Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Taouz
Come to Taouz to spot mineral formations and possibly dinosaur bones where the desert
swallows the road. Between Merzouga and Taouz is the village of
Khamlia
, whose inhabit-
ants are believed to be descended from escaped slaves. This frontier town is home to not-
able Gnaoua musicians, including Les Pigeons du Sable (Sand Pigeons). Their music is
available on CD in Europe, and they occasionally perform locally and at Er-Rachidia's
Festival du Desert (
Click here
)
. Ask at their house (marked by a banner) for details.
A house beyond Taouz village,
Casa Taouz
, offers tea and occasionally food. If you have
a 4WD, several places to stay in the desert are signposted from the road with GPS loca-
tions.
THE END OF THE ROAD… OR NOT
Instead of turning back at Taouz, you could take the
piste
by 4WD about one hour/30km southwest to-
wards the 2km stretch of dunes at
Ouzina
, a seldom-visited desert destination known only to Sahara
savants. Here you'll find
Kasbah Ouzina
( 0668 98 65 00; per person incl half board Dh270) , a
small, tidy auberge with mercifully sand-free beds. At Ouzina the
piste
turns west towards the Drâa
Valley, heading 45km to
Mharje village
, where you can turn north onto a well-graded
piste
to
Alnif
,
where it intersects with the tarmac road to Zagora. Otherwise, you could follow a bumpy
piste
from
Taouz west towards the Drâa Valley south of Zagora. Either way, the Taouz-Zagora journey takes at
least seven hours, equipped with plenty of water, petrol, food, a spare tyre, a mobile phone and a
Sahara-savvy guide.
