Sunset or sunrise in Erg Chebbi: which ride to pick

You leave in the dark, reach the dunes as the sky goes grey, and watch the first light hit the crests from a ridge with nobody else on it. The sand is cold and firm, which makes it the best riding surface of the day.

In summer this is the only comfortable time to ride. In winter, expect 2–8 °C at departure and bring a proper jacket.

• Emptiest slot of the day
• Coolest temperatures and the firmest sand
• Light comes from the east, over the dunes and towards Merzouga
• Easiest slot to book at short notice

The most requested ride we run. We time the departure to the actual sunset for your date, so you are standing on a high dune for the last twenty minutes of light, and ride back through the blue hour with the erg turning violet behind you.

It pairs naturally with dinner at a desert camp, and it is the easier slot if you are arriving in Merzouga the same day.

• Warm sand, warm air, no early alarm
• The strongest colour of the day on the dune faces
• Best slot for group photos
• Book a day ahead — it fills first

Sunrise gives cleaner ridges: overnight wind erases the previous day's tracks, so the dunes are unmarked. Sunset gives stronger colour and longer shadows but the sand near the village will already show tyre and camel tracks.

If you only ride once and you are not a morning person, take the sunset. If you are staying two nights, do both — the two-hour route at sunrise and the short ride at sunset costs less than most people expect and they look nothing alike.