There are many small villages you can visit while in the Moroccan desert, all with different and unique things to offer. For instance, a trip to Khamlia village will allow you to discover the origins of the famous Gnaoua music genre and meet its masters. If you’re a fan of geology, fossils and minerals, then make sure to stop by the village of Erfoud and visit the fossil museum. Another desert village you can visit is Rissani, where you can experience what a traditional weekly open market looks like in Morocco.

Quad bike rides

Besides camel trekking, quad bikes fall as a close second to the most interesting and fun means of transportation through the Moroccan desert. Quad bikes are going to be abundantly available for rent anywhere in the Sahara desert, and we recommend going for a ride at least once! They can be a ton of fun to ride with friends and family, while the desert winds run through your hair and face. Hold a quad bike race with other riders, or enjoy taking cool pictures and videos with your quad, the possibilities are endless!

Sandboarding

Sand surfing, or sandboarding, is exactly what it sounds like. If you’re a fan of skateboarding or snowboarding and you want to test your skills in a new environment, then sand surfing is the sport for you. This activity is especially interesting when you’re at the Moroccan desert because this is where you’ll find the largest sand dunes in the world, which makes it so much more unique!

Sand bathing

For centuries, desert locals have been using this ancestral practice to help relieve joints pain and rheumatism. Granted, this is an alternative medicine practice so you can’t go in expecting to get cured from your illness, but it definitely helps relieve pain and symptoms. How the “sand baths” work is that you will be buried from the neck-down in the hot Moroccan desert sand and remain there for a few minutes. Although the desert will be hot, it’s still very bearable and not uncomfortable at all. 

Enjoying a bonfire

One of the best parts about spending a night in a desert camp is gathering around the bonfire and sharing unforgettable memories. Every night that you will spend out in the Moroccan desert, you will enjoy local music, Berber drums and interesting stories around a bonfire lighting up the dark. Whether it be desert tunes or classical guitar, there will always be a nightly music session animated by talented locals. Entertainment, good food, a bonfire and fun times, what more are you looking for? 

Trying local cuisine

All this talk of wandering through the Moroccan desert is sure to make one hungry, right? You don’t need to worry about going hungry while enjoying your desert excursion, because there’s a ton of local cuisine for you to try out! One of the main specialties of the area is Medfouna, which is a meat filled bread that’s cooked in the sand, as organic as it gets. You might have heard about Medfouna before under the name “Berber pizza”, which is pretty accurate considering the round shape of it.

Observing wildlife

The Moroccan Sahara is home to a diverse wild life, which you might spot during your trip if you’re lucky enough! Barbary sheep, onyx, jackal and the sand fox are some of the most prominent examples of wildlife present in this desert. While spending the night in a desert camp, you can test your luck to see if you might a catch a photo of one of these species. What you can do is leave out a little bit of food after the lights and the fire are off, then wait to see what shows up to get a snack! Worst case scenario is no animals come, best case scenario you can get a really cute pictures of a little sand fox.