Getting to Erg Chigaga from Foum Zguid: crossing Iriki in three landscapes

Why the Chigaga desert begins at Foum Zguid

Set below the Jebel Bani on the N12 linking Tata and Zagora, Foum Zguid lies roughly 150 km from Ouarzazate by way of Tazenakht. Beyond its last houses the tarmac stops, and with it any sign of a road.

Choosing this entrance turns the journey into a chapter of its own. Iriki National Park, created in 1994 and spreading over about 123,000 ha, unrolls its stony plateaus, and then the lake itself opens out as a flat, cracked surface that is almost always without water. You therefore reach the dunes having already crossed an entire desert, rather than enduring a mere transfer to camp. There is also the eastern entrance, via M’Hamid; for the dunes, camps and seasons, see our Erg Chigaga page.

Three landscapes between Foum Zguid and camp

Stops differ from one option to another; the sequence of scenery stays much the same.

1. Hamada and flat-topped hills. The 4×4 leaves town and, on the one-day outing, follows the line of the former Paris–Dakar rally track. Low hills, mesas and a few acacias in Iriki park make up the view. At Zaouiat Sidi Abdenabi the day trip breaks for lunch in a mud-brick house.

2. The floor of Lake Iriki. After that nothing rises above the ground: a floor of cracked clay, whitened with salt in places, where the eye runs to the horizon. This is where the photo stops happen. On the three-day version a fossil site and the Titanic Iriki, a guesthouse famous for its ship-shaped décor, punctuate the crossing.

3. Tamarisk, then sand. When the first tamarisk bushes appear, the dunes are close. Camp sits just beyond.

With no long break, the track takes 2.5 to 3 hours. Add lunch and photographs and the outward leg fills much of the day. We accept that, because the crossing is the first highlight of the trip. A few stretches are bumpy; if rough tracks bother you, say so when booking.

Staying elsewhere? Routes from M’Hamid, Zagora, Ouarzazate and Agadir

We quote a duration only when it is certain; otherwise it depends on the road and the stops.

• M’Hamid El Ghizlane: the eastern approach, with about 55 km of track. Our loops from Zagora and Ouarzazate use it on the way out.
• Zagora: the 2 days / 1 night circuit, from €225, goes up through the Drâa valley and M’Hamid, then comes back via Iriki and Foum Zguid. You are back in Zagora around 1 pm on day two.
• Ouarzazate: the same idea over 2 days / 1 night, from €290; pick-up at 8 am, return late in the afternoon through Iriki, Foum Zguid and Tazenakht.
• Agadir: the 3 days / 2 nights trip, from €410, goes via Taroudant, Taliouine and Tazenakht, with a night in Foum Zguid before the track and a second night in camp.

From Marrakech or Agadir, the 6-day trek towards Chigaga takes care of the transfer to Foum Zguid. And if you arrive in your own car, leave it in town: you continue in our 4×4.

Chigaga in a day: the essentials, without the night

The Erg Chigaga day trip from Foum Zguid costs from €100 per person. In the morning you drive through Iriki park. At midday you sit down to lunch at Zaouiat Sidi Abdenabi. In the afternoon the tamarisks lead to camp, where welcome tea awaits and there is free time to climb a dune; an hour’s camel ride is requested as an extra. Then you head back over Lake Iriki, with photo stops, to Foum Zguid.

It is a big day on the track, suited to anyone with only twenty-four hours or no wish to sleep under canvas. What it costs you is the colours of evening and morning on the crests.

Sleeping among the dunes: 2 days / 1 night

From €140 per person, the Erg Chigaga desert adventure is what we usually recommend.

On the first day you leave Foum Zguid, cross the dry bed of Lake Iriki and reach the dunes. The late afternoon is spent on camelback until sunset; dinner is served by the fire, and you sleep in a nomad tent with only the wind for company. In the morning the sun rises over the sand during breakfast at camp, then the 4×4 takes the plain and the table-top hills back to Foum Zguid.

The mileage matches the day trip, only split over two days. You gain the evening and the dawn, when the light is softest and the silence deepest.

Three days: a detour via fossils and the Titanic Iriki

The Foum Zguid to Erg Chigaga trip over 3 days / 2 nights, from €260, takes its time.

1. First day: afternoon start, about 60 km of track, a halt at a fossil site, tea facing the sunset, then dinner and a night at the Titanic Iriki.
2. Second day: through dry country, a visit to a nomad school and arrival at Chigaga. Camel ride, dinner, evening music and a night in camp.
3. Third day: dawn over the dunes, a walk on the sand, then back via Lake Iriki with a few stops on the cracked plains.

Which option suits your situation?

Want to walk for several days with a camel caravan beside you? Look at our Moroccan desert treks. For a smaller and quieter dune field, a camp at Erg Lmhazil works well. Every departure from Foum Zguid is gathered under Foum Zguid desert tours and prices.

Booking and getting ready

• Write to us in good time, especially in holiday periods: the programme and price are confirmed before you commit, on WhatsApp at +212 649 598 615 or via the contact page.
• The meeting point in Foum Zguid is agreed together when you book.
• A small bag is enough for the night.
• Keep cameras and phones away from dust.
• By day, light but covering clothes; in the evening, warm layers between October and April.
• If it has rained, Lake Iriki may hold water and the route may change: the driver decides.
• Never venture into the dunes alone in a private vehicle.

On the track you travel with Abdul, a guide based in Foum Zguid. His Google profile shows a 5.0 rating from 5 reviews.

Travellers’ questions