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Bivouacs & Desert Camps

A night in the Sahara

From camel-hair haimas to white luxury suite tents — three ways to disappear into the silence of the Erg Chebbi.

The Sahara, up close

What is a desert bivouac?

A bivouac is the oldest form of Saharan hospitality — a temporary camp pitched directly on the sand, dismantled at the end of the season so the dunes are left as they were found. Around Erg Chebbi you will encounter three distinct kinds, each with its own character. Choosing between them is mostly a question of how you'd like to feel when the sun finally drops behind the dunes.

01

Traditional camel-skin haimas

Dark, low tents woven from camel and goat hair — the same weave the Sahrawi nomads have used for a thousand years. They breathe in summer, hold heat in winter, and feel like a held breath when the wind rises.

02

White luxury suite tents

Tall white canvas suites with en-suite bathrooms, king beds, copper basins and wooden floors. The same comfort you'd expect from a five-star hotel — but with a zip for a door and the Milky Way for a ceiling.

03

Sleeping under the stars

On clear nights, a mattress on the sand outside your tent, a heavy wool blanket and the most honest hotel ceiling on earth. The Sahara sky is so dark that the Milky Way casts a faint shadow on the dunes.

Atmosphere

What it actually feels like

It is, first of all, the silence. A silence so wide that you can hear your own pulse, then a fire crackling, then the muffled bell of a returning camel. The light goes through copper, bronze and rose before the first star appears. After dinner, a Sahrawi musician plays the qraqeb; an astronomer points to Orion; the tea is poured from a great height and tastes of mint and dust. You go to bed late. You wake before sunrise — not from an alarm, but because the desert tells you to.

Silence so wide you can hear your pulse

Campfires that last until the stars set

Sunsets that turn the sand to bronze

Nomadic inspiration in every detail

Astronomy with Saharan guides

The slow ceremony of mint tea

Films from the dunes

A night on the Erg Chebbi, on film.

Short films from our camps — the haimas at dusk, the Sahrawi musicians, the silence before the stars.

Our desert camps

Three nights, three Saharas

01· Erg Chebbi · Merzouga

La Belle Étoile Bivouacs

Under the Saharan stars

Berber haimas where the dunes meet the night.

Pitched deep inside the Erg Chebbi dunes — Berber haimas, embroidered cushions, lanterns and a sky so dense with stars it earns the camp its name.

Key highlights

  • Private haimas
  • Mechoui dinner
  • Stargazing
  • Camel rides
Discover more

At a glance

Built without concrete in the camel-hair tradition of the Sahrawi nomads, La Belle Étoile sits in a quiet bowl of the Erg Chebbi where the wind drops at dusk and the stars come on one by one. Twelve private haimas, a candle-lit dining tent and a circle of embers where Berber musicians play after dinner. You arrive by dromedary and wake to a sunrise that has no soundtrack but the desert itself.

Accommodation

12 private camel-hair haimas with hand-woven Berber rugs, low brass beds, copper basin, lantern lighting. Shared bathroom block heated by solar boiler.

Dining & atmosphere

Mechoui lamb pulled from a pit-oven, slow-cooked tagines, freshly baked m'semen flatbread, dates from Rissani and the ceremony of mint tea. Drinks are served in copper cups under candlelight.

Included experiences

  • Sunset camel ride into the dunes
  • Gnawa music evening around the fire
  • Sahrawi astronomer & telescope session
  • Sandboarding on the highest dune
  • Sunrise tea on the crest

02· Erg Chebbi · Merzouga

Kamkamia Luxury Desert Camp

5-star bivouac in the dunes

Five-star, candle-lit, in the highest dunes.

Our most refined desert camp — private suite tents with king beds, en-suite bathrooms, copper basins and a candle-lit dining tent set among the highest dunes.

Key highlights

  • Suite tents
  • En-suite bathrooms
  • Gourmet dinner
  • Sunrise terrace
Discover more

At a glance

Kamkamia is the most refined of our desert camps — white canvas suite tents with king beds, en-suite bathrooms, copper basins, woven kilims and a wood-burning lantern by the bedside. The camp sits in a private bowl among the very highest dunes of Erg Chebbi, screened from the wind and open to a 360° star horizon. A chef, a sommelier and a butler look after twenty guests at a time.

Accommodation

10 luxury white-canvas suite tents (35 m²): king bed, en-suite bathroom with rainfall shower, copper basin, lantern lighting, private terrace. Hot water 24/7, in-tent heating in winter.

Dining & atmosphere

Chef's tasting menu of contemporary Moroccan cuisine — confit lamb shoulder, citrus pastilla, saffron-poached pears. Curated wine list from Meknès, Bordeaux and Rioja. Breakfast served on your private terrace.

Included experiences

  • Private 4x4 sunset dune drive
  • Champagne sundowner on a crest
  • Quad biking in the Erg
  • Private chef's table dinner
  • Sunrise yoga on the dunes
  • Telescope astronomy with guide

03· Merdani · pre-Sahara plateau

Merdani Bivouac

Off-the-beaten-path desert camp

The hush of the hammada, an hour before the dunes.

A quieter alternative to Erg Chebbi — set on the Merdani plateau where black-stone hammada meets rolling dunes. Small, intimate, perfect for stargazers and writers.

Key highlights

  • Small camp
  • Hammada landscape
  • Astronomy guide
  • Quiet retreat
Discover more

At a glance

Merdani is the bivouac for travellers who want the desert without the crowd. Set on a pre-Saharan plateau forty minutes from Erg Chebbi, the camp combines six earth-toned tents with the dark, black-stone hammada landscape — a geological theatre where shooting stars feel close enough to touch. The camp is small by design: one common fire, one long table, one shared night.

Accommodation

6 earth-tone canvas tents with twin or double Berber beds, hand-woven kilims, copper wash basin, lantern lighting. Two shared bathrooms with hot solar water.

Dining & atmosphere

Hand-rolled couscous, slow tagines and bread baked in the embers. Wine and beer available. Coffee served Berber-style at sunrise.

Included experiences

  • Hammada walking exploration
  • Black-stone fossil hunting
  • Stargazing with astronomy guide
  • Khamlia Gnawa music evening (optional)
  • Sahrawi storytelling around the fire

Plan your night under the stars

Our concierge will design your bivouac escape

Contact the concierge

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