Erg Chebbi or Erg Chigaga: Choosing Your Dunes from Ouarzazate
Golden dunes by a paved road, or a remote erg at the end of an off road track? How the two big dune seas compare when you leave from Ouarzazate.
Two great dune seas lie within reach of Ouarzazate, and they could hardly be more different. Erg Chebbi, by Merzouga in the east, is the famous one: high golden dunes reached by tarmac, with camps and hotels at their edge. Erg Chigaga, beyond Mhamid in the south, is remote: there are no hotels, the last stretch is a rough track, and a night in camp is the only way to see it. Here is how they compare when you start from Ouarzazate.
Where they are
Erg Chebbi
East of Ouarzazate, beyond Skoura, Kelaat M’Gouna, Tinghir and Erfoud. The drive takes around five hours each way, and the road passes the Todra Gorges, a natural place to stop for lunch.
Erg Chigaga
South, at the far end of the Draa Valley. The paved road ends at Mhamid, and the dunes lie about 60 km further on an off road track. From Ouarzazate, allow around six hours. The smaller Mhamid dunes, called Erg Lihoudi, are closer at about four and a half hours.
The journey there
The road is half of the experience, and each route shows a different side of the south.
- Toward Erg Chebbi: the Amridil kasbah in the Skoura oasis, Kelaat M’Gouna among gardens and roses, the Todra Gorges with canyon walls around 300 m high, and the old underground irrigation system of Tinjedad.
- Toward Erg Chigaga: the Anti Atlas crossing to Agdz and the kasbah of Tamnougalt, the palm groves of the Draa Valley, Zagora, and the potters and manuscript library of Tamegroute.
The night in the dunes
Both include a sunset camel ride, dinner and breakfast in camp. At Erg Chebbi the classic camp uses nomad tents of camel and goat wool, with a luxury glamping camp possible for more comfort, and hotels with a pool at the dune line exist if you prefer not to camp. At Erg Chigaga there are no hotels at all, so every visit includes a night in camp, standard or, on request and at extra cost, a luxury tent.
How many days each one needs
- Erg Chebbi in 2 days and 1 night, from 195 USD per person in a group of four: the short plan, with long drives on both days.
- Erg Chebbi in 3 days and 2 nights, from 300 USD per person: adds the Dades Gorges, Tamtatoucht and Amellagou, with a hotel night before the dunes.
- Mhamid or Erg Chigaga in 2 days and 1 night, from 180 USD per person: through the Draa Valley, recommended for travellers already staying in Ouarzazate or Skoura.
- Erg Chigaga in 3 days and 2 nights, from 340 USD per person: a loop with a hotel night in Zagora, returning by Iriki Lake, Foum Zguid and Tazenakht.
Per person prices depend on group size: a solo traveller pays more than each member of a group of four. The final price is confirmed in writing before anything is fixed.
A typical desert schedule
Two days at Erg Chebbi
Departure from your hotel at 8 am. After the Amridil kasbah in Skoura and Kelaat M’Gouna, you reach the Todra Gorges for lunch, with an optional one hour walk in the canyon. The afternoon continues to Erfoud via Tinjedad, past fossil quarries, to the edge of the dunes. After a short rest you ride camels to the camp for dinner and the night. The camel driver wakes you early for sunrise, then comes breakfast and the ride back to your driver. The return goes through Rissani, with the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif or the traditional market, lunch in Nkob, and Agdz via the Tansikht bridge, arriving in Ouarzazate around 5 pm.
Three days to Erg Chigaga
Pickup at 8:30 am, then Agdz, Tamnougalt and the Draa River villages to Zagora for lunch and a visit to Tamegroute. On day two you stop at Ait Isfoul and Mhamid before the off road drive to the dunes, a sunset camel ride and a night in camp. Day three starts with the silence of the dunes at sunrise, then the long way home across the great lake of Iriki, Foum Zguid and Tazenakht.
Which one to choose
Choose Erg Chebbi if
- You picture the classic high golden dunes of Merzouga.
- You want the option of a hotel at the dune line rather than a tent.
- You also want to see the Todra and Dades gorges on the way.
Choose Erg Chigaga if
- Remoteness and silence matter more to you than comfort.
- You like the idea of driving off road to reach camp.
- You want to follow the Draa Valley and stop in Tamegroute.
Choose Mhamid if
You want a real desert night on a tighter schedule, with less driving than either of the big ergs.
Longer ways to reach the dunes
The four day South Oasis Route reaches Erg Chebbi through the rock formations of the Saghro mountains, Nkob and its kasbahs, and the remote villages around Ouzina. The private Marrakech to Fes tour crosses the country with at least one night in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi. See all desert tours from Ouarzazate, or the camel rides included in them.
Before you go
Desert nights are cold from late autumn to early spring; read the best time to visit and our packing guide. For a plan that combines the desert with rides around town, see how many days to spend in Ouarzazate.
Book what you read about
Places in this guide
Draa Valley
A long ribbon of palm groves, villages and kasbahs that follows the Draa river south from Agdz to Mhamid, at the edge of the Sahara, with Zagora and Tamegroute on the way.
Agdz and Tamnougalt
A small town 65 km south of Ouarzazate under Jebel Kissane, where the Draa palm groves start, with Tamnougalt kasbah, the old seat of the Mezguita oasis, next door.
Skoura Oasis
A large palm oasis on the N10 east of Ouarzazate, with seventeenth century kasbahs, irrigated gardens, a Monday souk and guest houses run by local families.
