Editor’s note: Morocco is near the top of my travel list, so reading about Sam’s adventures is helping… for now. Have to plan a trip soon! For more of Sam Spector’s amazing writing, click here to visit his index.

It has been ten years this week since I went to Morocco, and my life has changed dramatically since then. I now have kids, a wife, and I make a good living; all that is to say that I do not travel in the same ways that I used to on a shoestring budget. Ten years ago, I would commonly in my travels take overnight ten-hour bus rides, figuring not only would I get to a place that I really wanted to go for cheap, but I would not have to shell out money for a hotel or hostel that night. Today, no way would I take a ten-hour bus ride with two kids, and spending a night on a bus does not sound as appealing as it once did. However, if you have the opportunity to travel the way that I used to, do it, especially if there is a narrow window in your life to do so. Of the many long bus rides I took in my backpacking days in my 20s, going from Marrakesh, Morocco to Merzouga was among the most memorable.

In departing Marrakesh, you very quickly arrive at the High Atlas Mountains, the highest part of the Atlas Mountain range, one of the world’s great mountain ranges stretching from Morocco through Algeria and Tunisia. While these mountains are incredibly beautiful, be sure to dress for cold; also, the roads were easily the windiest that I have ever been on and there were many people on board the bus who vomited. While driving through the Atlas Mountains, there will be many villages inhabited by the Berber people, dressed in traditional attire, and it will be common to see stands where goat and cow heads are on display.

Once you have exited the Atlas Mountains, your bus ride will continue through a smaller mountain range called Jbel Saghro, with Saghro meaning “drought” in the Berber language. This name is fitting as this area is the driest in the Atlas Mountain area and the region is a high desert plateau. As you go through the valleys and deserts, you will occasionally be treated to streams that lead to oases with small towns. In particular, you will drive past ksars, fortified villages, such as Ouarzazate and Ait Benhaddou, whose buildings and homes are made out of reddish Moroccan earthen clay. The latter village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is where many films and shows including Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, Gladiator, and Game of Thrones were filmed.

At long last, you will arrive in the tiny town of Merzouga, a village of only 400 people. Despite its small population, Merzouga is seen as somewhat of a desert wonderland, largely due to it being in the shadow of Erg Chebbi, an erg being a large sea of dunes created by the wind blowing sand. The dunes of Erg Chebbi span 28 kilometers from north to south and 7 kilometers east to west, and reach a height of 150 meters. According to legend, Erg Chebbi was once a lush jungle, and then God punished the area by creating the sand dunes and burying many towns in it after the locals refused offerings to a poor woman. Merzouga gained prominence as a trading post for merchants going to Timbuktu, and is today located only 31 miles from the border with Algeria; it is considered the westernmost part of the great Sahara Desert. While the region is very dry, be wary, as deadly flash floods have taken place there. In Merzouga, get the full experience of the desert by staying in a local home that is made of the Moroccan earthen clay. The streets of this small village will give you an authentic Moroccan experience that feels very off the beaten path. In the summer, Merzouga can reach temperatures as high as 113 Fahrenheit, but in the winter when I was there, while daytime reached in the 60s, while nighttime was quite cold.

Being in the middle of the desert with little light pollution, nighttime is almost as important as daytime in Merzouga. Sit back and enjoy views of countless stars from the Sahara Desert, and also join local Berbers sitting around a campfire talking and playing music. During the daytime, you will be awestruck by the views of the imposing Erg Chebbi. Be sure at sunrise or sunset to take a camel safari ride onto the dunes. You will feel absolutely dwarfed by the grandness of some of the world’s largest dunes and also by the incredible stillness and silence that you will experience while on them, especially as the golden sand is illuminated by the rising and setting sun.

From Merzouga, I continued my journey with a 7-hour bus ride to the great city of Fez. (Read about Fez here.) Going to Merzouga was way out of the way and required extremely long overnight bus rides to go to a place for only a day. However, the bus rides were beautiful and gave me the opportunity to experience both the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert, places I had heard of my entire life, and see the landscapes of places that I had only seen in movies. Getting to experience the Sahara Desert and those who live in its harsh climate is getting to experience truly one of the most unique wonders of the natural world.

Like it? Pin it!