Top Tips for Merzouga and the Ziz Valley: your n °1 tourist guide

The adventure begins with the famous Ziz gorges and then we will border along the Ziz valley until arriving at the Erg CHebbi desert of Merzouga while passing through the largest oasis in the world: Oasis Tafilalet.

Ziz Valley

Ziz Canyons

The adventure begins with the famous Ziz gorges which are found at the exit of the Zaabal tunnel, considered the gateway to the desert which links the Atlas mountains to the desert. Our first step for the desert was in the Jurassic Kasbah in the middle of the Ziz gorges.

🏞 Ziz Canyons

The Ziz gorges are located in the heart of a limestone plateau dominated by the fault that the wadi has dug, thus offering superb panoramas of red cliffs on the palm grove. You can enjoy this beautiful scenery all along the road from the Zaabal tunnel to the Hassan Addakhil dam. Thus comprising 8 villages or Ksour:
-Tamarrakecht –Ifri –Achbarou - Ait Youssef - Ait Atmane - Ait Manzou - Tasmaalte and finally Amazoudj (abandoned village, I will talk about it in detail below)

🌉Zaabal tunnel

Also called the Legionnaire's tunnel since it was dug by the sappers of the Foreign Legion in 1928 to facilitate the passage of troops under the French protectorate. Carved into the rock 62m long 6m wide and 3m high, a feat for the time. This tunnel facilitated the commercial caravan coming or going from Fes to Ksar Souk (Errachidia). Its particularity lies at its exit where the gorges of Ziz and its ancestral palaces display their beauty and historical wealth.

🏨Accommodation

-Kasbah Jurassic: The location in the gorges is breathtaking and the pool is a big plus especially on a hot day. Price at 300dhs 💰 per double room with breakfast. (view the photo)

-Gite Gorges de Ziz stopover: If you want to live a unique experience in the heart of Ksar Ifri in a kasbah refurbished by a great Mr. Ali who is not only a host but a very educated local person with a lot of humanity in his heart . His anecdotes are endless. Price at 300dhs 💰 the double room with breakfast

Ziz valley

🕌Ziz Valley: Valley of a Thousand Palaces

Also called Colorado of Morocco whose ocher buildings like the landscape stand along the vertiginous Ziz valley. An immemorial heritage of Berber culture unfortunately abandoned. These palaces overlooking the gorges of Ziz often served as fortified citadels for the Berber tribes who fought the French occupiers.

🛕Architecture

All palaces have 4 towers to protect from attacks and stand guard. Kasbahs are mainly made of adobe, a mixture of raw earth and packed clay. This ancestral, economical, natural technique has an exceptional ecological balance.

🏚Village abandonnée Amazoudj

The 1965 floods demolded the abandoned village: Amazoudj around 400 to 425 houses. It is the largest and oldest village in the region, occupied over the centuries by all religions.
The ruins of this archaeological treasure, memory of ancient Morocco, are unfortunately little exploited. Information is scarce. Result of simple oral transmission.

The villagers of the abandoned village were rewarded and relocated to the surroundings of Er-Rachidia. In addition, the families were remunerated by a certain sum of money and almost a hectare of land next to their Ksar.
Right after, the State built a Hassan Dakhil dam (the founder of the Alawite dynasty)… then construction and concreting of the seguia or irrigation canals which direct water to the villagers so as to water their plots.

🤸‍♂️Activities

In addition to hiking in the gorges, local guides offer stops among the Berbers, to unravel the mystery of their culture, and discover their warm welcome. Some nomads, on the other hand, remain very wild, and do not dare to approach tourists.

Two thermal spas before the tunnel:
-Hammat moulay Hachem for kidney disease
-Hammat moulay Ali Cherif for rheumatism, joints and skin hot water 53degré

Two caves to visit:
-Grotte d'Ifri.
-Grotte Ait Atman

Blue Source Meski

📍Blue Source Meski

Starting from Errachidia, towards Erfoud, on the outskirts of the village of Meski, perched on a cliff, you will find a staircase leading down to the source. From there, you will have a magnificent view of the ksar Meski and the palm grove.

🏞The Meski Blue Spring pools were built by foreign legionaries and are located in the Ziz Valley, just outside Errachidia. The water comes from a river that crosses the mountain above the ponds, and enters the Meski Blue Spring through a hole in the mountain wall.

🔍 Residents of a nearby village often descend to the waters of Meski's Blue Spring for their daily water supply.
Tourists come to this beautiful attraction to enjoy the unique atmosphere and environment.

🏺 Souvenir sellers also take advantage of the influx of tourists to sell some of their products.

👧Local legends say that swimming pools increase fertility. Young girls come to bathe in the waters of Meski's Blue Spring in the hopes of increasing their chances of getting pregnant easily.

📣The place deserves more maintenance.

Oasis Tafilalet: largest Oasis in the world

📍 Oasis Tafilalet 🌴

The world's largest oasis is not in Egypt or the Middle East, but in Morocco!

📌With an area of 77,000 km², this immense endless oasis is located in the hollow of the Ziz and Ghéris valleys and is spread over the towns of Erfoud and Rissani.

🌴The Oulad Chaker palm grove in the Ziz valley (Errachidia) is one of the emblematic landscapes with a panoramic view.

💧The Hassan Addakhil dam regulates the waters of the Wadis and promotes regular irrigation.

♻️In oasis and mountain areas, the irresponsible behavior of the inhabitants towards the flora is often perceived as a determining factor of deforestation, which is why raising the awareness of local development actors is an urgent need to preserve this precious heritage.

🔍Oases offer a dazzling abundance of life in the middle of the hot desert, where aggressive nature develops an absolute tyranny. It is also remarkable that they practically monopolized the flourishing of the very first great human civilizations, notably with the immense oases of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Merzouga

Merzouga Village

🚌How to get there?

Getting to Merzouga is much easier now than 5 years ago. The road to the village is now fully paved. Although there is no train to go there yet, it is possible to reach this desert village by bus or with your own car.

✈️BY AIR

The closest international airport is that of Fez then a little further that of Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech on the other side!

🚙 BY LAND

You should know that Merzouga is not served by train. If you don't have a car, I recommend taking a bus depending on where you are. The most practical is Meknes / Fes which are notably served by the train then take the bus or a large Taxi. Otherwise, take the Marrakech bus if you are coming from the South West side.

• From Meknes / Fez: allow around 7.15 hours drive from the city exit of the two cities Meknes and Fes (same duration). By bus: You can book all national coaches on Markoub. my . And the most famous companies that you can book online or by phone are CTM and Supratours.
• From Marrakech: Traveling from Marrakech to Merzouga by bus is quite a long journey (around 12 hours) so my best advice would be to cut this trip in half. I would suggest staying either in Ouarzazate for a day where you can visit Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, Tinghir where you can visit stunning rocky gorges. You can book all national coaches on Markoub.ma . And the most famous companies that you can book online or by phone are CTM and Supratours.

🌞 When to go to Merzouga?

The best time of the year to visit Merzouga is in the spring between the months of March and May, or in the fall between the months of September and November.
During these periods, the weather is not too hot and you will be able to enjoy your stay in the desert more. The temperature in summer reaches 40 ° C and rarely drops below 26.7 ° C at night.

📍Merzouga village

Formerly a small peaceful village of sedentary nomads, Merzouga quickly developed in 2002 into a major tourist attraction for this region of Morocco, following the construction of an asphalt road.

📌This small Saharan village located in the South East of Morocco 50km from the Algerian border is famous for its dunes, the highest in Morocco, Erg Chebbi.

🔎Merzouga has also been known by students from France and Europe, for more than a decade, to be the base for the famous student Raid, the Raid 4L Trophy, which sets up its bivouac there with its 1,200 cars every year.

♻️The balance of the Merzouga site is threatened by the anarchic construction of hotels, tourist overcrowding and the development of "mechanical sports" (quad).
Hotel tourism has an ecological impact: overexploitation of water resources and non-compliance with wastewater treatment rules.

🤸‍♀️What to do?

• Quad in the dunes
• Sunset camel ride in the desert.
• Sandboarding in the dunes.
• Go on a 4x4 ride to Erg Chebbi
• Visit Gnawa musicians at Khamlia village
• Seasonal Srij Dayet Lake known for its flamingos
• Moroccan National Automobile Museum
• Sand Bath
• Spend the night in a Bivouac in the desert
• Art Gallery Chez les Artistes
• Nomads visit

🚗Visit of neighboring villages:
- Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif de Rissani
- City of Rissani and its souk
- Village of Khamlia, visit of Gnawa musicians

🏨Accommodation

📍 Kasbah du Berger

If you are looking for a friendly place, a traditional decoration, an infinity pool that makes you dream at the foot of the dunes with an exceptional value for money, go to Kasbah le Berger with your eyes closed!

📣Deliciously romantic, this Moroccan Riad where you quickly feel at home while being disoriented! The isolation of the place invites you to relax and enjoy the peace of the desert. The interior decor is colorful and warm. In the evening, they organize cool musical evenings.

📌It is located very close to the dunes of Merzouga Erg Chebbi and 200m from the national road 13. Easy access by all cars .

🛌 The room was large, spacious and very clean with such a large bathroom.

🥘Good delicious Moroccan cuisine! The breakfasts are also good and complete. I advise you to take the evening meal. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff.

💰 The price is on average around 350 dhs for a double room with breakfast.

➖Only downside is the wifi which didn't work but hopefully they'll fix it soon.

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📍Café du Sud

This time I'll show you one of the posh inns of Merzouga: Café du Sud.

📜The history of Café du Sud dates back to 1986 when they pitched a tent near the dunes and served tea to the very few tourists arriving in this region. Often people would ask for a place to sleep, so eventually they built a small bivouac ⛺️ in the desert, with tents for people to stay overnight.
Then then a large quality hostel with 36 fully equipped rooms.

📌Located on the edge of the highest dunes in Morocco, the Erg Chebbi dunes are undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in the world.

🏊‍♀️ The hostel has a wonderful swimming pool, filled in an ecological way without removing water from the groundwater that exists under the dunes.
The evening musical evenings are super festive.

💰 Online prices are from 1600 dhs per night, try to call them generally the prices on the spot are cheaper especially in this health crisis.

📍Desert Camp Amanar, Luxury Camp

If you dream of a night under the stars in the heart of the sand dunes, Desert Camp Amanar and other Luxury Camps in Merzouga guarantee you a total change of scenery.

💞Everything is perfect, the staff very friendly, the transfer in 4 * 4 across the desert, camel ride. We had a magical stay that I highly recommend at this time when you have a serious need to cut yourself off from the world and recharge your batteries in the middle of the desert.

⛺️The comfort of the Bivouacs is impressive, worthy of a hotel room. Very clean bathroom and bedding. The decoration is traditional, and 100% Moroccan.

🍲 The meals are very good and served with class (candlelit dinner in the middle of the desert ... if that's not happiness!). The staff couldn't do enough for you.
Weather permitting, dinners and breakfasts are served outside the restaurant to take in the view and the magical setting.

🔥 The evening spent around the fire with tamtam and djembe will remain unforgettable.

🌅 Don't miss the desert sunrise. It’s breathtaking!

💰 The price was 400 dhs per person in half board + camel ride + transfer in 4 * 4

Sahara ou désert de Merzouga

Hiking in the Merzouga desert

I'm here to tell you about one of my favorite types of trips, spiritual tourism. The journey where you recharge your batteries and connect with nature. Indeed, the desert provides this magical feeling of inner journey.

🚶‍♀️ Walking in silence in the desert is an invitation to explore your "self" and one of the highest forms of meditation.

👨‍⚕️ This activity acts on physical health: anti-stress, improvement of pulmonary and cardiovascular health, strengthening of muscles, etc.

🧘‍♀️ But also on the mind: well-being, getting back to basics, going to meet oneself ...

📣I recommend anyone to take a meditative walk in the middle of the dunes, it is real therapy!

Dromedary or camel, mythical animal of the Sahara

A camel ride 🐪 is a must to do in the desert, which made me want to know more about this emblematic animal of the Sahara.

⚠️First of all, the dromedary 🐪 has only one hump, unlike the camel 🐫 which has two.

💧 The dromedary and water

The dromedary is the animal that resists heat the best, because it has the amazing ability to retain water, in several different ways:

🔅First, the dromedary can ingest 100 liters of water in less than 10 minutes, so it is able to rehydrate much faster than any animal.

🔅 Then, he knows how to vary his body temperature from 34 ° to 42 °, which allows him to adapt his sweating and therefore to better conserve water in his body.

🔅Finally, the dromedary has a kind of super power: it is able to withstand a water loss greater than 30%, while in other mammals this loss is fatal from 15%.

👨 The camel and the man

🗯The relationship between man and the camel dates back almost to the dawn of time. Nomads used it to transport their loads and save money during desert crossings in Africa and the Middle East.

🗯Because of its endurance and its ability to conserve water, the camel is the most suitable means of transport in the desert. Man will always need him to rally point to point in places where there is no track designed for motor vehicles.

🗯The camels are always attached to each other: it is the caravan. It may sound curious and even cruel, but in fact it's just that they're not going anywhere if they aren't guided. The leading dromedary (often a female because they are more concentrated) is led by a camel driver.

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