Sunrise in the Erg Chebbi is a different experience from sunset. The air is cold and still, the sand has lost its heat overnight, and the wind that blows most afternoons has not started. The dune crests are sharp-edged because nothing has walked on them since the last wind smoothed them.
The ride leaves Merzouga in the dark, an hour or so before first light, and reaches a crest facing east with time to spare. Because the erg runs north to south, the sun comes up over the far ridges rather than the flat horizon, which is why the light arrives all at once.
It is the quietest time to be in the dunes; most visitors are asleep in the camps and the sand is empty.
Departure is in the dark, roughly an hour before sunrise, so the meeting time moves through the year from about 5.30am in summer to about 7am in midwinter. It is cold at this hour in any season; the desert loses its heat completely overnight.
The camels leave Merzouga in single file with head torches at the front of the train. On a clear night the last stars are still out on the ride, and the dunes read as shapes against the sky rather than colour. The ride out takes around forty minutes.
You dismount on an east-facing crest before the light comes. Sunrise in the erg is quick: the sky lightens for a while with nothing much happening, then the sun clears the far ridges and the whole dune field goes from grey to gold within a couple of minutes. The crests are unwalked at this hour and hold a clean edge.
After time on the ridge the camels head back, reaching Merzouga in the early morning as the day warms up.
Roughly an hour before sunrise, so between about 5.30am and 7am depending on the season. We confirm the exact time the evening before.
Colder than people expect. The desert loses its heat overnight and the hour before dawn is the coldest of the day. From November to March you want a proper jacket, hat and gloves; even in summer a fleece is worth carrying.
The light is sharper and the dunes are emptier and unwalked, so photographers usually prefer it. Sunset is warmer and easier to get to. If you are staying overnight in a camp you can do both.
Around ninety minutes in total, including the ride out, time on the crest and the ride back.
Yes, though the early start and the cold are the limiting factors rather than the ride itself. Younger children ride with a parent.
Yes. If you sleep in a desert camp you are already inside the erg, and the sunrise walk or ride starts from the camp itself. Ask us and we will arrange it that way.
This is the hour the desert is actually quiet. The afternoon wind has not started, the crests have not been walked on since the last one dropped, and almost everyone else is still in bed. The light when the sun clears the far ridges arrives in about ninety seconds and it is the sharpest of the day, which is why photographers pick this over sunset.
