Merzouga Activities
4x4 desert tour in Merzouga with a local driver-guide: Khamlia music, a nomad family, Dayet Srji lake, the old mines and views over the Erg Chebbi dunes.
Overview
The great dunes are only part of Merzouga. Around them lies a wider desert of black volcanic stone, dry lake beds, palm gardens and small villages, and the best way to see it is on the tracks, in a 4x4, with someone who grew up here.
The tour makes six stops. In Khamlia you listen to Gnawa musicians, descendants of people brought across the Sahara centuries ago. You drink tea in the tent of a nomad family, look for birds at the seasonal lake of Dayet Srji and walk through the irrigated gardens of the Hassi Labied oasis. At M'Fis you see an abandoned lead mine and the fossils found in the rocks around it, and the museum of cars adds an unexpected collection of vehicles in the middle of the desert.
Detailed programme
Start
Your driver-guide collects you from your hotel or camp in a private 4x4 and heads south along the foot of the dunes.
The tour can be done in the morning or the afternoon and takes three to four hours with all six stops. Tell us if you would like a shorter version or want to add lunch with a local family.
Stops 1 – 2
In Khamlia you listen to Gnawa music, played by the descendants of people brought across the Sahara centuries ago. Further on, a nomad family welcomes you into their tent for tea.
Gnawa music came to Morocco with people brought from south of the Sahara, and Khamlia is one of the few villages where it is still played every day. The nomad families you meet live in tents of woven goat and camel hair and move with the seasons.
Stops 3 – 4
The seasonal lake of Dayet Srji attracts flamingos and other birds when it holds water. At Hassi Labied you walk between palm trees and vegetable plots watered by an old shared canal.
Dayet Srji is a seasonal lake: after wet winters it attracts flamingos, ducks and storks, and in dry months it becomes a wide salt flat that is impressive in its own way. In the oasis, each family has a set number of hours of water from the shared channel.
Stops 5 – 6
Around the abandoned mining village of M’Fis the rocks are full of fossils. The tour ends with a collection of vehicles you would never expect to find in the desert.
M’Fis was a mining village until the middle of the last century, and its ruined houses still stand against the dunes. Your driver will show you where to look for trilobites and other fossils in the rocks, before the last stop at the museum of cars.
This is a private experience, so times and stops can be adjusted to your arrival, your pace and the season.
Ask About This ProgrammeThe experience
Why choose this experience
Every stop is a meeting: musicians, a nomad family, gardeners in the oasis. Your driver-guide translates, explains and knows when to stay a little longer.
Why Choose This ExperienceWhat’s included
Not included
Good to know
Location
Frequent questions
Up to four passengers travel comfortably in one vehicle. For larger groups we use two or more 4x4s travelling together.
Yes. The drives between stops are short, and children usually love the music in Khamlia and the animals at the nomad camp.
Yes. Your driver-guide adapts the order to the time of day, the light and the season, and can skip or extend a stop if you prefer.
Yes. It is arranged for you and the people you travel with, so the timing and pace are yours.
Send us a message on WhatsApp or by email with your date and the number of people. We reply with availability and the price, and nothing is charged for enquiring.
Yes. It can be booked on its own or added to any of our private tours that pass through Merzouga.
What to know before you book your 4x4 desert tour in Merzouga, and what else to do nearby.
4x4 Desert Tour in Merzouga is one of 6 private Merzouga activities on our list. Other Merzouga activities include Quad Bikes (1–2 hours), Buggy Experience (1–2 hours), Cooking Class (2–3 hours) and Desert Yoga (1 hour).
The best things to do in Merzouga start with Erg Chebbi Dunes (morocco's great sea of sand), Desert Camps (a night among the dunes) and Khamlia Village (the home of Gnawa music). Other things to do in Merzouga include Nomad Tents, Dayet Srji Lake and Rissani; our Merzouga travel guide covers each one.
Our Merzouga day trips include Quad Bikes (1–2 hours), Buggy Experience (1–2 hours), Cooking Class (2–3 hours) and Desert Yoga (1 hour). Every one of our Merzouga day trips is private, so the start time and pace are yours.
