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Tent interior with two beds in white linen and ochre cushions

The camp in the deep erg

Sixty kilometres beyond the last paved road in Erg Chegaga. Eight suite tents, one tent or the whole camp, up to twenty guests.

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The facts, plainly

Where this camp actually is

Dune field
Erg Chegaga, the deep section
Region
Drâa-Tafilalet, southern Morocco
Coordinates
29.807568, -6.169379
Distance from tarmac
60 km west of M'Hamid El Ghizlane
Accommodation
8 canvas suite tents, each with a private en-suite bathroom
Capacity
Up to 20 guests, privatisation on request
Sky
Bortle Class 1
Mobile signal
None
Season
September to June
From Marrakech
about 8 hours 45 by 4x4, or 1 hour 40 by helicopter

We publish these because several third-party listing pages carry the wrong ones. If you have seen this camp described as having fourteen keys, four rooms, a villa or a location in Marrakech, that is not us. Eight tents, up to twenty guests, sixty kilometres past the tarmac. Last checked 2026-09-04.

One name, three places

Not all of Erg Chegaga is the same distance out

Camps an hour from the village and camps sixty kilometres out are both sold as Erg Chegaga. The difference is what you hear at night.

The deep erg, beyond the piste

Where we are

Sixty kilometres west of M'Hamid, past the point where the reg gives out and the dunes begin properly. No settlement, no tarmac and no light on the horizon in any direction. This is where we are, beyond the piste that day trips follow.

The near edge

Twenty-five to forty kilometres from M'Hamid, a shorter piste and a much easier day. Several camps sit here and it is a perfectly good way to see the erg. In high season you will hear other groups, and the horizon carries a little light.

The day-trip fringe

Within sight of the last village. Reached in an hour, sold as Erg Chegaga, and genuinely part of it. If you have one night and a tight schedule, this is the honest answer rather than the deep erg.

Taking the whole camp

When you take the whole camp, it is yours alone

You can book a single tent and share the camp with only a few other guests: there are eight tents, never a crowd. When you take the whole camp, the dining area, the fire, the majlis and the dunes above camp belong to your group for the length of the stay, and nobody else arrives.

When the camp goes as a whole, the rate is one figure rather than a per-person tariff, set case by case for your dates and party. For an organiser carrying the financial risk, that clarity is usually worth more than a headline number.

Every stay is quoted, because the season, the month and the shape of the programme all move the figure. Send the dates and the group size and you will have a written figure, usually within 24 hours.

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Questions

Erg Chegaga, answered

What is Erg Chegaga? +
Erg Chegaga is the largest sand sea in Morocco, roughly 40 km long and up to 15 km wide, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region of the south. Unlike Erg Chebbi at Merzouga, no paved road reaches it and there is no permanent settlement on the dune line. It is reached by unpaved piste from M'Hamid El Ghizlane, the last town on the tarmac.
How far from the road is the luxury camp in Erg Chegaga? +
The camp sits 60 km of piste beyond the last paved road, after M'Hamid El Ghizlane. Umnya Desert Camp is at 29.807568, -6.169379, which is sixty kilometres west of M'Hamid, in the deep section of the erg. There is no settlement or artificial light within tens of kilometres in any direction.
How many tents does Umnya Desert Camp have? +
Eight canvas suite tents, each with a private en-suite bathroom, hot shower, a real bed and a terrace facing the dunes. The camp takes up to twenty guests. Some third-party listing sites publish other figures, including 14 keys or 4 rooms; those are wrong and we are having them corrected. Eight tents and twenty guests are the accurate numbers.
Can the whole camp be booked exclusively? +
Yes. When you take the whole camp, it is yours alone and there are no other guests. Couples, families and friends can also book one tent or a few, and share the camp with only a few other guests. When the camp is taken as a whole, the rate is a single figure rather than a per-person tariff, set case by case for your dates and party.
What does a whole-camp buyout cost? +
We quote rather than publish a rate card. The season, the month, the length of stay and the shape of the programme all move the figure, and a four-night group stay and a five-day executive programme with visiting speakers are different products at different levels. Send us dates and a group size and you will have a written figure, usually within 24 hours.
How dark is the sky at Erg Chegaga? +
Bortle Class 1, the darkest classification on the nine-point Bortle scale. The Milky Way is visible to the naked eye with discernible structure. The reason is simple geography: there is no town, no road and no artificial light within tens of kilometres. Camps closer to Merzouga typically sit at Bortle 2 to 3 because of the town, and Agafay near Marrakech is 4 to 5.
How do you get to a camp in Erg Chegaga? +
By private 4x4 from Marrakech, about eight hours forty five, of which an hour and a half is the final sixty kilometres of unpaved piste across the reg and the dry bed of the Drâa. Or by helicopter from Marrakech Menara in one hour forty, landing at the camp. An ordinary hire car cannot make the final section.
When is the season? +
Open from September to June, closed in July and August. From October to April, days run roughly 18 to 28 degrees Celsius and nights from about 2 degrees in midwinter to 15 in the shoulder months. October, November, March and April combine the longest comfortable daylight with cool nights.
Is Umnya Desert Camp the same as Umnya Dune Camp? +
Yes, one property. The official name is Umnya Desert Camp. Some booking platforms still carry the earlier title "Umnya Dune Camp", and one old listing slug reads "Saida Dune Camp". All of them describe this same camp at the coordinates above.

More: Erg Chegaga compared with Erg Chebbi, how to get here, the Bortle 1 sky.

The other comparison

Agafay or the Sahara, what you actually get

A rocky plateau forty minutes from Marrakech, or a sand sea a day further. The numbers, side by side

Private buyout

Ask for your dates

The whole camp for your group, from two guests to eighteen. Tell us when and how many of you: a written proposal for the whole camp comes back within 24 hours, with no commitment.

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  • 2019

    Open since

  • 4.8★

    TripAdvisor

  • 8 tents

    The camp to yourselves

  • 24h

    A written proposal, no commitment