Local desert guides · Foum Zguid
Local desert guides · Foum Zguid
Lake Iriki (Lake Iriqui) is a broad desert basin in Morocco's pre-Saharan south, between the town of Foum Zguid and the dunes of Erg Chigaga.
Find your desert experienceMost journeys here follow one line: from the oasis town of Foum Zguid, across the open basin of Lac Iriki, to the high dunes of Erg Chigaga.
Gateway town at the Jbel Bani gap
Ephemeral lake basin, Iriqui National Park
Great dune sea, bivouac nights
Private trips by 4x4 from Foum Zguid. Every itinerary is confirmed with you in writing.
1 day
A full day by private 4x4 from Foum Zguid onto the wide, flat basin of Lake Iriki (Iriqui), inside Iriqui National Park, with a local driver-guide who knows the pistes.
Price on request
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2 days / 1 night
The classic short crossing from Foum Zguid: a day by private 4x4 across the Iriki basin, a night at a bivouac among the Erg Chigaga (Chegaga) dunes, and a second morning in the sand.
Price on request
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3 days / 2 nights
Three days, two nights and one whole day with nothing to do but be in the Erg Chigaga (Chegaga) dunes: the slower way into the desert from Foum Zguid, usually by way of the Lake Iriki basin.
Price on request
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Destination guide
Lake Iriqui, also written Lac Iriki, is a vast ephemeral lakebed in Morocco's pre-Saharan south, between Foum Zguid and M'Hamid, inside Iriqui National Park. Dry for most of recent decades, it took in floodwater after heavy rain in September 2024, and it is reached by 4x4 on desert tracks.
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Destination
Foum Zguid is a small town in Tata province, southern Morocco, set at a gap in the Jbel Bani ridge where the pre-Saharan south opens towards Lake Iriki and the dunes of Erg Chigaga.
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Destination
Erg Chigaga, also spelled Erg Chegaga, is one of Morocco's largest dune seas, a remote field of sand in the pre-Saharan south reached only by 4x4 piste, on foot or by camel.
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Lake Iriki is not a lake in the everyday sense. It is an ephemeral basin: a wide, level floor of fine sediment in the pre-Saharan south, which holds water only when enough of it arrives. For most of recent decades it has been dry, a pale plain so flat that the horizon seems to hover, crossed by the 4x4 tracks that run between Foum Zguid and the dunes of Erg Chigaga. Plenty of people who crossed it in those years found it hard to believe it had ever been a lake at all.
Then, in September 2024, heavy rain fell across parts of south-eastern Morocco. NASA satellite imagery from 10 September 2024 shows floodwater spread across the Iriqui basin, and press reports at the time described it as the first water there in decades.
What happens after an event like that is not fixed. Water in a desert basin evaporates, sinks into the ground or lingers, depending on heat, wind and whatever rain follows. The surface can be firm, soft or muddy, and a track that was easy one season may be rerouted the next. That is the honest answer to the question we hear most often: the lake changes, and no photograph, including the illustrations on this site, can tell you what it looks like this week.
So before you travel, ask us for a current report. We are a family business based in Foum Zguid, on the western edge of the basin, and we can tell you what the ground is like when you plan to come, then adjust the route if it is wet.
Whatever state it is in, the crossing is at the heart of what we do. A day trip by 4x4 takes you out onto the basin and into Iriqui National Park; the two-day route to Erg Chegaga crosses the Iriki basin on the way to a bivouac night in the dunes. If you want the full background first, from geography to access to the 2024 floods, start with our Lake Iriki guide. When you are ready, send us your dates and we will reply with a written quote.
Overnight trips sleep in a bivouac among the Chigaga dunes. Exact comfort — bed, bathroom, hot water — depends on the camp booked for your dates and is written into your quote.
How our desert nights workAbout
A local organiser reads every request and replies personally. Nothing is booked until you accept a written quote.
Practical, honest guidance from the people who drive these pistes.
Lake Iriqui (also spelled Lac Iriki) is reached from Foum Zguid on dirt and gravel pistes that cross a vast basin, dry for most of recent decades, before heading on towards the dunes of Erg Chigaga. This guide explains how to read our route diagram, what the terrain is really like, and what to know before you go, with a guide or on your own.
Iriqui National Park (Parc national d'Iriqui) is a protected stretch of pre-Saharan desert between Foum Zguid and M'Hamid, created in 1994 to safeguard arid savanna, dunes, salt flats and the temporary wetland of Lake Iriqui. It is best visited by 4x4 with a local driver-guide.
The Foum Zguid to Lake Iriqui and Erg Chigaga route is the classic west-to-east desert crossing: you leave town through the Jbel Bani, cross the vast Lake Iriki basin, then reach the Erg Chigaga dunes for the night. Here are the stages, what you see along the way, and how to choose between two and three days.
Foum Zguid is reached by road. Many travellers come via Ouarzazate, which is itself reached from Marrakech across the High Atlas; others arrive from Agadir, Tata or Zagora. Tell us where you are starting from and we will suggest the most practical route. If you need a transfer, mention it in your request and we will say in the quote what is possible.
Private. You travel by 4x4 with your own driver-guide, and the vehicle carries only your party. Group size per vehicle and any other details are confirmed in your written quote.
Tell us what you would like to change: an extra night, a slower pace, more time on foot, a different finishing point. The tours listed on this site are starting points, and your written quote sets out exactly what we can offer for your dates.
You send a request with your dates, number of travellers and the trip you are interested in. We reply with a written quote covering the itinerary, what is included and the conditions. Your trip is booked only once you have accepted that quote and we have confirmed it in writing.
Not as a rule. Lake Iriki is an ephemeral lake that has been a dry basin for most of recent decades. Heavy rain in September 2024 sent water into it, as NASA satellite imagery showed, but conditions keep changing. Ask us for a current report before you travel.
A local organiser reads every request and replies personally. Nothing is booked until you accept a written quote.