Erg Chebbi - Merzouga

The dunes known as Erg Chebbi rise majestically above the twin villages of Merzouga and Hassi Labied, and provide a must-see desert destination for all travelers to Morocco.  Legend has it that once, long ago, a wealthy family refused hospitality to a poverty-stricken woman and her young son, and God punished them by burying the entire family under the mounds of sand.  Reaching more than twenty-eight kilometers from north to south and heights of more than 160 meters, Erg Chebbi is extraordinarily scenic.  The rose-tinted golden dunes rise up dramatically from a flat, black hammada (stony desert) and emit stunning shades of orange, pink, and purple as the afternoon sun begins to set.

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