The colors of the Sahara are more dramatic than we expected.
The array of golden-orange that paints the sand dunes is both impressive and ever-changing.
We visited Morocco several years ago as the last stop on our around-the-world adventures.
The photos below represent what we saw in 2012. We kept them here as is, as they are beautiful, regardless of any changes that may take place over time.
Did you know? … Sahara facts
- The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world.
- Overall, it is the world’s third-largest desert, after the cold deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic.
- It covers an area of 9.2 million square kilometers in parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, and Tunisia. All photos on this page were shot in Morocco between Ait Ben Haddou and Merzouga.
- “Sahara desert” is a redundant name as “Sahara” is Arabic for desert.
Photo highlights of the colors of the Sahara
Here are some of the photo highlights from the Sahara desert, the center point of our Moroccan road trip:
Two of our Sahara highlights not featured above include our visit to a Bedouin camp and one to a livestock market in Rissani.
Mohamed
Lovely pictures! The area now is a bit different. Most of the camps are more luxury camps and are outside of the dunes, however, it still a good experience to travel there. Thanks for sharing these amazing photos.
Anda
Ah, you have some outstanding photos here, Rhonda. This must have been a great journey. Hope to get to Sahara someday and compete with your pictures (LOL)!
Rhonda Albom
LOL – I can’t wait to see your Sahara photos.
Lisa
What a fun journey. Images from The Sahara always amaze me.
Rhonda Albom
You really need to go there and stand in the vast desert. As a photographer, you will love it.
Colleen@ LOOSELEAFNOTES
We’re not in Kansas anymore! Dunes!
Rhonda Albom
Not at all. I remember driving through Kansas and it was flat as a pancake.
Travelera
Wow These photos are amazing Rhonda, I see them and wish to come back to the dessert and try to do more photos although I will not even get half as good photos as yours
Great job xxx
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Nulai. I hope you do get there soon.
indah nuria
They are magnificent indeed. We went to Egypt and Morocco but we missed the dessert tour. It reminded me of the Death Valley, California as well… I hope I will visit Sahara soon 🙂
Rhonda Albom
We didn’t tour, we drove ourselves out to the desert. We did go with a guide onto the dunes. That was a good choice as our driver made a poor choice and we had to dig the car out of the sand. Or should I say, the men had to it.
AJ Thompson
I would certainly have to jump in the sand dunes! What a wonderful trip!
Rhonda Albom
My girls sure couldn’t resist the opportunity.
JM Illinois U.S.A.
I want to see the world. Instead I cyber travel to places. Oh how I enjoyed going to the Sahara Desert with you. I loved how Sarah was jumping in the sand like it was the ocean. I loved how you show the viewer there wasn’t any roads. My favorite was seeing the woman moving their crops on a donkey. Thanks so much for these wonderful photographs. Do you live near there?
Rhonda Albom
I am happy to take you with us on our adventures. We couldn’t live much farther from the Sahara, we live in New Zealand. The Sahara is just one of many special places we have visited in our lifetime.
Faye
The colour of the sand is very refined. This is more beautiful than I could ever imagine.
Rhonda Albom
Being there is even more impressive as it is difficult to capture the vastness.
stephanie
The joys of moving the photo library are fab finds in them!
Rhonda Albom
You are so right. It’s quite a bit of work and the memories slow it way down.
felicia
looks like a beautiful place to visit.
Rhonda Albom
It is 🙂
Alissa Apel
WOW I love the colors. They are so rich. We went to sand dunes a few years ago. My boys loved it. The camel photo is a great one for sure!
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Alissa.
Kristi Maloney
What a beautiful area of the Sahara desert. I enjoyed your photos. The colors are amazing and the area is so vast and undisturbed. Well, except for Sarah jumping in the perfectly formed dunes….lol
Rhonda Albom
Sarah was only 12 in that photo and just couldn’t resist. They girls and hubby also did a bit of sand skiing on the dunes.
Photo(Geo)grapher
Another great article in your blog. Beautiful and vivid colors of desert!
Rhonda Albom
Thanks 🙂
ladyfi
How very lovely!
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Fi.
Patrick Weseman
Very beautiful pics. The colors are amazing. Love the pic with the camel.
Rhonda Albom
I think that was the first wandering camel we saw. It was a rather special moment.
Paula Atwell
Not a place I have ever thought to go, although I have been in the Negev and barely in the Sinai. Just not at the top of my list. Cool images and culture thought. Enjoyed viewing these photos.
Rhonda Albom
I have not yet been to the Sinai or Negev, although Israel and Jordon are quite high on my list.
Lexa Cain
I didn’t realize Sahara was desert in Arabic. (Shows you how poor my Arabic is even after 20 years here.) I know everyone calls them sand dunes but if the Moroccan ones are anything like in Egypt, they’re more like dirt dunes where the dirt is as fine as flour, and it turns to yucky mud if any water gets into it. The shores in the west are more of a glassy sand and water passes through. Thanks for the great pics!
Rhonda Albom
I think that we never become truly fluent in another language unless we learn it as a child. We were never on the dunes when they were wet. It was hot and dry, so I have no idea if they turn to mud. It felt like sand to me.
L. Diane Wolfe
Absolutely gorgeous. Makes me miss New Mexico. The desert is a beautiful place.
Rhonda Albom
I loved the reds in New Mexico, and the architecture of Santa Fe.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Hi Rhonda – I haven’t seen the Sahara – though at some stage I’d love to … but the Skeleton coast in Namibia has dunes and is known as the Namib Desert – the colours are extraordinary, and constantly change with the various rocks … beautiful shots you’ve given us – modern and old .. .fascinating and your header – great .. cheers Hilary
Rhonda Albom
I haven’t been to Namibia. I just looked up photos of the Skeleton Coast. I think it is another must visit spot.
Corinne
I love the desert, and the Sahara brings so many cultural differences to marvel at as well as the flora and fauna. Beautiful photos.
Rhonda Albom
Very true. I loved just about every minute we were in Morocco, but the Sahara was a true highlights.
Tony McGurk
You really captured the essence of the Desert Rhonda. The motorcycles caught my attention & the camel photo is really great.
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Tony. I was pretty impressed by the motorcycles too.
Amy Franks
I’ve been fascinated with this place for a few years now, it’s on my list of places to visit if I win lotto.
Rhonda Albom
LOL – Morocco is far more affordable than you might think. And, Emirates soon flys Auckland- Dubai – Casablanca.
Amila
Lovely pictures,the sand dunes are always beautiful to see..
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Amila. For me it was the ever-changing colors of the dunes that was so impressive.
Natalia
Wow! Sahara desert was really a great place though it’s a little bit hot but being there will be a kind of dream for me. Stunning photos indeed! Thanks, Rhonda.
Rhonda Albom
I don’t mind the heat. Honestly, I quite like it. It was a dream for me too.
Becky L
I enjoyed the journey through the Sahara desert with you. Thanks for sharing your lovely photos. I’ve lived in New Mexico where there is alot of desert for about 10 years. Far different than living in Oregon for sure. It has it’s own beauty as well though.
Rhonda Albom
I love New Mexico. I spent about 6 weeks driving through your lovely state when the girls were little. However, I will admit that I like Oregon even more. We just drove the coast earlier in 2016 and I am in love with it. If we ever move back to the states, I could see myself living there.
Alan Bates
Your photos are beautiful. I’m glad that you rediscovered them. I had a big external hard drive with a gazillion images and went bad and I mourned the loss and then like six or seven years later office depot had a $49 special where they could recover data from a hard disk and I took it there and they did it. I got them all back and uploaded them to flickr. It took months to tag them all but was I ever happy and grateful.
That said, I love your photos and the colors and the exotic scenes and I am glad that you rediscovered them.
Rhonda Albom
I think my heart stopped for a moment when I read your comment. I always have two copies of every photo, and when we travel, they are never together. I am so glad you got your photos back.
Nano @ Travel With Nano B.
Stunning photos as always, Rhonda. You captured the golden hues of the desert so beautifully. xoxo, nano | http://www.travelwithnanob.com
Rhonda Albom
It helps that I LOVED this desert.
LovelyGishi
Beautiful photography!Splendid shots..
Rhonda Albom
Thanks.
C. Lee McKenzie
There’s something very special about desert light, and you’ve captured it in these photos. Well, you’ve captured a lot more, too. Love the textures and the way you’ve set shown people against this vast space. Really beautiful.
Rhonda Albom
Thanks. I think people are necessary to show the vastness.
Andrea
These are awesome shots! I haven’t been to Sahara, but i have seen the Dubai Dessert for a safari. Though it is not as grand the views and colors are amazing too, and the night show and dinner after the safari is an experience to stay for life.
Rhonda Albom
We didn’t do much in the deserts in Dubai, but we did travel quite a bit in Oman.
Teresa Kindred
Those shots are amazing! I wouldn’t want to live there though!
Rhonda Albom
I don’t want to live there either, but I did enjoy every second I visited.
carol mckenna
Gorgeous photography ~ they belong in National Geographic or similar publication ~ thanks
Wishing you a Happy Week ahead ~ ^_^
Rhonda Albom
Wow, thanks. Wouldn’t that be nice.
Gemma Wiseman
Such a stunning series of magnificent desert scenes. The colours are so enchanting.
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Gemma.
Kay Davies
What a magnificent place. The colours are amazing!
Kay
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
Rhonda Albom
I thought so too. What I can’t capture is the massiveness of it all.
Paul Pietrangelo
How dead looking. All I see is sand upon sand, upon sand. How hot was it outside when you there? Did you have a lot of water for you?
Have a great night my friend. See ya.
Cruisin Paul
Rhonda Albom
I don’t see that when I look at my shots, nor when I was in the desert. I find it alive with color variation. As for the heat, I love hot weather. I don’t really remember how hot it was. I would imagine it was in the high 30s at times (90s F).
Comedy Plus
Very nice photographs. I know you all enjoyed your stay there very much.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
Rhonda Albom
Yes, I do love Morocco.
Carol
Beautiful pics – what a huge job moving all the photos. Glad you “rediscovered” these.
Rhonda Albom
You have no idea. It was massive, but it is done now. 🙂
Photo Cache
Love this post. Something to look forward to in April when I travel to Morocco.
Rhonda Albom
I loved Morocco. We arrived planning to stay 7-10 days. Thirty-two days later we were sad to leave.
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Such vivid colors! People don’t realize the true beauty of the desert.
Rhonda Albom
I don’t think I ever really appreciated it before I came to the Sahara.
stevebethere
Love these shots Rhonda looks so colourful and calm, so that’s where your logo came from 🙂
Rhonda Albom
Yes, this is exactly where my logo came from 🙂