Luxury Desert Trekking, Erg Chegaga
Walk the erg with a camel caravan behind you and a luxury camp at each end. Private departures, October to April.
As Featured In
Condé Nast Traveler Spain Condé Nast Traveler España, "Nómadas" VOGUE Greece The Telegraph Harper's Bazaar TelQuel MR. TRIPPERWalking, not riding
Most Sahara "trekking" is a camel ride between two fixed camps.
This is not that. You walk, five to seven hours a day, across the largest continuous dune field in Morocco. A camel caravan carries the luggage, the water, the food and the bivouac. A cook travels with the group and prepares every meal in the field. You carry a daypack.
And at one or both ends of every route, you sleep at Umnya: a real bed, linen, an en suite bathroom with a hot shower, and a chef. The contrast is the point. Four nights in a bivouac mean something different when the night before and the night after are spent somewhere with sheets.
Four Routes
Departing M'Hamid El Ghizlane or Foum Zguid, October to April
The short one
Erg Chegaga Taster
3 days, 2 nights · 18 km on foot
Two nights, one of them in the open. Enough to walk into the erg, sleep in a bivouac with nothing above you, and come back to a real bed. The version for people who want the desert on foot without clearing a week.
Private departure
Rates on request
Request pricingThe lake bed
Lac Iriki Crossing
4 days, 3 nights · 38 km on foot
The strangest surface in the Sahara, walked properly. You start at Foum Zguid, cross the dry bed of Lac Iriki, then climb into the western dunes and finish at camp. Four days, two of them sleeping in the open. The shortest route that is still a real crossing.
Private departure
Rates on request
Request pricingThe classic
Classic Erg Chegaga Crossing
5 days, 4 nights · 45 km on foot
The full width of Erg Chegaga on foot, with a night at camp at each end. Two nights in bivouac in the middle, which is where the trek actually happens. This is the one most people should book.
Private departure
Rates on request
Request pricingThe crossing
Foum Zguid to M'Hamid Grand Crossing
7 days, 6 nights · 90 km on foot
A genuine point to point: you start at Foum Zguid, cross the Iriki lake bed and the full length of the erg, and finish at M'Hamid. Six nights, four of them in the open. Almost nobody sells this route, and nobody sells it with a chef and a luxury camp at both ends.
Private departure
Rates on request
Request pricingThe short one
Erg Chegaga Taster
Two nights, one of them in the open. Enough to walk into the erg, sleep in a bivouac with nothing above you, and come back to a real bed. The version for people who want the desert on foot without clearing a week.
3
Days
18 km
On foot
1
Bivouac nights
1
Camp nights
2 to 12
Guests, private
Start: M'Hamid El Ghizlane · Finish: M'Hamid El Ghizlane · 2 to 12 guests, every departure private
Arrive at camp
Meet at M'Hamid El Ghizlane, private 4x4 into Erg Chegaga. Afternoon at Umnya: your tent, a shower, tea on the dunes. Kit check with your guide over dinner. Stargazing with the telescope if the sky is clear.
Into the erg
Breakfast, then walk east from camp into the dune corridors, roughly 18 km across the day with a long midday halt in the shade. The camels carry everything. Bivouac set up in a hollow before you arrive: fire, rugs, dinner cooked in the sand.
Back and out
Sunrise from the bivouac, breakfast in the sand, a shorter walk back to camp. Lunch and a shower at Umnya, then 4x4 to M'Hamid for onward travel.
The lake bed
Lac Iriki Crossing
The strangest surface in the Sahara, walked properly. You start at Foum Zguid, cross the dry bed of Lac Iriki, then climb into the western dunes and finish at camp. Four days, two of them sleeping in the open. The shortest route that is still a real crossing.
4
Days
38 km
On foot
2
Bivouac nights
1
Camp nights
2 to 12
Guests, private
Start: Foum Zguid · Finish: M'Hamid El Ghizlane · 2 to 12 guests, every departure private
Foum Zguid and the basin
Meet at Foum Zguid in the morning. Transfer to the trailhead and walk around 8 km onto the edge of the Iriki basin, enough to arrive somewhere that feels genuinely remote. First bivouac on the rim.
Across the lake
The long day, around 17 km straight across Iriki. Hard flat pan underfoot, white to the horizon in every direction, no landmark and no shade. Nothing else in Morocco walks like this. Bivouac at the eastern edge where the sand begins.
Into the erg
Around 13 km from hard pan into soft dune, the terrain changing under your feet across a single morning. Climb the western dunes of Erg Chegaga and drop down to Umnya in the late afternoon: hot shower, real bed, dinner, telescope after dark.
Departure
Breakfast at camp, a last walk on the dune above it if you want one, then 4x4 to M'Hamid.
The classic
Classic Erg Chegaga Crossing
The full width of Erg Chegaga on foot, with a night at camp at each end. Two nights in bivouac in the middle, which is where the trek actually happens. This is the one most people should book.
5
Days
45 km
On foot
2
Bivouac nights
2
Camp nights
2 to 12
Guests, private
Start: M'Hamid El Ghizlane · Finish: M'Hamid El Ghizlane · 2 to 12 guests, every departure private
Arrive at camp
4x4 from M'Hamid into the erg. Settle at Umnya, briefing, dinner, stargazing. You start the walk rested, which matters more than people expect.
Western dunes
Enter the erg on foot from the western edge. Around 15 km through the dune corridors, climbing and descending soft sand. First bivouac between two high dunes.
The deep day
The longest day, around 18 km. By late morning there is no landmark in any direction. Your guide reads dune morphology, sun angle and wind. Second bivouac.
Iriki edge and return
Around 12 km north toward the edge of the Iriki basin, the dry salt lake, then turning back toward camp. Arrive at Umnya in the late afternoon: hot shower, real bed, dinner.
Departure
Breakfast, a last walk on the dune above camp if you want it, then 4x4 to M'Hamid.
The crossing
Foum Zguid to M'Hamid Grand Crossing
A genuine point to point: you start at Foum Zguid, cross the Iriki lake bed and the full length of the erg, and finish at M'Hamid. Six nights, four of them in the open. Almost nobody sells this route, and nobody sells it with a chef and a luxury camp at both ends.
7
Days
90 km
On foot
4
Bivouac nights
2
Camp nights
2 to 12
Guests, private
Start: Foum Zguid · Finish: M'Hamid El Ghizlane · 2 to 12 guests, every departure private
Foum Zguid
Meet at Foum Zguid. Transfer to the trailhead and a short afternoon walk to loosen the legs. First bivouac on the edge of the Iriki basin.
The lake bed
Around 16 km across Iriki, the ancient salt lake. Flat, white, and vast enough that the horizon stops meaning anything. One of the strangest surfaces you will ever walk on. Bivouac at the far edge.
Into the sand
The terrain changes from hard pan to soft dune, around 15 km. Slower going, higher effort. Bivouac inside the erg proper.
The high dunes
Around 17 km through the tallest section of Erg Chegaga, dunes near 300 metres. The hardest and best day of the crossing. Bivouac in a hollow.
Down to camp
Around 14 km east, dropping out of the high dunes toward Umnya. Arrive mid afternoon: shower, bed, a long dinner, telescope after dark.
Recovery and dunes
A deliberately slow day at camp. Sleep in, eat, walk the dune above camp at sunset if you feel like it. Fire and Berber music in the evening.
Departure
Breakfast and 4x4 to M'Hamid.
What you carry
A daypack, and that is all
- ✓ A camel caravan carries all luggage, bedding, water, food and shelter
- ✓ You walk with a daypack: water, layer, camera, sun protection
- ✓ A 4x4 support vehicle shadows the route on the accessible sections
- ✓ Bedding, mats and a proper shelter are set up before you arrive each evening
The bivouac
Sleeping in the open, properly
- ✓ Real bedding, not a bare sleeping bag on sand: mattress, sheets, blankets
- ✓ A cook travels with the group and prepares every meal in the field
- ✓ Dinner served on rugs, by candlelight, two courses
- ✓ A private toilet tent set up at every bivouac
- ✓ Camp broken down and packed out each morning, nothing left behind
Being honest about the effort
How hard is it, really
Walking on soft sand costs roughly a quarter more effort than the same distance on a path. The dune climbs are short but steep, and the descents are easy and enjoyable. Days run 5 to 7 hours of walking with a long halt through the hottest part of the afternoon.
If you walk regularly and can manage a full day in hills without it ruining you, the Classic and the Grand Crossing are within reach. If you are not sure, or if you are bringing someone who is not sure, book the 3 day Taster. It has one walking day, and it tells you honestly whether you want more.
Minimum age is 16. A 4x4 shadows the accessible sections of every route, and the camels can carry a person as well as luggage, so nobody is ever stuck between suffering and spoiling the trip for the rest of the group.
When to Walk
We run treks October to April, and not in summer
Warm days, cool nights. One of the two best months.
Excellent. Comfortable walking temperatures throughout.
Cold nights, often near freezing. Clear skies, very few people.
The coldest month at night. Superb light and visibility by day.
Cold early, warming through the month. Good conditions.
Excellent. Long days, mild nights, the classic trekking month.
The other best month. Warm but not yet severe.
We do not run treks. Daytime heat makes multi day walking genuinely unsafe.
What to bring
A short packing list
- ✓ Walking boots already broken in, plus sandals for camp
- ✓ Long, light, loose layers: the sun matters more than the heat
- ✓ A warm layer and a hat for the evening, nights drop fast
- ✓ Sunglasses, high factor sun cream, lip balm
- ✓ A headtorch
- ✓ A 2 litre water capacity for the walking day
- ✓ Everything else, we carry
Questions
How fit do I need to be?
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What is the difference between this and a camel ride?
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Where do I actually sleep?
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Why start at Foum Zguid rather than M'Hamid?
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Is there phone signal?
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How large are the groups?
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What about food?
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When can I go?
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Can you combine a trek with a stay at the camp?
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What if someone in the group cannot continue?
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How much does it cost?
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Do you work with travel agencies?
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Request Dates
Every departure is private
Tell us the route, roughly when, and how many of you. We reply within 24 hours with availability and a full itinerary.
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