Points of Interest
Essential Morocco presents the following ‘snippet’ guides to various cities and areas of Morocco along with some first-hand travel reports and recommendations for your reference.
Tangier and the northern Atlantic coast
Tangier has an international airport at Ibn Batouta (previously known as Boukhalef), and ferry connections with Algeciras, Tarifa and the French port of Sète. Unless you are bringing a car over from Spain, it's a better point of arrival than Ceuta: both for the town's own attractions, and for the convenience of moving straight on into Morocco. Asilah is a mere forty minutes' ride on the train; Meknes, Fes, Rabat and Casablanca are all comfortably reached within the day, while if you are in a hurry to get south, there is an overnight train for Marrakesh. From Tangier a new motorway makes for an enjoyable car journey all down the Atlantic coast. Police monitor speed vigilently so prudence is advised. In the event you are pulled over you are greeted with a smile and at this point it may be possible to 'negotiate' your infraction fine if you speak French.
The coast detailed in this section is the Atlantic stretch south towards Rabat. Asilah, on the train line, is the easiest destination; Larache & Lixus can be reached by bus or grand taxi only, either from Tangier or (simpler) from Asilah. A more distinctively Moroccan resort is Moulay Bousselham, south of Larache and accessible by bus or grand taxi via Ksar El Kebir or Souk El Arba du Rharb.
Asilah
The first town south of Tangier – and first stop on the train line – Asilah is one of the most elegant of the old Portuguese Atlantic ports, ranking with El Jadida and Essaouira to the south of Casablanca, and is small, easy to manage, and exceptionally clean. First impressions are of wonderful square stone ramparts, flanked by palms, and an outstanding beach – an immense sweep of sand stretching to the north halfway to Tangier. Further exploration reveals the Medina, which is one of the most attractive in the country, colourwashed at every turn, and with a series of murals painted for the town's International Festival. The first International Festival was in 1978 and it has been held most years since. It always takes place in August and runs for three to four weeks, with a programme usually including art, dance, film, music and poetry, attracting performers from around the world.
Larache
Larache is a relaxed, easy-going town, its summer visitors primarily Moroccan tourists, who come to enjoy the beaches to the north of the estuary of the River Loukos. You'll see as many women around as men – a reassuring feeling for women travellers looking for a low-key spot to bathe. Nearby, and accessible, are the ruins of ancient Lixus, legendary site of the Gardens of the Hesperides. The Plan Azur Resort of Port Lixus will be adjacent to the ancient ruins of Lixus & the town of Larache.
Physically, the town looks like an amalgam of Tangier and Tetouan: an attractive place, if not spectacularly so. It was the main port of the northern Spanish zone and, though the central Plaza de España has since become Place de la Libération, it still bears much of its former stamp. There are faded old Spanish hotels, Spanish-run restaurants and Spanish bars, even an active Spanish cathedral (Mass Sat 7pm, Sun 11am) for the small colony who still work at the docks. In its heyday it was quite a metropolis, publishing its own Spanish newspaper and journal, and drawing a cosmopolitan population that included the French writer Jean Genet, who spent the last decade of his life here and is buried in the old Spanish cemetery.
Before its colonization in 1911, Larache was a small trading port, its activities limited by dangerous offshore sand bars. Without these, it might have rivalled Tangier, for it is better positioned as a trade route to Fes. Instead, it eked out a living by building pirate ships made of wood from the nearby Forest of Mamora for the "Barbary Corsairs" of Salé and Rabat.
Saidia (Mediterranean Coast)
The location of the first Plan Azur Resort, Mediterrania-Saidia.
Saïdia is a pleasant resort town that makes a great base for excursions. It has an old fortress which dates back to the 17th century and a more recent 19th century kasbah. With 18 kilometres of sandy beach it is great for all types of watersports, with a lovely bay providing a safe place for sailing. A main component of the new Mediterrania-Saidia resort is an 840 berth state-of-the-art marina as well as three 18-hole golf courses.
Excursions
Take the road southeast through the Béni-Snassen mountains to Morocco’s easternmost city, Oujda. Don't miss the breathtaking Zegzel gorges and the grottoes that punctuate their sheer cliffs. Most spectacular of these grottoes are the Camel, which takes its name from the camel-shaped stalagmite near the entrance, said to cure infertility, and the Pigeon Grotto, a famous and unique prehistoric site.
Activities
Saidia is renowned for its beautiful beaches. Access to the main beach is through a eucalyptus forest.
Getting there / getting around
Saidia is easily reached from Oujda, with plenty of buses and taxis running between the two towns. Flights to the nearest airport in Oujda are available via Casablanca. It is widely predicted that many European low-cost air carriers will add Oujda to their routes due to the importance and scale of the Mediterrania-Saidia Plan Azur Resort.
Mzoura
If you have an interest in ancient sites, you might devote a half-day to explore the prehistoric stone circle of Mzoura, south of Asilah. The site, whose name means "Holy Place" in Arabic, originally comprised a tumulus, assumed to be the tomb of some early Mauritanian king, enclosed by an elliptical circle of some 167 standing stones. It was excavated in 1935 and the mound is now reduced to a series of watery hollows. To the north of the circle, there still stands a tall, upright stone known as El Uted, where, legend has it, Sebastian, the young king of Portugal, lunched on his way from Asilah, where he had landed, to his death the following day at the cataclysmic Battle of the Three Kings near Ksar El Kebir. There are photographs of Mzoura, pre-excavation, in the archeological museum in Tetouan.
Agadir
The city of Agadir, south of Marrakech and Essaouira, is totally new and modern, and is fast developing into Morocco's major resort town chiefly because of its magnificent sandy beaches. The city was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1961 that killed 15,000 people and wiped out most of its historic heritage as an important sea port and centre for caravans traversing the Sahara. The rebuilt city has been modelled to be a tourist destination and fishing port, favoured by package tours particularly as a starting point for excursions into the desert to the south. The city boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, and claims to have 20,000 hotel beds (a quarter of the total in Morocco). The Port of Agadir is the world biggest sardine fishing port. You can sample the daily catch at any of the many restaurants along the port. The Plan Azur Resort of Taghazout will be sited near Agadir.
Plage Blanche
This odd little cliff-side town and surrounding territory were controlled by Spain until 1969 when the Moroccans forced them out. Its appeal lies not so much with the beach but unexpected art deco buildings and an air of gentle melancholy.
Built by the Spanish in the '30s as a garrison town, much of it has had a fresh lick of paint. A few hours ambling is quite enough for, amongst others, the lighthouse, town hall, a rotting (and abandoned) Spanish consulate and the law courts.
This Sahara region town and magnificent stretches of beach will be the location of the Plan Azur Resort, Plage Blanche. This resort, the southernmost of the six Plan Azure Resorts, will be positioned as an ‘oasis by the sea’ with rare birds, fossils and archaeological sites to appeal to the ecotourism market.
Skiing in the Atlas Mountains
There are two ski resorts in Morocco where snow is somewhat guaranteed to fall and visitors can rent equipment. Neither of these skiing areas should set you back more than $25 for the day:
Oukaimeden lies just south of Marrakech (46 miles) in the High Atlas Mountains and is usually covered in snow in January and February. There are ski lifts (you can also use a donkey) and skis to rent but don't expect high quality. There are a few places to eat snacks and two hotels to overnight at. Oukaimeden is an easy day trip from Marrakech and will cost you about $40 to get to by taxi.
Mischliffen is a ski area near the town of Ifrane in the Middle Atlas Mountains (close to Fes and Meknes). There are ski lifts but they don't always work but you can always walk up the slopes. The easiest way to get there is to take a taxi from Ifrane (6 miles away). |
