Anyone planning a trip to Morocco for several days will have marked spending a night in the desert in red . This is one of the experiences that you have to do at least once in your life. Is it part of your plans? Below we tell you which desert to visit in Morocco , with a comparison between the two, in case you are wondering which desert is better in Morocco?
And in Morocco you can fulfil this dream twice over! Because this country has two dune areas where several camps have been set up where you can sleep: Erg Chigaga (from Zagora or Mhamid) and Erg Chebbi (from Merzouga). If you only have time to visit one of the two and you don't know which one to choose, we are going to compare both to help you answer the question " which desert to visit in Morocco ?".
Which desert to visit in Morocco?
There are not actually two deserts in Morocco. They are both part of the huge Sahara Desert . But how is that possible when they are so far away from each other? We have a misconception of what a desert is. It is not all large sand dunes, but the desert is made up of expanses of very arid, stony plains, called hammada , and areas of sand dunes, called erg .
For example, if you have chosen to visit the Erg Chigaga desert, you will quickly realise that to reach the dunes (the erg ) you will have to cross a flat area with pebbles (the hammada ).
Our experience in Erg Chebbi
Where are the deserts in Morocco?
The two deserts are located in the southeastern part of Morocco, close to the border with Algeria, but separated by 260 km in a straight line (by road it is about 400-500 km). To visit them, you have to start from different points:
- Erg Chigaga : from Zagora or Mhamid
- Erg Chebbi : from Merzouga
The biggest difference is that the start of Erg Chigaga is about 40 km from Mhamid, and about 65 km from Zagora, so to get there you will have to book a package with jeep transportation (they usually include some intermediate stops, such as Berber camps, oases, etc.). This trip takes approximately 2 hours.
On the other hand, Erg Chebbi is a stone's throw from Merzouga and Hassilabied, so you can walk to a medium dune from the accommodation itself, or go to the camp by jeep, but in a much shorter journey (obviously there is also the option of dromedaries, but we ruled that out).
What are the consequences of this?
Erg Chigaga is located in a much more remote area , many km away from the nearest villages, so the feeling of isolation is greater, and this gives it a special charm.
Erg Chebbi is the more touristy of the two deserts, as it is more accessible. It is the one that is usually included in multi-day packages in Morocco and this helps to have better camps and make it more organized (but there are more people).
As for prices, if you are travelling on your own, visiting the Erg Chebbi desert is more expensive (around €80), since it is further away and the costs are higher. A night in an Erg Chebbi camp can cost around €50.
Natural differences in the deserts of Morocco
Although they are part of the same desert (the Sahara), there are small differences between these two deserts in Morocco that may influence your decision. Here are the characteristics of each one according to our experience:
- In terms of size , Erg Chigaga is larger, with an area of approximately 25 x 15 km. Erg Chebbi reaches 20 km long by 10 km wide.
- Secondly, there is the height of the dunes . Before we went, we tried to find out which of the two deserts had the highest dunes, but the information we found was not very precise. Apparently, the height of the highest dune in Erg Chigaga is 300 meters, compared to 150 meters in Erg Chebbi. However, when we visited both deserts, we realized that this is not something to obsess over. The important thing is to choose a campsite that is close to a group of dunes of a certain size. To do this, we recommend using Google Maps or Google Earth and locating the campsite where you will stay that night. If you see that the nearby dunes provide a lot of shade, you have succeeded. You can also use the distance measurement tool, and look within a radius of about 500-700 meters from the campsite; beyond that, it is a bit difficult to walk.
- Finally, the colour of the sand is different in both deserts. In Erg Chigaga the sand is yellow, while in Erg Chebbi it has more reddish tones. We personally liked the second colour better.
Although none of these three are decisive factors when choosing one desert or another, it is good to keep them in mind.
How to choose a good camp?
But it is not only important to know which desert to visit in Morocco, you also have to find a good camp that guarantees that the experience will be as enriching as possible. And to do so, take these factors into account.
The most important thing is its location : camps cannot be set up inside the desert itself by law, so they will be within its limits. This happens in both deserts, so it is key that the chosen camp is very close to a set of dunes of a certain size, so that you can walk to the top of one of them and enjoy the view. Always keeping in mind that we are NOT going to join any tour to see the sunset with dromedary.
As we mentioned before, you will have to locate the exact location of the camp on Google Maps (satellite version) or Google Earth and see if there are any significant dunes within a radius of 500-700 meters . Walking more than 1 km up dunes may be too much. This is the same for both deserts.
Then you have to decide between a standard camp or a luxury one . The biggest difference is that some have a private bathroom inside the tent, while others are shared bathrooms. The type of food also varies, whether or not there is electricity in the tent, whether they have a fan, more luxurious details and decoration… But none of the tents have air conditioning (and thank you, remember that you are living an experience in the desert!). The camps usually have between 8 and 16 private tents, obviously the smaller the better.
Some recommendations could be:
Erg Chebbi : We stayed at the Akabar Luxury Desert Camp and we have no complaints. Or the Sahara Majestic Luxury Camp which looks great, although a bit more expensive.
Erg Chigaga : the Bivouac Erg Chegaga Nomademoi , with good facilities (shared bathrooms) and close to a large dune. And the M'hamid Bivouac – Chez Naji with private bathrooms and nice, well-decorated tents. Ours was the La Mer De Sable , but from what we have seen it is no longer open.
Book a desert tour in Morocco
These camps are booked as part of a package , which usually includes food, transportation, some activity and a dance and song show at night, as well as a night in a private tent (of a higher or lower category). These packages can be booked in different ways:
- Negotiate directly in nearby cities with local agencies.
- Online on the websites of these agencies , or through pages such as Booking or Airbnb , in which case we recommend that you contact them after booking to be sure of the services included in the package and their final price, so that there are no last-minute surprises).
- Within a larger multi-day package in Morocco (for example this 3-day excursion to the Merzouga desert from Marrakech ).
The camps are similar in both deserts, although we do have the feeling that they are better prepared in Erg Chebbi , with nicer tents and better facilities. As it is a much more accessible location, maintenance is not as complicated. However, in the Erg Chigaga camp they let us take the beds out of the tent and sleep in the open (top experience!).
So which desert to visit in Morocco?
Before travelling and with all the information we had, we were convinced that the experience would be more special in Erg Chigaga . Basically because it was in a more remote place, because it was a larger desert, with higher dunes and because it was much less touristy. And all these premises were fulfilled.
The camp at Erg Chebbi was much better, but all the tents were occupied and there were other camps around it that were just as full. There is no interaction with the other camps, but there is no real feeling of being in a remote place.
But in terms of beauty , both deserts are extremely beautiful. The experience you will have will be equally spectacular whichever desert you choose.
We will summarize, in our opinion, which of the two deserts wins in different factors:
- Feeling of being in an isolated place: Erg Chigaga
- Less tourist circus: Erg Chigaga
- Dune size and landscape: both
- Camp quality: Erg Chebbi
- Price: Erg Chebbi
- Ease of access: Erg Chebbi
If you have enough time and it doesn't affect the route you are planning on your trip through Morocco , we would opt for Erg Chigaga. But if you can only visit Erg Chebbi or it is much easier for you to include it in your trip, you can rest assured that the experience will be just as wonderful. We cheated and by visiting both we have avoided any problems 😉
We hope that after seeing the differences between Erg Chebb and Erg Chigaga you can now decide which desert to visit in Morocco . And you, have you been to either of them? Which is your favorite?
