Two travellers watching the sun set over the Sahara dunesWhere the road ends, the real Sahara begins.
Erg Chigaga is a sea of dunes about 40 km long beyond the end of the tarmac at M'Hamid, reached by about 1 h 30 of 4x4 piste. Its dunes are lower than Merzouga's (up to about 60 m) but far emptier, with only a few camps. It is visited on private tours of 3 or 4 days.
A handful of camps over 40 km: most nights you see no other light.
Stony desert, dry lake, and the first dunes rising on the horizon.
A vast flat lake bed on the way out to Foum Zguid.
The perfect choice if you have already seen Merzouga.
By road to M'Hamid (via Zagora), then 4x4; or from Foum Zguid across Iriki.
Remote camps, from comfortable to luxury; no mobile signal in some places.
October to April; summer is extremely hot.
3 days minimum from Marrakech, 4 is ideal.
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Wilder and emptier, with lower dunes. First Sahara: Merzouga. Second, or solitude: Erg Chigaga.
Only by 4x4 with an experienced driver: the last 60 km are off-road.
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