  Under the assumption that dark matter is made of new particles, annihilations
of those are required to reproduce the correct dark matter abundance in the
Universe. This process can occur in dense regions of our Galaxy such as the
Galactic center, dwarf galaxies and other types of sub-haloes. High-energy
gamma-rays are expected to be produced in dark matter particle collisions and
could be detected by ground-based Cherenkov telescopes such as HESS, MAGIC and
VERITAS. The main experimental challenges to get constraints on particle dark
matter models are reviewed, making explicit the pros and cons that are inherent
to this technique, together with the current results from running
observatories. Main results concerning dark matter searches towards selected
targets with Cherenkov telescopes are presented. Eventually, a focus is made on
a new way to perform a search for Galactic subhaloes with such telescopes,
based on wide-field surveys, as well as future prospects.
