Erg Chigaga — Saharan Dune Wild Camping

Erg Chigaga is the largest sand sea in Morocco, a belt of high orange dunes in the far south of Drâa-Tafilalet, reached from M’Hamid El Ghizlane. It’s wild camping in the real sense: choose a spot in the lee of a dune, with no facilities and no marked sites. A few tour operators run tented camps in the area, but plenty of independent overlanders just find their own patch of sand. Nights are cold even in shoulder season and the sky is huge.

The piste out from M’Hamid crosses reg, sand, and soft patches, and it’s easy to get lost, so carry a GPS track and a second navigation source. Bring a sand-capable 4WD, recovery boards, a compressor, and a lot more fuel and water than you think you need. Fuel up in M’Hamid, as there is nothing out on the dunes. Go October through April, because summer heat is brutal. Check local conditions and any military or police checkpoint requirements in M’Hamid before heading out. Have a dirty day.

Morocco's big Sahara dunes, camp where you like