Erg Chebbi: Everything About the Great Dunes of Merzouga
How big they are, how high, why they are orange and what you can do there: the guide to Morocco's most famous sea of sand.
Erg Chebbi is the sea of dunes that rises behind Merzouga. When people imagine the Sahara of the films, they imagine something like this: orange waves of sand under a blue sky.
Some numbers
- About 28 km from north to south and 5 to 7 km wide.
- The highest dunes reach about 150 metres.
- It is one of the few great ergs (seas of sand dunes) of Morocco, together with Erg Chigaga near Zagora.
Why is the sand orange?
The grains are covered with a fine layer of iron oxide. At sunrise and sunset, with the low light, the colour becomes deep orange and red, and the dunes seem to change shape every minute.
The dunes move
The wind slowly reshapes the crests every day. The large dunes are stable, but the small waves of sand change constantly, so the paths of the caravans are never exactly the same.
Life around the dunes
The erg is surrounded by the hamada, a plain of black stones where nomad families still live with their goats and camels, and by villages such as Merzouga, Hassilabied and Khamlia, home of the Gnawa musicians.
What to do in Erg Chebbi
- Camel treks at sunset or sunrise
- A night in our desert camp
- Quad, buggy or KTM rides
- Sandboarding and stargazing
Respect the desert
Take your rubbish with you, do not leave plastic in the sand and do not drive off the authorised tracks: the desert is fragile, and it is our home.
Ready for the Sahara?
Camel trek, a night in our camp or a private tour from any city: tell us what you dream of and we organise it.
