Desert Tour in Merzouga

January 10^th, 2026 

Around 10 am I started a private tour with H’med.  It was private as the campground wasn’t very busy and those staying had either done the tour or weren’t interested in it.  We hopped in a small SUV and headed out of town for our first stop, Srij Lake.

Morning by the desert.

There's Octi on the right.

The view from the other side.

The lake isn’t always there, but enough rainfall has happened in the last few months for the lake to be at a healthy level.  H’med pointed out that the few white specks in the distance, on the other side of the lake were some flamingos.  Those birds typically like salty water and when I asked if anyone swims here, he confirmed that the water was a bit salty.  No one goes out on a boat either.

The flamingos are somewhere out there.

Looking around at Lake Srij.

There's a coffee machine in the back of the minivan.  This is a fancy one.  I saw many "out of the trunk cafes" in Morocco.  H'med grabbed a coffee and chatted with some other locals while I checked out the lake.

In one direction I can see a snow capped mountain off in the distance...in the other, a massive sand dune.  Pretty cool.

We drove back to the main road to an antique car museum which happened to be closed.  I was fine with that as I’m not a big car guy.  I think it was just added to the tour since it happens to be here thanks to some local who is interested in classic cars.

Taking a shortcut across a piece of the desert.

Music was next on the agenda.  We drove to a small town about 7 kilometres south of Merzouga called Khamlia.  Its population of only 400-500 people is composed of mainly Gnawa and Berber people.  The Gnawa are descendants of slaves from “black Africa”, many of whom worked in salt mines. 

 

The town is centered around music played using a large double headed drum called a tbel that is hit with one curved stick and one straight one, and some metallic castanets known as karkabas.  The latter make a beat like horses’ hooves.

It says "Groupe Zaid" on one side of the door and the "Pigeons of the Sand" on the other.

A courtyard leading into the performing room.

We parked and got out just as a group of tourists were leaving.  My guess was that a show had just finished.  I was led into a room with bench seats running around the perimeter.  There were six members of the Gnawa all dressed in white.  Two of them had drums (tbels) hanging around their neck while the others were holding a set of karkabas in each hand.  It looked like they were going to put on a show just for me.  I couldn’t help but wonder how many times a day these musicians have to perform.

The empty theatre.

The musicians with their karkabas.

Their first song.

Getting in some dance moves.

The rhythm was pulsating and lively and it was quite loud in the small room thanks to its low ceiling.  Three other tourists walked in which was nice for everyone, I think.

Their second song.

I had to chuckle at their footwear...we have a few varieties of sandals and some white crocs.

The drummers.

The big finale.

After an enjoyable ten minutes of music, I hopped back in the car with H’med and we drove over the sandy dunes on route to our next stop which was a viewpoint.  The sand gave way to shale as we drove up a small hill and got out to take a look.

It's amazing that plants can make a go of it in such harsh terrain.

And even trees!

H'med called this "desert watermelon".  They are not edible for humans, but later I saw some goats eating them.  They just seemed odd to be essentially growing on the sand like that.

Lots and lots of melons.

A nice view of the desert.

With my guide H'med.

Next, we headed to the M’Fis mine where kohl and quartz are the main extracted minerals.  Kohl is a traditional powder-like mixture used as an eyeliner and to treat eye disease in many Middle and Far East countries.  

A derelict building from old mining days.

An old mine pit.

I liked the artwork of insects found here on the remnants of some mine buildings.  I did see a scarab later on the tour.

Some old building from the mining days.

    

A small village was built for the mine workers, but it has since turned into ghost town.  When Morocco gained its full independence from France, the mines were no longer proactively managed.  Interestingly, H’med mentioned that his dad Mohammed and his mom were born in the village.  Now the military does house some soldiers there, which seems a bit crazy as all of the buildings seem to be crumbling down.

The M'Fis village.

H'med is chatting with a couple of his friends (he seemed to know everyone).  I loved the guy in the blue's look.

Driving through the abandoned village.

The mosque in M'Fis.

Our last stop of the tour was to visit a nomadic family for some tea.  We drove 2-3 kilometres across a flat, rocky desert plain and reached a small settlement of nomads, with their hut-like tents spread out in little enclaves.  Each family seemed to have 6-7 tents.  H’med stopped at one family in particular, whom which I imagine he has an ongoing arrangement with, to bring tourists for some tea in exchange for tips and/or perhaps he pays them a stipend for their service.

It seemed almost unfathomable that these people live like this, and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like in the summer heat.  H’med explained that every morning the women had to walk a kilometre or two to get their water.  The huts were quite primitive looking although I did notice that the family we visited did have a big solar panel on their main hut…and then I noticed a car behind it, which was nicer than H’med’s vehicle.  Okay, they’re not doing too bad.

Sorry, I think my lens was dirty...  The brown material for this tent is made from camel hair.

Their nice car hiding in the background.

This is the flag for Berbers.  The blue represents the sky, the green the forests and the yellow the desert.  The symbol means freedom.

The two boys playing with an oven for making bread...of course it's safe to play with ovens!

A cute kid.

I think I scared them off.

This one kid decided to stay with dad, who was the only goat to be tied up.

What do you think is in there?  Rabbits.  I guess it keeps them nice and cool being in the ground.

After checking out their goats and rabbits and watching their two young boys playing (the kids don’t go to formal school), H’med led me to a shelter with small tables surrounded by hard cushions and suggested I sit down.  The mother of the boys, probably in her late twenties, brought a tray with tea and poured some for us.  She then returned with a plate with what she called “Berber pizza”.  It was…okay.  I did feel as though I crunched on a few bits of sand here and there, but I guess that’s to be expected when you live in the desert.  Although I only spoke briefly with her in French, she seemed very friendly and generous.

Love the resuse of the jeans.

Berber pizza.

Another abandoned village.

Our last activity of this three-hour tour was to go burning through the sand dunes in H’med’s little SUV.  You could tell he was an expert with a lot of experience banking his car along the sides of dunes, accelerating up steep slopes and down the other side.  I have to admit, it was really fun. 

Cresting a big dune.

A photo like this looks like the desert goes on forever, but Erg Chebbi is actually only about 35 kilometres long and 5-7 kilometres wide.

My steed.

Scanning the horizon.

A scarab making a long journey.  He was about half the size of my thumb.

Back to the action.

Ironically, this was the one time of the day that I hadn’t put my seatbelt on.  At the start of the tour, when we got back in the car at the lake, he had told me “Oh, you don’t need to put that on” as I did up my belt.  I told him that it was habit, and I felt naked without it.  However, for this part of the tour, for some reason I hadn’t buckled in as we left the nomads and thought I’d be insulting his driving abilities if I put it on now!

Back at Camp La Liberte, I was served a big lunch by his younger brother (half of which I kept for tomorrow) and then had a few hours to relax before I would be heading out into the dunes again, this time on a camel, to spend the night!

The foyer at Camp La Liberte.

The large dining room.

Part of my lunch.