Excursions
Our Rissani market excursion from Merzouga is a half-day visit with a local guide to the traditional souk of a historic trading town near the ruins of Sijilmassa.
We're still finishing the details on this page. Ask us and we'll send you what's included, the timings and the price in writing.
Rissani is a working market town about 35–40 km north of Merzouga, at the southern end of the Tafilalt oasis. Don't expect a tourist sight. People come here to shop. The town stands near the ruins of Sijilmassa, for centuries one of the great trading stops on the caravan routes across the Sahara, and the region is closely tied to the history of the Alaouites, Morocco's ruling dynasty.
The souk is the reason to come. Your guide walks you through covered lanes and open squares where villagers from all around buy and sell: spices piled high, many kinds of local dates, vegetables, livestock, household goods and crafts. Look out for the “donkey parking”, a yard where people leave their donkeys while they do their shopping. It's busiest on market days, commonly Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, but these can shift, so we check locally for your dates.
If there's time, your guide can also show you Ksar Abbar and the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif, founder of the Alaouite line, from the outside. Rissani fits well with the fossil and landscape excursion or a stop in Khamlia village to hear Gnawa music.
Usually Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. That can change, so we confirm it locally for your dates. Shops and some stalls open on other days too, but it's much quieter.
Sijilmassa was a medieval city that grew rich on the trans-Saharan caravan trade. Little of it survives above ground today. Rissani stands near its ruins.
Yes. Plenty of travellers do the fossil excursion and Khamlia village on the same day. Use our custom activity combination to put a plan together.
Background reading on Wikipedia and more packages on our other site.
ExcursionsA half-day fossil excursion by 4x4 across the stony desert between Erfoud and Merzouga, with ancient marine fossils in the rock and a visit to a fossil workshop.
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CultureGnawa music in Khamlia, a village just south of Merzouga: you sit down for mint tea and the local musicians play for you.
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ExcursionsA guided full-day trip around Merzouga by 4x4, taking in Rissani, Khamlia, fossil sites near Erfoud and the palm groves, planned around what interests you.
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