Day trips from Merzouga
No time for a long hike?
No problem! We offer day trips from Merzouga for everyone who wants to spend some time in the desert away from the camps and all the other tourists. Whether you want do go for a short hike or for a shopping trip, we have you covered!
Our day trips from Merzouga
Day trip 1 - Remote oasis with picnic
This day trip from Merzouga is great for families or people looking for a rather quiet day.
Spend the day in a very remote oasis under palm trees surrounded by rocky hills. Climb up to enjoy the view over the surrounding area. Roam around the oasis to see if you can find a goat herd by the well.
Picnic lunch and tea included.
Day trip 2 - Fossils and petroglyphs
This is a great day trip from Merzouga for the geology nerds (like me). Spend the day looking at the ground in search of fossils. There are all kinds of treasures to find, shark teeth, orthoceras and if you are lucky, some trilobites or ammonites.
Berber Pizza for lunch prepared by a local nomad family.
In the afternoon we will go visit the petroglyphs in Taouz and if we still have time, the abandoned mines, before we head back to Merzouga.
Day trip 3 - Small mountain hike and lunch with nomads
This day trip from Merzouga is great for families with smaller kids.
We hike up a small mountain in the morning to enjoy the amazing views over the plains all the way to the dunes of Merzouga. On the way up (and down) we can find fossils along the way.
Lunch will be prepared by a local nomad family. On the way back to Merzouga we can stop at the abandoned mines and look for quarz rocks or just drive up to a nice view point.
Day trip 4 - Rissani Market and oasis
On Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday it is market day in Rissani. The town is full of people from the surrounding villages, some of them arriving on donkeys or horsecarts. All kinds of goods are sold, from fruit and veggies, over sheep and goats, to household goods, dates and clothes. Since it can be a bit overwhelming, one of us or a guide from the area will go with you, either with the local taxi or a comfortable car, depending on your budget.
We will have lunch in one of the restaurants in Rissani before heading into the oasis to visit an old kasbah and the mausoleum of one of the current kings forefathers (the room with the actual tomb is only accessible to muslims though).
Day trip 5 - One day hike
We drive south in the morning and start our hike by climbing the highest dune in a small dune field. From here we can see the mountains to the north, a wide river bed to the south, and in the east, the village that we will hike to for lunch.
But first we will have tea and a snack in a small guesthouse at the bottom of the dunes.
The hike to the village takes around 1,5 hours crossing the river bed between tamarisk trees and bushes.
We will eat Berber pizza for lunch, or couscous if it is a Friday.
In the afternoon we can walk around the village, visit the women’s association and check out their hand made carpets. There are also the ruins of an old kasbah and the gardens in a small oasis that we can explore.
