Things to do
5-
Erfoud
Fossil workshops line the roadside in this town north of the dunes, cutting and polishing black marble shot through with marine creatures that lived when the Sahara was seabed. Quarries in the hills nearby can be visited. A date festival takes over the town in October, and the fuel and cash machines here are the last before the sand.
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Other
Erg Chebbi
Wind built this sea of orange sand into ridges that rise well above the stony plain around them, the tallest of them near the western edge. Camel trains leave in late afternoon for camps set between the dunes, returning after sunrise. Nights turn cold from November onward, and blown sand gets into cameras and bags.
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Khamlia
Gnaoua musicians descended from sub-Saharan communities live in this small village south of the dunes, where daily sessions of drums, castanets and call and response are held in a plain concrete hall. Sessions last around an hour and run on request as much as on schedule. Tea is served, and a contribution is expected.
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Rissani Souk
Three days a week the market fills with dates, livestock and hardware, and a donkey park handles the traffic at the gate. Medfouna, a stuffed flatbread baked in ash, is the thing to eat in the covered food section. The town was the cradle of the ruling Alaouite dynasty, and a mausoleum to its founder stands nearby.
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Todra Gorge
Limestone walls close to a slot barely wide enough for the road and the river at the narrow end of this canyon near Tinghir, rising hundreds of metres on either side. Climbers work the routes on the shaded face. Coaches stop at midday and the floor gets busy, so early morning holds the cold air and the quiet.