Erg Chigaga or Erg Chebbi: which desert

Two ergs, two different journeys. The choice is not about which dunes are finer — both are superb — but about your driving time and how much company you are willing to have.

Erg Chebbi · the accessible desert

• Access: tarmac all the way to Merzouga. You sleep in the dunes the same evening.
• Crowds: Morocco's most visited erg. Quad bikes, groups, many camps close together.
• Camps: from a simple tent to a comfort camp with a bathroom.
• Honest duration: 3 days from Marrakech, 2 from Fès.

Erg Chigaga · the desert you earn

• Access: roughly 2 h of 4×4 piste from M'Hamid. No tarmac.
• Crowds: scattered. Camps sit well apart from each other.
• Dunes: higher, wider — a belt some forty kilometres long.
• Honest duration: 4 days minimum from Marrakech. Below that, you spend the trip in a vehicle.

The piste is the filter. It is what keeps Chigaga quiet, and it is what will cost you half a day.

The verdict by traveller

• Short on time, with children → Chebbi.
• Silence, dark skies, a real bivouac → Chigaga.
• First time in the Sahara → Chebbi is plenty.
• You've been before → Chigaga, without hesitating.

What M'Hamid agencies will tell you

Asking for Chigaga in two days is asking politely for the impossible: the piste does not get shorter. An agency that says yes anyway is selling you two days of driving and one hour of dune.

per [agency], M'Hamid — to verify

And the season?

The Sahara walks from October to April. In July–August the heat closes the middle of the day: you move at dawn and at dusk. Massif by massif: when to go.

See the routes: all treks. The listed agencies: our agencies.