Destinations
Erg Chebbi
A sea of golden dunes 28 kilometres long, rising 150 metres from the plain.
Erg Chebbi is the landscape on every Morocco poster: a self-contained sea of dunes roughly 28 kilometres north to south, rising abruptly from a black hammada plain. Its highest crests reach around 150 metres — the tallest sand in the country.
The erg changes colour through the day — pale gold at noon, deep orange in the late afternoon, almost red at sunset — and that transformation is the reason camel treks are timed the way they are. Sunrise on a high crest, with the dune shadows at their longest, is a sight that no photograph honestly captures.
Unlike much larger Saharan ergs, Chebbi is compact enough to experience properly in one night: camps sit deep among the dunes, yet the ride in takes only an hour and a half. It is also the most accessible major erg in Morocco — the village of Merzouga touches its western edge.
The best months are September to May. Winter nights are cold and brilliantly clear; spring brings the occasional sandstorm and the most dramatic skies. Visit it on our overnight trek, the sunset ride, or any of our circuits from Marrakech.
