M'Hamid el Ghislane is where the road ends and the Sahara begins. This small settlement at the southern tip of the Draa Valley was once a major crossroads for caravans carrying gold, salt, and slaves from sub-Saharan Africa. The closure of the Algerian border has long since put an end to the caravan trade, but the desert is still very much alive — and M'Hamid is the best base in Morocco for reaching it without the crowds of Merzouga.
The town itself is dusty and unassuming, strung along the last stretch of tarmac before the sand takes over. The real reason to come is the desert beyond. Two kilometres out of town, the landscape shifts to dunes and hammada. Erg Chegaga, the largest dune field in Morocco, lies about 50 kilometres to the west and can be reached by 4x4 or camel trek. The closer Dunes of Tinfou offer a more accessible taste of Saharan sand. The vast salt lake of Lac Iriqui attracts flamingos in wet years and presents an otherworldly white expanse in dry ones.
The Draa Valley stretching north from M'Hamid is spectacular in its own right — a ribbon of palm oases and crumbling kasbahs running through otherwise barren landscape. The bus from Marrakech takes about ten hours and follows the valley for the final stretch, passing through Zagora and Ouarzazate.
Most visitors arrange desert excursions through local agencies in town. Overnight trips typically include camel riding, camp meals, and sleeping in tents under some of the clearest night skies you will ever see.