Day 6: Merzouga / Hassilabied - Adventure in the Desert

1.04.26

Highlights of the day:

· Camel ride through the desert

· Buggy tour to the highest dune of the Erg Chebbi desert

· Desert hotel

After breakfast, we pack our belongings and only keep the essentials like passports and money with us, giving everything else to the driver, and then we start our camel trip through the small dune landscape to our car (at least we hope so). It seems like no one else wants to return by camel, we are the only ones and are allowed to choose two from the eight camels that are peacefully lying in front of the camp.

We quickly clarify the payment details (since we had booked and already paid, the young camel driver wants more money from us and speaks almost no English 🤨🙈). Once everything is sorted, we get on the camel. My husband, of course, chooses the only white camel, and I pick the biggest one (better view 😂😂). As the camel stands up, you have to be careful not to fall forward because its hind legs rise first – I know many videos about that – and then we slowly proceed in a walking gait towards the dunes. A smaller white camel and a light brown young camel, tethered to my camel saddle, follow behind. Until now, I hadn’t noticed many visual differences among camels, but our three are really striking. The large white camel is impressive, mine is – okay – just big, but the small white camel behind me has very light blue eyes. I’ve never seen anything like that. It's admirable how lightly our young camel driver runs ahead. When I think about how clumsily we trudged through the sand to the dunes yesterday and how effortless it looks for the young guy down there…

On the highest dune, we take photos – the young man knows exactly how to best showcase us – then we continue to the other side of the dune landscape, heading towards the settlement. We are allowed to dismount (watch out! Camel suddenly bends forward 😂), and then he offers us his small stone camels and sand roses – we take a souvenir each for the “kids” back home and wait for our driver, who hopefully brings us back to our car, which my husband had to repark late last night…

The driver takes us to an abandoned desert camp where our cars are parked. In contrast to our camp, this one is located right by the dunes, although it is almost on the other side by the settlement.

Before we leave, we take a look around the camp. Apparently, the guests are all gone. Some tents are open and we can see used beds; the embers from the fire are still warm.

There was probably a whole bus tour that left very early in the morning. But we don’t know for sure.

We drive back through the maze of sandy tracks, potholes, and rubble towards the paved road at Hassilabied. The weather is great today too – plenty of sunshine at +21 degrees – although the felt temperature in the sun is significantly higher.

Yesterday was the warmest day so far with +27 degrees.

Finally reaching the road, we drive towards Merzouga. Our accommodation for today is situated exactly between Hassilabied and Merzouga. From a distance, we can already see an ATV rental on both sides of the street, with quads lined up in long rows beside the road, and from the desert, we can see a buggy tour returning.

We spontaneously stop at “Desert ATV Quad & Buggy Tours” on the left side of the road to inquire about a possible tour.

We originally wanted to ride a quad, but I’m not really in the mood to drive myself. The solution: a 1-hour buggy tour. We get a private tour and can start right away – cool!

A large helmet ensures our safety (I'm already sweating), a brief explanation on how a buggy operates, and off we go. Our guide takes off in the quad ahead of us, and we follow in the buggy.

So far, I find everything amusing. We speed into the dunes, racing up and down (too fast!!!!), my husband is cheering with joy, and I'm relieved when we reach the highest dune and take a break. After the photoshoot, we continue. I still don’t want to drive (maybe I should have...), so we race through the dunes, past camels and other tourists to a very special spot. Our guide stops abruptly and points right at a small rock in the sand. I see nothing…

Upon closer inspection, however, we spot a small desert fox! Wow! How cool is that????

The phone zoom is not optimal, but it is recognizable.

Our guide is beside himself, saying it’s extremely rare to see the fox.

Check! Very good.

The last minutes back to the station are the worst… I feel “carsick,” I’m intensely nauseous and trying to meditate away my impending “vomiting.”

If we had taken a photo upon arrival, I would probably have looked green in the face.

My husband is still high on speed, while I slowly regain a healthier complexion. Helmet off, using an air nozzle to clean the sand off my clothes, and we continue towards Merzouga.

In Hassilabied, we stop at the “Sand Rock Cafe” for a drink – with a nice view from the rooftop terrace. I’m slowly starting to feel better.

Our next overnight stop is Hotel Kanz Erremal. I pondered long and hard whether a second night in the desert made sense and if so, where we should spend it. The deciding factor was the location – seemingly right on the dunes – and also a pool – right by the dunes!? Plus, it was so incredibly affordable that I couldn’t say “no” and at the same time was unsure whether I had booked something “decent”….

We actually just paid 20 € per person including breakfast here (with an online discount)…. so I’m curious.

We reach the Kasbah Hotel Kanz Erremal via a sandy track, built in the style of an old Moroccan kasbah. We’re astonished at how cool it is inside the building – without any air conditioning. The entrance hall is furnished with tables and sofas, at the end is a large reception, and next to it is a door leading to a view – how crazy is that – directly on the dunes!

I’m already impressed!

We get our room key and check into the best room with a dune view on the 1st floor! The style is typical of the region – we like it a lot. The bathroom has all modern amenities mixed with local style. In front of our room is a massive panoramic balcony overlooking the dunes. Unfortunately, it’s not accessible from the room, and – as we later find out – if someone is sitting on the balcony sofa underneath our bathroom window, they can hear everything 😅

Outside, we encounter the highlight: the pool right next to the desert!

We find it too chilly for swimming, but perfect for chilling in the shade on a lounge chair, with a view of the desert – awesome!

The other tourists who come to the pool afterwards are not as delicate as us and swim & splash around in the pool.

We spend the afternoon here and explore the desert 1 hour before sunset. Camel tours also start from here; the camels have their gathering place here and are grazing.

We climb one of the higher dunes and watch the wild activity of quad tours, camel tours, and 4WD Jeeps trying to climb the highest dune.

There’s a lot going on here…. Now I’m actually glad we were only in the “small” dunes at the desert camp. It was much more private there and far less busy.

We enjoy the sunset and then walk back while a massive convoy of Jeeps (including rooftop tent campers) makes its way through the dunes. It seems they want to camp somewhere in the dunes.

Back at the hotel, we have dinner (the hotel offers dinner). I have a vegetarian Berber omelet (eggs with tomato, spices, and flatbread), and my husband has a date chicken tagine. We treat ourselves to a bottle of wine, ahead we had salad and for dessert, fruit. Very delicious!

Later, we explore the rooftop terrace and still see many lights in the dunes.

What a cool day today! I'm already sad that tomorrow we have to move on. The dunes are truly fascinating!

For the statistics:

Drove: 18 km

Walked: 15,616 steps

Weather: 26 degrees, dry & sunny (at night 11 degrees)

Accommodation: Hotel Kanz Erremal (double room, overnight/breakfast)