Merzouga Things to Do

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We rode a camel for two hours into the desert and waited for the sun to come down while our "camel man" cooked us the best tagine we ate in Morroco! "Camel man" woke us up by clapping his hands at 5am so we could go see the sun rise up on the sand dunes. That was the best moment of our entire trip! It's a MUST for anyone going to Morroco!

I found Omar on the web...
I emailed him...and within 2 days, I got a welcome message from him. Most surprising he even text messaged me on my cellphone. I was trying to imagine him riding his proud mehara and sending me a message across the planet from the Sahara...I wanted to surprise Carrie with this trip.

Arrived in Ouarzazate I recontacted Omar and arranged for a meeting in Erfoud. He sent his brother Rachid, dressed as Touareg to guide us on the piste up to Merzouga.

After 1 night spent in the friendly Sahara Inn, we got ready for our ride into the desert. After 2 hours or so riding camels with a group of Italians we arrived at a small oasis where our "chamelier" Youssef set the camp and prepared us a earty tagine of chicken, while telling us jokes.

We would all wake-up at 6:00AM to see the sunrise over the erg chebbi. It was magical and a truely unique experience.

Rachid had also accompanied us and was walking across the dunes, like if following a straight line... He told us he could recognize most large dunes...when everything looked identical and larger than life to us...

In Le Touareg Hotel you will find this nice versatile berber guy, Hassn Kabul, who knows english, italian, spanish, French, very funny and gentle, who will guide you in the desert or in the village, in shops, on the lake and moreover in nearby villages inhabitated by descendants from black slave who will sing and play Gnaoui music. He will also organise transposrtation from Fes or Marrakesh. He even has a site, in spanish: http://www.rutabereber.es.gd/

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We stayed a night in the desert with Les Nomades Bivouac, a small company in Hassi Labied.
They'll meet you at an internet cafe in the center, and at the end of the afternoon, the dromedary's will be packed. We did the tour with a standard tent of 30euro per person. Our 2 youngest children could parcipitate for half price.
M'Barak picked us up at the KemKem internetcafe and took us to his own house. There we met his family and a minttea was served. We rested for a while (it was too hot to go out) and after some hours we made a walk through the palmeraie, and saw a local wedding. Then there was a sandstorm, so we had to go into the house again. At the end of the afternoon we left on the dromedary's. We went 1,5 hour by dromedary into the desert and then reached the small camp (4 tents) of Les Nomades Bivouac. There we had tea with nuts and cookies. The kids played in the dunes, and a delicous dinner was served. M'Barak and Mohammed played the drums. Then we decided to sleep outside, under a million stars sky. It was unforgettable. We had an early wake-up to climb the dunes to see the sunset. Unforgettable! Then there was a breakfast and after that we went back by dromedary to Hassi Labied again. I can recommend this company to anyone, as this are people of the desert who know what there doing and talking about. Very kind people, heartwarming!

Is only 3 km just to west of the village. It is a salt lake attract big number of pink Flamingos, water level was good enough time I was there- June- but is not always.
Early spring time is better to visit. Ask the locals anyway…
Well the road is like this...
See the tavelogue for more photos

Try to visit village Khamlia.
There is a Berber group “Groupe Des Bambaras” They are playing wonderful Gnaoua music.
I met this people at Essaouira’s gnaoua festival they are grate.
There is a web page that you can take an idea and contact theme.
Alternative can be arraigned from camping “Les Piramides” or “Nomad Palace, Chez Ali Mouni aouberge

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After lunch at Todra Gorge we found that we were a bit behind time. So it became a race to Erfoud to collect our guide and navigate the 50km of barren, flat dirt landscape to Merzouga before dark. As we left Erfoud the orange dunes could be seen towering on the horizon, but the sun was setting.

We eventually made it to Merzouga at dusk. The town consisted of a few hotels scattered at the edge of the dunes. This is where we swapped our car for camels with omar! Luckily there was full moon so the sky was bright with the moon shine. All we took with us was a small backpack of things, basically only water and warm clothing or a sleeping bag if you had it. The camels laden with passengers trooped up into the dunes and took us into the heart of the little desert. The moon created huge long camel shadows on the sand as we walked.

The dunes were great to explore at night, however I could see there was a huge potential of getting lost/disorientated. The toilet??? Well that was anywhere you could go and not be spied on. A quick wander also showed that we were right next to a nomad tent and their hens, goats and loads of rubbish laying around - however that was how they existed.

A fire kept us warm, as did freshly prepared tajine (vegetarian tajine). After a bit of story telling and drum playing most people headed to their mattress to sleep. Apart from one snorer and the full moon shining through the weave of the tent, we slept well.

Brett, Vanessa and Jamie were all up and wandering around in their Jellabas at first light, like true Moroccans. In fact they looked like little wizards wandering around over the dunes. Despite the offer from the nomads to join them for a cup of tea we headed back to our campsite and made our way by camel back to the hotel. The boys all complained about the difficulty of finding a comfortable position on the camel.

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When you are out around Merzouga - ie when you get the chance to order a meal I would stongly suggest you choose and try the traditional dish from around here that Ive grown to love - Khalia. Its minced, or finely chopped meat, with tomatoes and spices and eggs on top - cooked in a traditional tagine or heavy earthenware dish.

Theres a bit of a tendency to fiind them a bit too salty but maybe if you are worried about that ask for not too much salt to be put - maybe ask for half the amount!

As with most moroccan dishes this is traditionally eaten using bread that you break off your given pieces and use to scoop up the meal from the earthenware dish in the section located closest to you ie not taking bits from other locations within the dish but the area in front of you! (same with tagines, cous cous, any meal that is served and eaten communally from the one dish)

eg we've invited tourists to lunch and watch them pick food with their fork or fingers from all over the dish which means we get their fork or fingers in the food we are eating! it also means that the vegetables or meat that is allocated within the dish to ensure that it is spread fairly around for everyone gets encroached on!

but with the hospitality comes a gracious acceptance of such behaviour - just dont do it again!
And generally, whether eating at an auberge restaurant or youve been blessed with eating in a Moroccan's home you generally will be offered cutlery and a plate!