Merzouga

城市概覽

Most visitors come here to take a camel safari into the dunes, and to get a taste of remote (but certainly tourism-influenced) Berber life. The local population is a mix of Arabs and Berber, which are generally welcoming and friendly. Although especially in and around Merzouga far more than usual people will display a touting behaviour and try you to sell a tour or a place to stay. In general, it needs to be remembered that the dunes barely present an authentic Moroccan landscape. Many tourists come here, ride the camel and bring pictures back home, making people believe that this is what the desert looks like south. However, riding a camel through the dunes and staying in a tent there is nothing authentic about it—it is a touristy facade. Having said that the region is nevertheless beautiful and interesting, and even the regular stony desert is impressing in itself.

如何抵達

By plane Airports around with international flights are in Fez and Marrakech. From there you can take an intercity bus to Merzouga. From Casablanca you can fly to Ouarzazate, then continue to Erfoud, Rissani and Merzouga. There are also weekly flights into Errachidia, about 2 hours north of Merzouga by car.

By bus 1 Supratours office & stop. Bus to Marrakech at 07:30. Bus to Fez at 22:30. 160 dirham. (updated Apr 2019) Supratours buses from Marrakech and also from Fez have one daily trip each that end in Merzouga village, for 160 dirham. CTM only goes up until Erfoud and Rissani.

By grand taxi From Rissani to Merzouga, a grand taxi or van is 12-15 dirham and goes about every 30 min. If you don't want to wait for other people to fill your grand taxi, pay 60 dirham. If you arrive before sunrise (if you come in the 06:00-07:00 bus from Fez) you might have to pay up to 100 dirham for a grand taxi. From Erfoud to Merzouga, a grand taxi is 25 dirham, every 1-2 hr. If you're continuing on to one of the small villages nearby, such as Hassi Labied, the usual tourist price is a fairly steep 50 dirham (total, not per person) for the 5-km drive. Beware that overnight buses may sometimes arrive more than an hour early, putting you in Merzouga before sunrise. If this happens, you may find yourself with no cabs available, so be prepared to wait for someone to arrive.

Stay safe Beware of guides in Rissani or Erfoud who offer to take you to Merzouga for 5 dirham each, but instead strand you at their auberge 20 km north of the village. If you decline their offers of camel rides and lodging, it is often quite difficult (and expensive) to make your way back to town.

By car From Marrakech, drive east to Erfoud (2 days drive, stop for the night in or near Ouarzazate). From Fez, drive south to Erfoud (1 day). From Erfoud, continue south 14 km to Rissani, carry on through the village and follow the road southeast for 40 km to Merzouga. The road has been asphalted to Merzouga

當地交通

The only way to get around Merzouga is on foot. It's fairly small and easily walkable, but you'll likely want to avoid the midday heat.

必看景點

Sunrise/sunset over the dunes. Folk dances and black G'naui music. Visits to villages near Merzouga inhabited by Senegalese musicians and dancers such as Khamlia can be arranged with some guides, ask at your hotel.

Animals – See the ducks, and in early spring, flamingos, on the Dayet Srji salt lake, just west of Merzouga (according to the visitor information office in Hassilabied, there has been no water for at least the past 2 years, as of May 2018). There are many other species of birds (ruddy sheldrack and Kittllitz's plower during the spring migration, Tristram's desert warbler, the Egyptian nightjar, the Arabian buzzard and falcons), and the desert sparrows are unique to this region and can be seen all year round. There are also reptiles (Algerian sand lizards, Berber skinks and snakes), mammals such as gerbils, desert hedgehogs, field mice and desert foxes, and scarab beetles. In the morning, you can often see their tracks in the sand. Brown scorpions can occasionally be seen, but they come out at night and tend to avoid humans.

體驗活動

1 Grand Dune. Hike the dune (updated Apr 2019) Sunset on the dune. Even though there is not a single liquor store around to buy a decent wine for such a great show and view, it is still worth sitting on the Grand Dune and watching the surrounding area and sun set. (updated Apr 2019) Camp on the dune. Instead of dropping hundreds of dirham for a remote camping experience with an all so fake looking headscarf, why not just stay on top of the dunes yourself after the sun has set? Bring a sleeping bag, the sand is quite soft. Also, bring water and leave nothing but footprint. (updated Apr 2019) Hike the desert. From where Merzouga ends in the south it is basically just 5 km straight across the dune from west to east to reach the other side of the dune. If you feel bored, simply hike over to the other side, north by the Grand Dune, visit the setup camps on the other side and head back afterwards. Bring enough water! (updated Apr 2019) Boarding the dunes. This does not seem to have become a trend yet. Nevertheless, some accommodations have skiers for rent, try Dar Gamra. Otherwise, maybe you are lucky and find a snowboard. Or, a relative strong and smooth plastic "slide" that you can properly hold fix with your hands does the trick while going down the dune. Head for the Grand Dune with the steepest and highest slopes. (updated Apr 2019)

Tours Tour prices are highly negotiable, try 25% less than quoted and use the walking out trick. There is always more than enough companies. And always negotiate with the company directly, not through your accommodation or any arbitrary tout from the street.

ATV & quad bikes. It is also possible to tour the dunes on ATVs. However, it is not as much fun as it might sound at first. You are basically following a guide and can not go bananas with your rented quad. If the latter is more of you taste, try to find a regular ATV rental and go on your own from there. On the way towards Merzouga there seem to be some regular rentals.Many t

購物

Money There is apparently just 1 one ATM at the north entrance of Merzouga, which might not be very reliable. It is better to stack up cash in Erfoud or Rissani.

美食

Most people eat meals at their lodge, but a few basic restaurants are scattered around the town if you are in need.

Haven La Chance, Hassi Labaid, ☏ +212 66859-9340. Arrange lunches at Haven La Chance Desert Hotel, either at the hotel or in the desert itself. A popular item is pizza cooked in the sand as the nomads do.

Stay healthy For prepared food try to prefer places with enough customers. This is the desert and hygiene standards are lower than in the rest of Morocco.

住宿

Camping Just head into the dunes and get a place on top of a dune or somewhere close to a tree to be safe from any vehicles. Even though at night probably no one is driving around, because it is too dangerous getting stuck. The desert here is relatively warm at night but a proper sleeping