01Geography
The largest hot desert in the world
The Sahara covers roughly 9 million square kilometres, close to the size of the United States, and spreads across more than ten countries of North Africa, Morocco among them.
Merzouga, MoroccoDesert Concierge · Mon–Sat · 09:00–18:00 GMT+1
Things to do · Merzouga
What is the Sahara Desert known for?
The Sahara is known as the largest hot desert on Earth, stretching across North Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. It is famous for its sand seas and their dunes, its extremes of heat and cold, its caravan history and the nomadic peoples who still live on its edges. Morocco holds its north-western corner, around Merzouga and M'Hamid.
Why it's famous
What the Sahara is known for
02Landscape
Sand seas and giant dunes
Its sand seas, called ergs, are the image most people picture. In Morocco, Erg Chebbi near Merzouga has dunes that rise to around 150 metres, and Erg Chigaga near M'Hamid is larger and more remote.
03Landscape
More rock than sand
Most of the Sahara is not dunes at all but stony plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys and mountains. Driving to Merzouga, you cross long stretches of this rocky desert before the dunes appear.
04Climate
Extreme temperatures
Summer days are among the hottest on the planet, while clear desert nights lose heat fast. In winter, nights in a Moroccan desert camp can fall below freezing.
05History
Caravan trade routes
For centuries camel caravans carried gold, salt and other goods across the desert. Sijilmassa, whose ruins lie by Rissani near Merzouga, was one of the great caravan cities at the Sahara's northern edge.
06People
Nomadic and Amazigh culture
The desert edges are home to Amazigh (Berber) communities and nomadic families who herd goats and camels. Around Merzouga, some families still live in tents among the dunes.
07Culture
Gnaoua music
In Khamlia, a village near Merzouga, Gnaoua musicians descended from West African communities keep alive a tradition of drums, iron castanets and trance songs.
08Nature
Fossils
The rocks around Erfoud and Rissani are rich in marine fossils such as ammonites and trilobites, left from a sea that covered the region hundreds of millions of years ago.
09Nature
Night skies
Far from city lights and with dry, clear air, the Sahara is one of the best places to see the Milky Way. A night in a desert camp is the easiest way to experience it.
10Language
Its name
Sahara comes from the Arabic word for desert, so "Sahara Desert" literally repeats itself.
Frequently asked
What is the Sahara Desert most famous for?
Being the largest hot desert in the world, at roughly 9 million square kilometres, and for its sand dunes, extreme temperatures, caravan history and nomadic peoples.
Which countries is the Sahara Desert in?
It spreads across more than ten countries of North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan.
Where is the Sahara in Morocco?
In the south-east. The most visited dunes are Erg Chebbi near Merzouga and Erg Chigaga near M'Hamid, both a long day's drive from Marrakech.
Is the Sahara all sand?
No. Sand seas cover only part of it; most of the Sahara is rocky plateau, gravel plain and mountains.
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