So many times I have been in Erg Chebbi and never can have enough and come next and next time again, in so many years now. First time it was year 2005 and since that every year I go there again and stay many days there. I got friends there so every time I stay with them and live for a while as locals there. It feels really good and it feels like to come home. It is so much to see there, to experience, to learn.
The whole area is fundamentally worth more than just one night for to sleeping in the sand dunes. To explore the whole area of Erg Chebbi around you need to have 4x4. Some piste is passable by ordinary car, but not everywhere. It takes more days to explore the area around the dunes. I not understand why tourists think there is only sand dunes and nothing other, they stay only one night over in sand dunes in the tent where they ride camel and next day they leave. It is very pity, but it is not my problem of course.
The area of Erg Chebbi starts actually in already in Erfoud can I say, but in Erfoud is not anything much interesting. It is a little bigger town, one small souk, one square and it is all worth to see there. In the edge of city in direction from Ziz Valley is also the Royal Palace, but there it is not possible to go and visit it of course.
It is paved road now from Erfoud via Rissani and Merzouga until Taouz, but before it was only a piste going the whole way and you can do it still if you wish and you can do it with a normal car as I did it once. Then you can explore also the remoteness in this area where you go through oasis and Hamada. The piste is really beautiful and interesting. On the way you find smaller sand dunes but they are not so nice because they are dusty while sand in Erg Chebbi is clean and beautiful.
At the entrance to Rissani on the left side ruins of the medieval city and in the center is Ksar Abouaam, in English "The father of the year" which is just Moulay Ali Cherif who taught religion every third year there. There is now a museum and Moulay Ali Cherif maousoleum.
In Rissani is one of the most genuine souk, interesting in that it is not tourist souk, but for the people living there. 3 times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday) is the market with donkeys, sheep, goat, cow also I had seen there.
Sand dunes Erg Chebbi is approximately 25 km long and 10 km wide and the highest dune is up to 150m. Near the village Merzouga it is only 5-8 km wide. It's interesting formation, where the plateau with small black stones reminiscent Hamada rises suddenly and you see only hot sand. Since the dunes are clean without dust have they a wonderful color, which changes from orange to gold, red to yellow, but also grey to white when the weather is changing and it storms.
Behind sand dunes are living nomads, who lives mainly on sheep, goats and camels, but also on to weave the cloths of camel hair for Bedouin tents, and on tourism.
You can walk around the dunes (with 4x4 only), small oases, the mostly dry riverbed, where you can find fossils. On the road you will see wells and after a while you will come to M'Fis, mineral mines where it still works quite primitive. It is a very interesting place to visit and people who works there are happy to show how the work is done.
Afterwards, the trip goes to the old abandoned French village where you can get an idea of how it was during colonization.
Near the dunes is a really Saharan lake Dayet Sriji where comes various birds, incl. flamingo. If of course does not rain for some time, which happens more often then the water dries up and then it is just sand without water, flamingos searching water elsewhere.
But if it is water there so even camels go there and take a bath and drink.
the lake without water
It is worth also to mentioned music group Gnawa, you find them in Khamlia, one little village 7 km after Merzouga, on the way against Taouz.
There are two groups, Pigeon du Sable and Bambara, both are good. They are singing, dancing and playing about old times when their ancestors was captured in Sudan and sold as slaves to Morocco. But they are singing even about new times and their freedom.
In Taouz, the last town in the area is also ruins from old Kasbah Taouz, worth to take a look. It is quite big and easy to imagine how it looked in the past.
Few kilometers from Taouz you can see the beautiful mountains Kfiroun where you find the stones with engraved old paintings. These you can reach by ordinary car, but if you want to go longer, you need a 4x4.
From Taouz you can continue until Erg Chigaga, but in that case you need have 4x4. It is about 250km, maybe more so count with the whole day to go.
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