When one thinks of the Sahara Desert (myself included), they think of Egypt and the beautiful imagery of the pyramids against the golden sands. However, the Sahara Desert is much more expansive, stretching across the entirety of northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt. The Erg Chigaga dunes in Morocco offers travelers easy access to this wide expanse giving them a taste of the beauty and immensity of this desert.
The Sahara Desert in Morocco
The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world. Deserts can be hot, as in the Sahara desert here or Death Valley in California, or cold, as in Antarctica. The Sahara is huge. It’s area is comparable to that of the entire continental United States. In Morocco, it is found mostly in the southeastern portion of the country near the Algerian border.
The Erg Chigaga Dunes
Ergs are areas area that consist mostly of sand with little to no vegetation. In Morocco, there are two major ergs. One is the Erg Chebbi and the other is Erg Chigaga. Chigaga is the largest erg in Morocco and covers an area of about 600 km² or 148,260 acres. We visited the Chigaga “sand sea” and it was an amazing sight with some sand dunes reaching about 200 feet tall.
The dunes at Erg Chigaga are only accessible by camel, foot, or with a 4×4 vehicle. Our guides took us out by vehicle which brought us here in just several hours or so from the neighboring town of M’hamid. Although it was just the two of us and our guides, we stayed at the luxurious Erg Zhigaga bivouac. Besides us and our guides and a local cat, we had the place to ourselves.
Trouble in Paradise
The sands of the Moroccan Sahara Desert shift from wind and rain making the dunes morph over time. Storms can make the changes happen suddenly. Because of this, you really do not want to go out into the desert without a local guide. Many of the guides are nomads who have lived their whole life within the sands of the desert and they are the ones who will help get you out.
There was a violent rain storm that happened prior to our visit (yes, it does rain in the Sahara!). The dunes had shifted and changed shape so that the guides could not take the usual path to and back from the bivouac camp. On the alternate route back to M’hamid, we got stuck in a depression in the sands and were stuck for quite some time. It took time and a basic knowledge of physics to get back out again. While waiting to get the car unstuck, we were circled by vultures. That was a humbling experience!
Where is it Located?
The Erg Chigaga Sahara Desert sand dunes are located in the southeastern portion of Morocco along the Algerian border. To access it, we went to M’hamid (or M’Hamid El Ghizlane), a small town located at the very end of National Route 9, or N9. The sand dunes at Erg Chigaga are located approximately 35 miles away.