What's on in Merzouga, Morocco through the year

Busy — Mid-year holiday in Morocco, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Flamingos on Dayet Srji

  15 Jan – 15 Apr · usuallyBirdlife season

  In a wet winter the seasonal lake west of the dunes fills and flamingos and waders drop in on their way north. In a dry one there is nothing there but a white pan.

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  19 Feb – 19 Mar

  Camps keep cooking for guests, but the drivers and camel men are fasting through the day and the village shuts until sunset. Everything shifts an hour or two later. Source ↗

Still on: Desert trekking season (1 Oct – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Flamingos on Dayet Srji (15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), Desert trekking season (1 Oct – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Third interim break (spring) in Morocco

• Hazard

  Spring sandstorms

  15 Mar – 31 May · usuallyDust seasonClosures

  The wind gets up in spring and the dunes move with it: gritty air for days at a time, camps struck early and the road east regularly half-buried. Source ↗

Still on: Flamingos on Dayet Srji (15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), Desert trekking season (1 Oct – 30 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Flamingos on Dayet Srji (15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Spring sandstorms (15 Mar – 31 May (usually)), Desert trekking season (1 Oct – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Fourth interim break (May) in Morocco, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Spring sandstorms (15 Mar – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Fifty on the dunes

  1 Jun – 5 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  Camps still run but the day is unusable: sand too hot to walk on barefoot, and the whole experience compressed into the hour after sunrise and the hour before dark.

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Fifty on the dunes (1 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Fifty on the dunes (1 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Date harvest in the Tafilalet

  15 Sep – 31 Oct · usually

  The palmeries towards Erfoud and Rissani bring in the crop as the heat finally breaks, and the roadside stalls sell the year's dates by the box.

Still on: Fifty on the dunes (1 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — First interim break (October) in Morocco, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Desert trekking season

  1 Oct – 30 Apr · usuallyTrail seasonBook early

  The half of the year when walking, riding and sleeping out on the dunes is a pleasure rather than an endurance test. Nights get properly cold from December, so take a jacket.

Still on: Date harvest in the Tafilalet (15 Sep – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Desert trekking season (1 Oct – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Second interim break (December) in Morocco, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Desert trekking season (1 Oct – 30 Apr (usually))