The purpose of our three days tour from Fes is to travel to experience the Sahara desert of Merzouga. It’s not only the highlight of our tour from Fes but our whole Morocco tour packages.
Merzouga is said to be named after a family name Marzouq, and the family stills lives in Merzouga. There is another story that some locals tell is that Merzouga is named after the word Merzouq which means wealthy in Arabic, they say it’s the dunes that attract many visitors that make it wealthy.
Merzouga is famous for the Erg Chebbi sand dunes that are about 23 km long and 5 km wide. The biggest and tallest dune is Lala Merzouga, it’s about 150 meters=500 feet. These dunes are here because there was a lake and because it is a desert it gets windy a lot especially during the summertime. Therefore, it gathers here. There is another theory about the existence of the sand dunes, some locals claim that millions of years ago, there were some people who were fighting using couscous as a weapon. Therefore, God punished them by sending a sand storm on them.
Merzouga is a town with many small villages around, it’s where there are many different roots and tribes. For instance, at the center you will find Berbers and Arabs, in another village called Khamlia, you will find dark skin people who are named Gnaoua which were slaves.
Let’s take a look at the best things to do in Merzouga, our included activities in our 3 days tour from Fes.
Camel trekking:
The best thing you will experience with us is the camel tour on Erg Chebbi dunes. It will be on the second day of our trip, our staff will set them near the dunes, you will ride them for about an hour and a half, you can ask the leaders to make stops for pictures. Also, depending on the departure time, it’s possible that you will stop on the way to watch an imaginary sunset if you are early, you will see it from a dune near the camp. Not to mention, the camel ride is organized for two times in the afternoon and in the morning when you want to camp from the camp.
Camping at Berber tents:
Camping at Erg Chebbi is a dream for many tourists, they come to Merzouga to experience the nomadic life, the Berbers lifestyle. As we are your travel agency, we will help you experience that, we will take you to one of the luxury or standard camps to spend the night. There, our Berber team will make entertainment by setting up fire and playing Berber music.
Visiting the Berber family:
Before you do the camel ride and camping at Berber tents, we will take you to visit one of the families of the Berber who live behind the dunes in an actual tent. This excursion will make you experience how the Berbers manage their life to travel searching for food for themselves and their herd. These families expect help from visitors, we usually take some clothes for them or some house needs like vegetables and fruits.
Music with the Gnaoua:
In the morning of the second day, we will visit the village of Khamlia. There, we will take you to one of the families where they have a cooperative and produce music they call it Gnaoua.
Srij lake:
The lake of Srij is an interesting place to head to, it’s where the camels go herding during the day because they are not used for work. Also, the immigrant flamingo birds come here each year and many tourists come to discover them and take pictures.
Small Oasis:
To make the trip to Merzouga a full experience, the other best thing to do is to visit the small oasis of Hassi Labied. Here, you will see how the locals get water from the wells to water their agriculture, the water is served through tunnels.
Conclusion:
Reading about a place is not like actually visiting it. Therefore, we invite you to join us on this 3 days Sahara desert tour from Fes.
