The Moroccan government upgraded Tarfaya’s municipal status to provincial centre in 2009, and the town is on the cusp of big developments. A new port is being constructed, with hopes for the relaunch of the ferry connection to the Canary Islands and greater tourist numbers. A new beachfront promenade is also a relaxing spot. For now, however, Tarfaya's charm remains; it’s a friendly outpost with a seductively remote feel to the sand blowing between its crumbling colonial relics.
1Sights & Activities
There are some good fishing, surfing and kitesurfing spots around Tarfaya. Ask your accommodation or Les Amis de Tarfaya about organising an expedition.
Musée Saint-ExupéryMUSEUM
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0661 07 94 88; Dh10; h8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, by appointment Sat & Sun)
Tarfaya will forever be associated with the French pilot and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In 1926 he began flying in the airmail service between France and Senegal, and Cap Juby was one of the stops. This museum tells the stories (in French) of Saint-Exupéry, the airmail service’s founder, Pierre-Georges Latécoère, and the incredible service itself, which eventually became part of Air France.
In 1927 Saint-Exupéry was appointed station manager for Cap Juby and he spent a couple of years here, writing his first novel Courrier Sud (Southern Mail) in which an airmail pilot dies south of Boujdour in the desert of Rio de Oro. He also picked up inspiration for his most famous story, Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince), which features a pilot lost in the desert.
oHistoric SitesHISTORIC SITE
Numerous dilapidated buildings recall the days when Saint-Exupéry touched down here. The Casa Mar is abandoned but still standing, and can be easily reached at low tide. At the north end of the beach, a monument honours Saint-Exupéry’s memory: a dinky green Bréguet 14 biplane, the sort he used to fly. Nearby, the Spanish fort now houses military barracks, and behind the museum is the 1930s cinema; in the same area, swashbucklers swapped anecdotes between flights at Bar des Pilotes.
The wrecked Armas ferry, Assalama, 2km south of town, put paid to the short-lived connection between Tarfaya and Fuerteventura when it went down in 2008.
zFestivals & Events
Rallye Toulouse Saint-LouisFESTIVAL
(www.rallyetoulousesaintlouis.com; hlate Sep/early Oct)
The airmail service is remembered when light aircraft fly from France to Senegal and back, landing in Tarfaya en route.
4Sleeping & Eating
For a small centre, Tarfaya has surprisingly comfortable accommodation options. There are numerous self-catering apartments in Tarfaya. Les Amis de Tarfaya can help you find an apartment.
Residence ArmasAPARTMENT€
(%0673 54 66 47; ste from Dh350; W)
Self-contained suites and apartments that can be booked through Les Amis de Tarfaya.
Residence Hôtelière CanalinaAPARTMENT€€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0641 78 55 21; www.tarfayahotelcanalina.com; Ave Mohamed V; s/d Dh330/440)
Spacious mini-apartments, all with compact kitchens, are a good accommodation solution for groups and families. Downstairs there's a good Spanish restaurant that unfortunately keeps very irregular hours, If you're in town, it's worth dropping by to see if it's open. The Residence Hôtelière Canalina is around 400m along the road from the Musée Saint-Exupéry (away from the waterfront).
Hotel TarfayaHOTEL€€
(Aoudate; GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 89 58 68; r per person incl breakfast from Dh300; W)
Available with or without balcony and private bathroom, the Tarfaya's 35 rooms have attractive checkered bedding and satellite TV, with sea views from the upper floors. The ground-floor cafe is a favourite of locals watching Spanish football, and when we last visited, the energetic English-speaking team on reception were planning on launching desert tours around the Tarfaya hinterland.
Casa MarCAFE, SEAFOOD€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 89 53 26; [email protected]; breakfast/mains Dh30/70; W)
Just outside the port entrance, Casa Mar's cafe-restaurant serves a good selection of seafood dishes, ranging from mixed grilled fish to calamari tajine. The cafe, a popular meeting point, is a good place to check your emails and watch local characters stroll in. Accommodation is available: rooms in the hotel's old section are mediocre (singles/doubles without bathroom from Dh100/120), but newer en-suite rooms have port views (singles/doubles Dh180/250).
8Information
Tarfaya has a medical centre, pharmacies, internet cafe, laundrette and banks with ATMs and exchange facilities.
Les Amis de Tarfaya ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0661 07 94 88; [email protected]) Information is available from the English-speaking Sadat at this local tourism association, based at Musée Saint-Exupéry.
8Transport
Bus companies, including CTM, stop in Tarfaya, but Supratours ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 89 52 84; www.supratours.ma; Rte du Port) has the only reliable office. It has the best buses and so is the best option anyway, given the brutal journey times in the Sahara. Daily Supratours departures head for: Agadir (Dh190, eight hours), Dakhla (Dh210, 10 hours), Goulimime (Dh130, six hours), Laâyoune (Dh50, two hours), Marrakesh (Dh265, 13 hours), Tan Tan (Dh80, three hours) and Tiznit (Dh150, seven hours).
Grands taxis go to Laâyoune (Dh45) and Tan Tan (Dh90). Tarfaya has petrol stations, car-washing services and mechanics.
Western Sahara
After crossing the rocky and forlorn expanses of the hammada south from Tarfaya, the Western Saharan city of Dakhla is an appealingly relaxed destination. A constant feature is the cobalt intensity of the Atlantic Ocean, softened here by palm trees, a pleasant oceanfront esplanade and a shallow island-studded lagoon.
The region's recent Spanish past echoes languidly in cafes and restaurants, while one of the world's best kiteboarding scenes attracts international visitors seeking a more energetic Western Saharan experience.
Occasional roadblocks on the fringes of the desert reinforce this is a disputed region, despite what is indicated by the Moroccan flags shifting in tropical breezes.
Against this subdued background of international contention, a small group of pioneering expats are developing eco-aware and low-impact tours exploring the lagoon and surrounding desert.
History
Despite its windswept desolation, the Western Sahara has a long and violent history. Islamic missionaries started to spread Islam among the Zenata and Sanhaja Berber tribes here in the 7th century. A second wave of Arab settlers, the Maqil from Yemen, migrated to the desert in the 13th century, and the whole region became predominantly Arabic.
In the 19th century, the Spanish grabbed the Western Sahara and renamed it Rio de Oro. In reality, Sheikh Ma El-Ainin and his son El-Hiba controlled the desert and the nomadic tribes well into the 20th century. From the 1930s, an uneasy colonial peace prevailed until Moroccan independence in the late 1950s, when new nationalist fervour saw the genesis of the Polisario Front and a guerrilla war against the Spanish.
When it was abandoned by Spain in 1975, Morocco and Mauritania both raised claims to the desert region, but Mauritania soon bailed out. In November 1975 King Hassan II orchestrated the Green March – 350,000 Moroccans marched south to stake Morocco’s historical claim to the Western Sahara.
Over the following years, Rabat poured in 100,000 troops to stamp out resistance, and gained the upper hand. The UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991, but the promised referendum, in which the indigenous Saharawi could choose between independence and integration with Morocco, has yet to materialise.
Ever since, Morocco has strengthened its hold on the territory, pouring money into infrastructure projects, particularly offshore oil exploration, and attracting Moroccans from the north to live here tax-free. Until late 2010, the troubled area seemed to be lying dormant, with the dispute largely forgotten by the world beyond this remote region. However, on 8 November 2010, Moroccan security forces stormed the Gadaym Izik camp near Laâyoune, in an attempt to break up the 15,000-strong protest camp. Both sides incurred fa
talities in the ensuing clashes, which turned into riots and engulfed the city, with 700-plus Saharawi injuries, and scenes of fire and destruction in the international media. The region has seen several clashes and riots since then, most recently in 2014 in Laâyoune, and Africa’s longest-running territorial dispute continues.
Since 2014, the Moroccan government has further advanced activities to solidify its hold on the region, including ongoing migration of Moroccans to the cities and the establishment of smaller communities along the coast, and in November 2015 the Moroccan King Mohammed VI visited to announce multi-million-dollar investments aimed at promoting economic development in the region. In December 2013, a four-year deal signed between Morocco and the European Union to allow European vessels to fish off the Moroccan coast also included the disputed waters off Western Sahara.
Dakhla locals report of a cautious rapprochement between the Moroccan and Saharawi communities – including marriages between the two groups – but the referendum promised back in 1991 still shows no sign of being scheduled. If and when it does take place, the ongoing economic and social expansion of Morocco in the area means probably only restricted autonomy and not full independence for the Saharawis will be on the table.
For the most up-to-date information on the Western Sahara, or the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (as the separatist government calls the occupied territory), check these resources:
ARSO (www.arso.org)
BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14115273)
CIA World Factbook (www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/wi.html)
Global Voices (globalvoicesonline.org)
UN (www.un.org)
SAFE TRAVEL IN THE WESTERN SAHARA
Despite ongoing tensions in the Western Sahara, travel in much of the west of this region is still considered safe by most government travel advisories. Flying in and out of Dakhla from Casabanca or Agadir is straightforward and safe.
Spain has been most critical of Morocco’s presence in the Western Sahara, so Spanish travellers are most likely to field questions from Moroccan officials. Occupations likely to ring alarm bells at police posts are journalist or aid worker. If police confirm that you work in an occupation of that nature, you could be followed, detained, sent back to Morocco proper or even deported. Authorities tend to be more wary of travellers visiting Laâyoune than Dakhla or Tarfaya.
That said, Spanish and other nationalities visiting for legitimate purposes of tourism are likely to have no problems at all.
Travelling overland, and approaching the Western Sahara through towns such as Tarfaya, Tan Tan, Goulimime and Tata, you should also be prepared for the regular occurrence of police checkpoints. Foreigners are invariably asked about their occupation, reason for visiting, and next destination, and passports are requested so details can be recorded.
For most people exchanges between police and travellers at checkpoints usually dissolve quickly into the relative merits of the Barcelona and Real Madrid football teams. However, everyone should treat the checkpoint stops seriously, tedious though they are, as there is a small risk of travellers being mistaken for a journalist or Polisario sympathiser.
In the Western Sahara, your passport and visa details will be noted down, along with your vehicle details if you are driving. If you’re on a bus, you can usually stay in your seat while the police take your ID and write down your particulars. To streamline these encounters, it's a good strategy is to have multiple photocopies of the identification pages from your passport, to hand over, rather than the actual document.
Once in both Laâyoune (especially) and Dakhla, you will be aware of the military and police, both of whom are sensitive to photography around military installations. Similarly, they will not take too kindly to you photographing or trying to visit the refugee camps around both cities, where many Saharawi still live.
Laâyoune (Al-'Uyun) العيون
Pop 248,000
The Spanish created Laâyoune as an outpost from which to administer the nearby Bou Craa phosphate mines. The Moroccans had bigger ambitions and spent more than US$1 billion turning it into the Western Sahara's principal city. Now neither Saharawi nor Spanish, its population is mostly Moroccans, lured from the north by the promise of healthy wages and tax-free goods.
A government centre and military garrison with UN Land Cruisers drifting along its drab avenues, Laâyoune is not worth a visit for its own sake. Indeed, given the occasional tensions between Moroccans and Saharawi – protests were experienced across the territory in 2014 – we recommend it's only worth passing through if you're travelling overland to Mauritania. Whether you’re heading north or south, distances are so great that you may have to stop here, but try to plan your trip so you pause in Tarfaya or Dakhla instead.
4Sleeping & Eating
The UN maintains a significant presence in Laâyoune and tends to fill the better hotels, so you would be wise to book well ahead. Unsurprisingly, good accommodation in this desert outpost is expensive by Moroccan standards.
There are simple restaurants around Pl Dchira, where around Dh35 should get you a filling meal. More lively food stalls can be found at the Souq Djemal. Otherwise, wander down Blvd de Mekka or head to a hotel restaurant.
Hôtel JodesaHOTEL€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 992064; 223 Blvd de Mekka; s/d Dh120/190, with shower Dh170/220; W)
Behind its dilapidated two-tone facade, this central cheapie has basic but reasonably spacious rooms.
Hôtel NagjirHOTEL€€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 89 41 68; Pl de la Résistance; s/d incl breakfast from Dh545/670; aW)
Beyond its grand reception, the four-star Nagjir has a restaurant and small but comfortable rooms with tiled floors. It has another, equally '70s hotel, Nagjir Plage, by the sandy beach at Foum el-Oued, 22km from town.
Sahara Line HotelHOTEL€€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 99 54 54; Blvd el-Kairaouane; s/d Dh450/560; aW)
A UN favourite, the three-star Sahara Line has swish, carpeted rooms with fridge, bathroom and TV. There’s a restaurant on the top floor, but no bar.
Hôtel ParadorHOTEL€€€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 892814; Ave de l'Islam; s/d Dh1100/1400; as)
This survivor from Spanish days, built in hacienda style around gardens, has a faintly colonial bar and a good restaurant. The rooms are equipped with all the creature comforts you’d expect and each has a small terrace.
Le PoissonierSEAFOOD€
( GOOGLE MAP ; 183 Blvd de Mekka; mains from Dh50; h11am-midnight)
One of the city's best restaurants, serving catches from the Atlantic. There are worse ways to spend your time in Laâyoune than over a fish soup or lobster here.
Pizzeria la MadoneITALIAN€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 99 32 52; 141 Ave Chahid Bouchraya; pizzas Dh50; h11am-midnight)
A cosy place to eat, although it also does a brisk takeaway trade, la Madone specialises in pasta dishes and thin-crust pizzas.
8Information
The city’s showpiece is the vast Pl du Méchouar, but there is no obvious centre. The post office, banks and most hotels are along Ave Hassan II and Blvd de Mekka, and internet cafes are on Blvd de Mekka. Bored youths hang about at Pl du Méchouar at night.
Délégation Régionale du Tourisme ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 89 16 94; Ave de l’Islam; h9am-noon & 2.30-4.30pm Mon-Fri) Opposite Hôtel Parador.
El Sahariano ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 98 12 12; www.facebook.com/elsaharianotravel; Blvd de Mekka) Well-established travel agency booking flights and other transport.
8Getting There & Away
Air
Hassan I Airport ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 89 37 91; www.onda.ma) Located 1.5km southwest of Laâyoune. Flights from Agadir to Dakhla sometimes transit here.
Binter Canarias (www.bintercanarias.com) Flights to/from various destinations in the Canary Islands.
Royal Air Maroc (RAM; GOOGLE MAP ; %0528 89 40 77; www.royalairmaroc.com; Immeuble Nagjir, Pl de la Résistance) Fight
s to/from Casablanca, Agadir and Dakhla.
Boat
At the time of writing there were no ferries linking Laâyoune with the Canary Islands, but there were plans to restart a service linking Tarfaya to Fuerteventura.
Bus
Buses mostly leave from the offices towards the southern end of Blvd de Mekka; however, a new bus station located to the west of central Laâyoune was awaiting completion at the time of research. Book ahead for daily CTM ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.ctm.ma; Blvd de Mekka) departures to: Agadir (Dh240, 11 hours), Dakhla (Dh175, eight hours), Goulimime (Dh170, seven hours), Marrakesh (Dh350, 14 hours), Tan Tan (Dh130, five hours) and Tiznit (Dh210, nine hours). Supratours ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.supratours.ma; Pl Oum Saad) services cost slightly more than CTM's; SATAS ( GOOGLE MAP ; Blvd de Mekka) services cost the same or marginally less.
Taxi
Red-and-white petits taxis charge about Dh5 to take you across town, including to the main grand-taxi station, located about 2km east of the centre along Blvds Prince Moulay Abdallah and Abou Bakr Seddik. Grand-taxi services include Tarfaya (Dh45), Tan Tan (Dh150), Goulimime (Dh200), Inezgane (for Agadir; Dh220) and Dakhla (Dh200).
DISPUTED TERRITORY
Ask most Moroccans about the status of the Western Sahara and they will insist it belongs to their country, yet the UN maintains it is under dispute. Local maps may show this region as a continuation of the hammada around Tarfaya, but many outside Morocco disagree.
Lonely Planet Morocco Page 79