Western Sahara Things to Do

  Place Oum Saad, Laayoune
by maykal
 
  • Place Oum Saad, Laayoune
      Place Oum Saad, Laayoune
    by maykal
  • Dunes, Laayoune
      Dunes, Laayoune
    by maykal
  • Near Dakhla
      Near Dakhla
    by lotharscheer
  • Near Dakhla
      Near Dakhla
    by lotharscheer
  • Near Dakhla
      Near Dakhla
    by lotharscheer
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Laayoune-Plage

by Pieter11

A few kilometres south of Foum El-Oued, you will find Laayoune-Plage. When you think of all the places in France that have the addition "plage" you might think of long boulevard, palmtrees, beaches, bars, resturants, shops and a lot of tourism. Well: that's in France: this is Western Sahara. Here "plage" means something different.Laayoune-Plage basically is a business town. This is the mainharbour of the country and from here almost all export is shipped out. This results in a town where concrete buildings is all you see, there there are lots of trucks driving around and a lot of boats in the water.What makes "Plage" interesting to visit? It is interesting to see how a country like Western Sahara, where there really is nothing, can still earn a living by being creative. And here you can find places to buy and drink alcohol: something that is very difficult in Laayoune. This is a place...

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Foum El-Oued: A bizarre seaside

by Pieter11

Who knows: maybe in a few years there will be more tourism in Western Sahara and there will be a luxurious resort close to Laayoune where tourists can enjoy the ocean, the beach and the sun. If that would ever happen, it would happen here in Foum El-Oued. For the moment however there is nothing more then a bizarre seaside here.Already on the road towards "Foum" you'll see the sand-problem everywhere. Sand is blowing everywhere and roads would be disappearing if they weren't cleaned every hour. Camels are a normal sight on the side this road.And then you end up at the coastline where there are good beaches, some rough ones as well, but no single tourist! The boulevard is there, but there are only some small, concrete houses of some local fishermen, and sometimes a second house of a rich person from Laayoune.This dream of development of the locals, in combination to the total emptyness...

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Foum El-Oued

by Pieter11

The capital of Western Sahara, Laayoune, is located a few kilometres inland, right next to the point where two rivers meet. The biggest part of the year there is hardly any water in these rivers, or even no water at all, but still there is a place that is names after these dry riverbeds: Foum El-Oued, which means something like Mouth of the River.This place is situated at about 10 kilometres west from Laayoune, at the coast. There are plans, or maybe better "ambitions" to exploit this area for tourism since the climate here is very soft and the beaches are naturally sandy. At this moment however, Foum El-Oued is not more then some concrete houses, a few camels and a whole lot of sand...

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Dakhla - Visit the hot sulphur springs.

by pfsmalo

5 kms after the turn-off to Dakhla, just after a short pass through the hills, on your right hand side is a hot sulphur spring. This is free, but the person operating the pumps does expect tips. It is even written on the wall !!!!! Very good for all manner of soreness after a day spent driving.

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Laayoune: The Spanish town

by Pieter11

If you ask me, the most interesting part of Laayoune definitely is the old Spanish part of the city. This part is situated in the north of the city, at the banks of the river that indicates the northern border of Laayoune. To get there from the modern centre, all you have to do is walk to the north and go downhill: the Spanish town litterly is "Downtown Laayoune".Walking around in this area is walking around in a ramshackle area: the streets are full of ditches and the houses are in bad need of some renovation. But if you manage to look through this mess you see a very interesting area. Laayoune might lack historical remainings, but the Spanish part is the closest it gets.The most interesting thing here are the bizarre Spanish houses that you can find here: huge concrete iglo-houses that are still used, or complete quarters with only houses topped with a dome, and also some houses in the...

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Laayoune: Place Dchira

by Pieter11

Place Mechouar is the square with the nicest buildings around it, Place Oum Saad is the emptiest and biggest, but Place Dchira definitely is the most vivid square of all! The square is situated in the middle of the business centre of Laayoune and is also in the part where you'll find most the restaurants.Dchira Square basically is a very big round-about. All around the square you'll find businesses: banks, the head office of Royal Air Maroc, lots of buscompanies and a lot more. And in between these buildings there are small restaurants and bars everywhere.In the middle of the square, at the centre of the roundabout, there is a nice oasis where you can hide from the traffic and the heat. In the restaurant/bar that you'll here you can have a good meal or a nice glass of fruitjuice: a place popular with businessmen, the local youth and families.

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Laayoune: The Friday Mosque

by Pieter11

Right next to the Place Mechouar you'll find the new, central mosque of Laayoune. This mosque is the place where the people come to especially for the Friday Prayers. The mosque is built in a pretty basic, typically modern Moroccan style with green tiles on the roof, a square, high minaret at one side and for the rest a lot of concrete.Like all buildings in Laayoune the mosque is painted in the same salmon-pink colour. It used to be white, as I saw on older pictures, but because it was probably too standing out like this, they made it into the same colour as everything else.On Fridays you can expect a big crowd coming here, but also during normal praying hours you'll see people from all ages and classes coming into to mosque to pray together.

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Laayoune: Souq Djemal

by Pieter11

Directly south from Place Dchira you'll end up in the souq of Laayoune. This area is very typical for the whole region: a market that is very, very quiet at daytime with just some salesmen and some old people hanging around there staring at everybody who stops by. And as soon as it gets dark it transforms completely: people come from everywhere, everywhere you hear the salesmen shouting and the streets are covered with bikes, cars and all other things on wheels.Therefore the only way to see the Souq Djemal in a decent way is by going there in the evening. Out on the streets it's a great experience and when you enter the indoor souq you'll be surprised by the smells and the colours of all the food they sell here: from the local specialty fresh fish and the delicious olives to complete cow- and goatheads.The get to the centre of the souq you have to enter the street that goes straight...

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Laayoune: Place Oum Saad

by Pieter11

Between the important square Place Mechouar and Place Dchira you will find another huge open area: the Place Oum Saad. This square is something in between a huge sportsfield, a events-square and a crossing point for traffic.Place Oum Saad is completely surrounded by pretty useless columns. The columns are not meant to separate the square from the street: walls do. And the columns hardly offer any shadow either. But: they're there and it's nice to take some perspective-pictures here.The square is mainly used as a sports field for the school in the area. Of course football (soccer) is the most popular sport here, like in the whole of the region, and don't be surprised to see dozens of young boys hanging out on the square playing a game.The other main purpose of the square is the busstop that is located here. Supratours, the biggest buscompany in the area, has his stop here and that...

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Laayoune: Place Mechouar

by Pieter11

After the Moroccans took over the control of Western Sahara in 1979, they started expanding the city in a high tempo. Where the Spaniards only built the city in the lower parts of the area, close to the river, the Moroccans immediately started building on top of the hill.The Place Mechouar was one of the first projects: a big, central square that is the space for happenings and that is bordering the Palais de Justice and the main mosque of the city. It is situated at the end of the important Boulevard de Mekka and the road towards the airport and the coast.The square can be seen from a distance already because of the four towers on every corner of Place Mechouar. These towers indicate the first part of the square: here you'll also find some "sails" where you can find some protection from the sun. In the other part of the square you will not see that much: this part is clearly not taken...

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Fun things to do in Western Sahara
 
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Things to Do: Cities in Western Sahara
  1. Laayoune Plage Things to Do
  2. Ad Dakhla Things to Do
  3. Laayoune Things to Do
  4. Cabo Bojador Things to Do
  5. Semara Things to Do
  6. Guelta Zemmur Things to Do

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Questions and Answers

travelthrough profile photo

Q:  Hi, I´d need to know if there is still a ferry service going from Cran Canaria to the area of Western Sahara in... 

pfsmalo profile photo

A: Even the cargo service is interupted at the moment, relations between Morocco and Spain not being at their best. Other than that no normal type of ferry service in... 

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