chebbi’s highest dunes reach about 150 m, taller than anything in Erg Chigaga.
• Easy access. Tarmac all the way, plenty of hotels at the foot of the dunes.
• A wide choice of camps, from simple tents to luxury camps with private bathrooms.
• Busy. It is Morocco’s most visited desert. Expect rows of camps, other caravans at sunset and quad bikes during the day.
• Far from Marrakech. More than 500 km by road. On a three-day tour from Marrakech, most of the time is spent driving.

Erg Chigaga: the remote one

Erg Chigaga is Morocco’s largest and most remote dune sea, and there is no road into it. From Foum Zguid we cross the dry bed of Lake Iriqui by 4×4: about 90 km and three hours of piste, inside the Iriqui National Park, created in 1994. From M’Hamid, the other gateway, a shorter piste comes in from the Draa Valley.

• Silence. No quad-bike convoys, no rows of camps. At night you can hear the sand move.
• Wide rather than tall. The dunes are lower than Erg Chebbi’s highest, but they spread out in ridges that go on to the horizon.
• The journey is part of it. Lake Iriqui, where mirages are common, nomad wells, acacia plains and stony desert before the first dune.
• Fewer, simpler camps. Comfort is real but there are fewer options, and everything arrives by 4×4.
• Closer to the west. From Marrakech it is about 380 km and seven hours with stops to Foum Zguid, over the Atlas. From Ouarzazate it is about three hours, and from Agadir about six.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Merzouga if:

• you are travelling from Fes or the east of Morocco
• you want the tallest dunes and an easy road to them
• you want a large choice of luxury camps
• you only have one night and do not mind company at sunset

Choose Erg Chigaga if:

• you are starting from Marrakech, Ouarzazate or Agadir
• you want quiet, and a desert that still feels far away
• you enjoy the road as much as the arrival
• you have at least three days, ideally more

How many days do you need?

From Marrakech, three days is the minimum for Erg Chigaga: one day to cross the Atlas to Foum Zguid, one day across Lake Iriqui into the dunes, and one day back. That is our Silent Sahara journey. With four or five days you get a second night in the erg, which is when the desert really slows you down. To walk it, see our treks, from 3 to 10 days.

Our view

If you have seen photos of tall orange dunes with a camp at their foot, that was probably Erg Chebbi, and it is worth seeing. If what you want is the feeling of being far from everything, with nobody else on the ridge at sunrise, that is Erg Chigaga.

Not sure yet? Read when to come and what to pack, or tell us about your trip and we will tell you honestly which desert fits it.