After we had left Zagora, we took a route to Foum Zguid which led us through all types of desert, driving 280 km on tracks we had from Pistenkuh.de but also tracks we found ourselves, taking detours and shortcuts. A sandstorm two days ago had blown sand over the tracks, making them difficult to spot, if nobody had used them already.
We left the tar road north of Tagounite, where we soon found a nice spot at a riverbed for the night.


The next day, we continued in direction to the dunes north of M’Hamid, where we stopped for a late breakfast. From there, we followed tracks west, in the direction of Erg Chegaga, the sand dunes.

We ended up driving through a sandy riverbed for many kilometres, where the tracks were overblown with sand and only slightly visible. We continued this route, until we reached the main track coming from M’Hamid. It was fun to find our own way, and we were happy we managed this part without getting stuck in the sand.


On that route, we came past a well. Surprisingly the water level was less than 2 metres under the surface.

Again we were astounded, how green the desert was in many parts.

We continued west until we came to the sand dunes of Erg Chagaga, where we took a stroll through the warm sand. The surface was good to walk, and along the crests we easily got from one peak to the next.





On our route, we came across fellow travellers and stopped for a chat. We had met them all before, and who knows if we won’t see them again at some other place here in Morocco.


When the sun was getting low, we were looking for a place in the dunes to spend the night. After some attempts, we found a spot well away from the road. We had crossed some low sand dunes and had a great view for our sundowner.




The next day, we drove past Lake Iriki, where we saw some water in the distance, a remnant of the rain last year. The route was well-used and on dry ground. Just that next to the route, there were some areas, where the mud was still wet and better to be avoided.



When we had passed the lake, we turned south, finding our way to another Pistenkuh route, taking us along a former Paris-Dakar rally track.

Bird wise we didn’t see many different birds so far, mostly Wheatear (Black Wheatear and White-crowned Wheatear) therefore we were happy we spotted that Kestrel, a rare sight.




We came past a military checkpoint, who got a “fiche” from us, a form with all our details, which we had prepared beforehand. He had to make a radio call to get the confirmation, that he can let us pass. The second checkpoint was abandoned.



To our great surprise, we met 2 Austrian families in the proverbial “middle of nowhere”. We were invited for coffee and cake and had a nice chat.



South of Foum Zguid, we reached some fascinating mountains, where we spent the night. We hiked around the mountain behind us, where we found a fossilised shell!
Tomorrow, we will explore the mountain range and make our way to the village.