Merzouga Adventures: Discovering the Sahara Desert Experience

On the way to Merzougha we stayed on route at a couple of campsites, the first was at Taliouine and was called Camping Toubkal. It was very quiet but clean and approx £6 (€8) a night including electric.

We then moved onto a place called Ouarzazate at a campsite called Firme Bivouac Lot of Stars. Also a similar price so once again good value.

Both of these stops were really just stopovers on route to Merzougha. We were mainly driving through desert and barren land until we got to Dadès Gorge.

Dadès Gorges

Dadès Gorges is located in the high Atlas Mountains between the towns of Boulmalne Dadès and M’semrir. It is also known as “Valley of a thousand Kasbahs” . It is famous for its dramatic red rock formations, steep cliffs and winding roads including iconic hairpin bends.

The Gorge is carved by the Dadès River which has shaped the landscape. The area is dotted with traditional Berber villages, terraced fields and historic kasbahs

The landscape is stunning and it has become popular with hikers and tourists

As we were driving through Dadès Gorge Dee realised he remembered it from our previous time in Morocco. As you can see from the photos the drive is quite spectacular.

We stopped at a cafe high up and Dee remembered stopping at the same place before. We had a coffee and admired the view. It was from there that we took the photo of the windy mountain road.

Todra Gorge and River Hike

Todra Gorge is located in the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains.

Another place with breathtaking views and dramatic landscapes.

Carved over millennia by the Todra River, the gorge boasts towering limestone cliffs that rise up to 400 meters high, with some sections narrowing to just 10 meters wide. As the sunlight changes throughout the day, so does the colour of the rock as the different light shines on it

We did a hike initially by the Todra river thinking that it would lead to Todra Gorge. The hike was both interesting and scenic.

Whilst we were walking a man started to talk to us and began to walk with us. He was a Berber and he was pointing out what things were and telling us all about the plants.

Eventually we reached a town, by now my feet were really hurting and he invited us to go and drink some tea with him. We agreed and it turned out to be his friends carpet shop, or maybe even his, we weren’t sure but either way we were annoyed that we fell for it and should have known better!

We drank mint tea or in our case mint water as we prefer not to have the tea bag, got introduced to the friend of ‘our guide’ and ended up being draped in traditional style Berber clothes!

After politely refusing to buy any carpets he made a hasty exit and escaped! We followed the route back and decided to drive through the Todra Gorge. It was a fabulous drive and once there we were able to park up and have a walk around just before sunset.

As you can see I was once again draped with a headdress. This guy was adamant I would need it for Merzhouga and the desert and we ended up swapping it for 2 cans of beer!

We spent the night at a wild park up just off the road at Trinidad. It was a great spot.

Here are a few photos we saw as we got close to Merzougha. It definitely became more barren!

Merzougha

Merzouga, located in southeastern Morocco near the Algerian border, is a small village renowned for its proximity to the Erg Chebbi dunes, one of the Sahara Desert’s most breathtaking natural wonders.

These golden, undulating sand dunes can reach heights of up to 150 metres and offer a surreal and ever-changing landscape that captivates visitors from around the world.

There were many campsites to choose from they all had good reviews so we just chose one. It was right on all the sand dunes.

Merzouga is a gateway for travellers seeking a desert experience.

Camel treks at sunrise or sunset are an available and something lots of people do . We didn’t actually do this as we weren’t sure how much more we’d actually see and Dee was also not very well with a cough and cold.

There is also the option to go out into the desert in a 4 x 4

Many visitors also spend nights in traditional Berber-style tents and enjoy the hospitality of local nomadic tribes whilst being under the stars.

Merzouga, rich in culture and tradition offers a glimpse into Morocco’s desert life. It was very hot during the day and then the temperature dropped and was very cold at night , maybe a reason why Dee got ill.

The scenery is breathtaking. Definitely a great adventure just being there.

Our next post will start with a visit to see some very friendly monkeys. We hope you will be joining us.

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