Sunset Camel Ride in Erg Chebbi

Overview

Not staying overnight in the dunes? You can still have the sunset. This short ride leaves from Merzouga about an hour and a half before sunset and heads into the first big dunes of Erg Chebbi, far enough that the village drops out of sight.

Your guide picks a good dune for the light, you climb the last part on foot, and we make tea while the sky changes colour. You're back in Merzouga as dusk falls, in time for dinner at your hotel.

Highlights

• Camel ride into the first big dunes
• Sunset from a dune top
• Mint tea made on the sand
• Back in time for dinner
• Pick-up from your Merzouga hotel

Step by step

1. Pick-up

   We collect you from your hotel in Merzouga, or you meet us at the edge of the dunes, about 1.5 hours before sunset.

2. Ride into the dunes

   About 45 minutes on the camel, through soft valleys between dunes, with photo stops whenever you like.

3. Sunset and tea

   Climb a dune for the sunset while your guide makes tea. Sandboards are available if you want to try a run.

4. Back at dusk

   Ride back as the light fades. We drop you at your hotel.

A short ride with the best light of the day

Not everyone wants to sleep in the desert, and not every itinerary has room for it. This ride gives you the most beautiful part of a desert evening in about two hours. You set off from the edge of the dunes when the heat has gone out of the day, ride through soft valleys between the crests, and climb a dune on foot for the sunset while your guide makes tea.

Because the ride is short, the pace is relaxed. You can stop whenever you want a photo, walk for a while if you prefer, and spend as long as you like on top of the dune. As the sun drops, the whole of Erg Chebbi turns orange, then red, and the shadows of the camels stretch across the sand. Then you ride back in the blue light of dusk, and we drop you at your hotel in time for dinner.

Perfect for families and short stays

This is the ride we suggest to families with young children, to travelers staying in a hotel in Merzouga who want a taste of the dunes, and to anyone passing through on a tight schedule. There is no luggage to organise, no early wake-up and no night away from your room.

Children usually find it the highlight of their trip. Small children ride with a parent; older children can have their own camel, with the guide holding the rope the whole time. On the dune they can slide down on a sandboard while you watch the sunset, which is often the moment they talk about for years.

• Families with young children or babies in a carrier
• Guests at hotels and riads along the edge of the dunes
• Travelers who want sunset in the dunes but a bed in town
• Anyone who wants to try a camel before committing to a longer trek

What you'll see on the way

Erg Chebbi is not one big dune but a whole landscape of them, with sharp crests, wide bowls, hard flat patches where tamarisk bushes grow, and here and there the tracks of desert foxes, beetles and lizards. Your guide grew up here and will point out the small things you might miss: the patterns the wind draws on the sand, the way the dunes slowly move, the plants the nomads use for tea and medicine.

From the top of the sunset dune you look east towards the highest crests of Erg Chebbi and west across the stony desert towards the village and the low hills beyond. On clear days you can see a long way, and in spring you may see the green of the palm gardens around the village.

Practical details

We pick you up about an hour and a half before sunset, or you meet us at the edge of the dunes if your hotel is right there. The ride itself is about 45 minutes each way at walking pace. Wear comfortable trousers rather than shorts, closed shoes or sandals you can walk in on sand, sunglasses and a scarf in case the wind picks up.

Bring a light jacket: even in warm months the temperature drops quickly once the sun has set. Your guide brings water and makes mint tea on the dune. If you'd like to try sandboarding, tell us when you book and we'll bring a board.

Make it longer if you fall in love with the dunes

Many guests who start with this ride come back for more. If you decide you want to sleep in the desert after all, the Sunset Camel Trek & Night in a Berber Camp follows the same beautiful route but continues to our camp for dinner, drums, stars and sunrise. Early risers can do the Sunrise Camel Trek to the highest dune the next morning.

If you have a free day in Merzouga, combine the ride with a 4x4 tour around Erg Chebbi: nomad families, Gnawa music in Khamlia, fossils and Rissani market. Just tell us what you have in mind and we'll put it together.

A short history of Erg Chebbi

Erg Chebbi is one of only two great sand seas in Morocco, along with Erg Chigaga near Zagora. It stretches about 22 kilometres from north to south and up to 5 or 6 kilometres across, and its highest crests rise around 150 metres above the stony desert that surrounds it. The sand is blown here by the wind and slowly reshapes the dunes every year.

For centuries the oases around the dunes were stops on the caravan routes across the Sahara, and Rissani, just north of Merzouga, was the market at the end of the road. Nomad families still live around the edges of the sand with their goats and camels, and some of the camels you ride belong to those same families.

Sunset times through the year

Because everything follows the sun, the ride starts at a different time depending on the month. In December and January the sun sets in Merzouga around 17:30, so we leave around 16:00. In spring and autumn it sets between 18:30 and 19:30, and in June and July closer to 20:00, which means you can rest through the heat of the afternoon before going out.

We always confirm the pick-up time for your date when you book. If you are arriving in Merzouga the same day, tell us your travel plan and we'll make sure the timing works, even if you only reach the village in the late afternoon.

What to bring

Keep it light: a small bag with water, sunglasses, sunscreen, a scarf for wind and sand, and a warm layer for the ride back. A phone or camera, of course, in a pocket or a zipped bag, never set down on the sand. Leave everything else at your hotel; you'll be back within about two hours.

Best time to go

Any month works in Merzouga. Spring (March to May) and autumn (October and November) are the most comfortable. In summer we start camel rides late in the afternoon and quad rides early in the morning, and in winter the evenings are cold, so bring a warm layer. Use the month guide and live weather on our home page to see what to expect.

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