Our small family-run camp at Erg Znaigui, Merzouga
A camp run by desert people, in the desert they grew up in.
Who we are
We are a Berber family from the Merzouga area. We built the camp, we maintain it and we run it ourselves: no middlemen, no chain behind us.
That is why dinner is what we eat at home, the music afterwards is played by our own team, and when you ask about a route, the answer comes from someone who has crossed these dunes all their life.
What Erg Znaigui is, and why it is not Erg Chebbi
Almost everyone arrives in Merzouga looking for Erg Chebbi, the big sea of dunes, the one in the photographs. Erg Znaigui is the neighbouring erg: smaller, far less travelled, about twenty minutes from the centre of Merzouga on the N13 towards Taouz.
The practical difference is not the landscape. It is the same sand and the same sunsets. The difference is how many people are in it. Along the Erg Chebbi strip the camps sit in a line, one beside the next: at night you hear your neighbour’s music and you see their lights. At Erg Znaigui there are very few camps, with plenty of distance between them.
That is why what guests write to us about afterwards is not the dinner or the dunes. It is the silence. It is the one thing that cannot be photographed and the hardest thing to explain before you come.
What changes when a family runs the camp instead of an agency
Plenty of camps around Merzouga belong to agencies in Marrakech or Fes and are run from a distance, with staff hired for the season. Ours is run by us. We are from here and we live here.
That shows up in specific things. Dinner is what gets cooked at home, not a menu designed for tourists. The music afterwards is played by the team, not by a band that is booked, turns up and leaves. And when you ask about a route, about the weather, or about where the sunrise looks best, the answer comes from someone who has been crossing these dunes their whole life.
It also shows in what we say no to. We close the whole of July because the heat makes it impossible to enjoy, and we would rather lose a month of the season than sell a night nobody would remember fondly.
Only ten tents
There are camps in Merzouga with forty or fifty tents. Ours has ten, and that is not a stage we are passing through: it is the size we intend to stay.
With ten tents we know every guest by name, what time they want breakfast, and whether someone would rather eat apart. With fifty that is impossible, however hard you try.
It also changes what you hear. A big camp makes noise: generators, groups arriving late, music coming from several places at once. Here, once the fire dies down, there is nothing left. It is what makes the camp work well as the base for a desert yoga retreat.
What there is at the camp
The ten tents are pitched on firm, carpeted ground, each with its own private bathroom (toilet and hot shower) and with air conditioning and heating. That is not usual in a desert camp, and it is the difference between sleeping and getting through the night.
At the centre is the restaurant tent, with Moroccan lamps and low tables, where dinner and breakfast are served. Next to it, the fire: that is where the evening ends, with live Berber music played by the team.
And all around, the dunes of Merzouga. There are no fences and no reception desk: you step out of your tent and you are on the sand.
What a night here is like, start to finish
We pick you up wherever you are and do the last stretch by 4x4, because it is over sand. On arrival there is mint tea and we show you to your tent. If you are flying in, we arrange the private transfer from the airport.
Before the sun goes down the camels head out: the sunset ride is part of your stay. Anyone who would rather stay behind, stays; nobody has to do anything they do not want to.
Dinner is served in the restaurant tent. Then the fire, and the music. And once that dies down, the stars, which in this part of the desert look like something you do not quite believe until you are underneath them.
In the morning, most guests climb a dune to watch the sun come up. By the time you are back, breakfast is laid out. And if you have to leave early for Fes or Marrakech, we serve it earlier.
How we look after the desert
We live here, so this is not a marketing line:
- Traditional, local materials in the tents.
- Water and waste handled the way the desert requires.
- Jobs and supplies from the Merzouga community.
Questions about the camp
Where exactly is the camp?
At Erg Znaigui, close to Erg Chebbi, twenty minutes from the centre of Merzouga on the N13 road towards Taouz. We are not on the strip where most camps are grouped, and that is the difference you notice most at night.
How many tents does the camp have?
Ten, and that is not a stage we are passing through: it is the size we want to keep. With ten we know every guest’s name and what time they want breakfast. With fifty that is not possible, however hard anyone tries.
Who runs the camp?
A Berber family from the Merzouga area. We built it, we maintain it and we look after you ourselves. There is no middleman and no chain behind us.
Can the whole camp be booked?
Ask us: message us with your dates and numbers and we will tell you what is possible.
Are you open all year?
All year except July. In high summer the temperatures here are extreme and we would rather close than offer a stay that cannot be enjoyed.
Is there electricity and hot water?
Yes, in all ten tents. Each has its own bathroom with a toilet and a hot shower, plus air conditioning and heating.
How is it different from a large camp?
In the noise and in the attention. A camp of forty or fifty tents needs bigger generators, takes in groups that arrive late and usually has music coming from several places at once. Here, when the fire goes out, there is nothing left.
4.9 / 5 · over 160 Google reviews
Come and see it
Tell us your dates and how many you are and we will confirm availability. From €100 per tent per night.
+212 661 614 125 · We always reply the same day.
Keep reading
- Luxury tents in the Merzouga desert Ten private tents in our luxury tented camp in Morocco, from €100 to €425 a night depending on occupancy. All with their own bathroom, a hot shower and air conditioning and heating.
- Things to do in the Merzouga desert Knowing the Sahara means more than looking at its dunes: it means crossing it, hearing its silence and meeting the people who live in it.
- Tassili Luxury Desert Camp reviews: what our guests say We do not publish a review on our site that is not already on a public platform.