Erg Chebbi
A sea of golden-orange sand dunes near Merzouga, among the tallest in Morocco. Visitors ride camels at sunset and spend a night in a desert camp.
Merzouga (Sahara)
This village on the edge of the Sahara, beside the Erg Chebbi dunes, is known for overnight desert camps and camel rides.
Attractive locations
Kem Kem Beds
A band of desert cliffs and plateaus east of the Atlas, famous among fossil hunters for dinosaur and ancient fish remains. Local workshops in the area sell and prepare fossils.
Gara Medouar
A large, round rock formation rising from the desert plain of southeastern Morocco. Its ring-shaped walls enclose a basin, and the site is visited for its landscape and photography.
Ksar of Tabouassamt
A traditional earthen village in the desert of southeastern Morocco, showing the older style of fortified settlement found along the region's oases and caravan routes.
Khamlia
A village near the dunes known for its Gnawa community, whose musicians play drum-and-rattle music. Visitors can hear traditional songs and meet local families.
Rissani
A market town on the edge of the Sahara with a busy souk on market days and old fortified villages around it. It was once an important stop on caravan routes.
Airports
Moulay Ali Cherif Airport ERH
It is about 101 km in a straight line from Merzouga (Sahara).
Scams and safe taxis
Taxi and scam advice for this country is on the Morocco page
Weather by month
Each month shows its average temperature in °C and its mm of rain per month.
- Jan9.3 °C7 mm
- Feb11.4 °C6 mm
- Mar15.8 °C11 mm
- Apr20.2 °C6 mm
- May24.8 °C4 mm
- Jun29.9 °C3 mm
- Jul33.8 °C1 mm
- Aug32.9 °C3 mm
- Sep27.9 °C11 mm
- Oct22.0 °C14 mm
- Nov14.6 °C13 mm
- Dec10.2 °C6 mm
Driest months: Jun, Jul, Aug. Wettest months: Mar, Sep, Oct, Nov.
Costs
Prices here are about 42% of US prices (World Bank, 2025). This compares a country's overall prices, not the cost of a trip.
Who can help
Emergency
Police 19 (cities) or Gendarmerie 177 (countryside). Ambulance and fire 15.
local government
Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT)
Helps with: Morocco's national tourism office, which runs the official tourism website. Visitors can write to its Rabat headquarters or use the contact form on the website.
Who qualifies: Anyone travelling in Morocco or planning a trip there.
Address: Batiment 7, Avenue Omar Ibn Al Khatab, Arribat Center, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
local government
National medical emergency number 141 (listed by ONMT)
Helps with: The Moroccan tourism office's website says to call the single national toll-free number 141 in a medical emergency.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Morocco, including visitors, in a medical emergency.
Phone: 141
un agency
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Morocco
Helps with: The UN migration agency, supporting Morocco's migration management since 2007. It works on protection of vulnerable people, safe and regular migration and legal pathways.
Who qualifies: Migrants and vulnerable people on the move. It is not a help service for ordinary tourists.
Phone: +212 (0)5 37 65 28 81
Email: [email protected]
Address: 11 rue Ait Ourir, Pinede, Souissi, Rabat, Morocco