"Merzouga, Hassi Labied and Erg Chebbi" Top 5 Page for this destination Rissani Off The Beaten Path Tip by sachara

Most people will visit Rissani on their way to the sanddunes of Erg Chebbi just east of the villages Hassi Labied and Merzouga. When I visited the dunes in 1975 only shortly, I didnt see any other visitor. Nowadays the sanddunes are lined with several kasbah hotels, offering cameltrips and bivouacs in the dunes.

I think that Erg Chebbi is the most visited part of the Sahara. You can hardly call it 'off the beaten path' anymore. In 2008 we were lucky to be there off-season in January, so we could experienc it as 'a off the beaten path destination'.

We approached the dunes coming from Erfoud and the black desert. On this route we didnt see any other visitors around. Also when we arrived at the kasbah Moyahut, we were just the two of us. With our two camels and our guide we headed into the sanddunes late in the afternoon to be on time at our bivouac at sunset. Here we met a German couple.

The Erg Chebbi is a 40 km long drifting chain of sand dunes. It is the only real Saharan erg in Morocco. The tops can reach 180 meter. The dunes have the most fabulous colours from gold yellow to red, especially at sunset and sunrise.

For more pictures and information have a look at my Merzouga page.