Dakhlaالداخلة

The bay was known to sailors long before there was a town. Portuguese navigators reached this coast in the 15th century, and one expedition in 1436 named the inlet Rio do Ouro, the River of Gold, in the hope of a trade that never materialised. Spanish and other European ships fished and traded along the coast for centuries, but the shore stayed in the hands of nomadic Sahrawi tribes, who moved with their camels and herds between wells and pastures.

Spain claimed the coast in 1884 and founded a trading post and fort on the peninsula, which it named Villa Cisneros. For decades it was a small garrison and fishing station, reached by sea and by a few desert tracks, with little more than a fort, a landing place and a handful of houses. In the 1920s and 1930s, the airmail route between France, West Africa and South America used the coast, and Villa Cisneros was one of the stops.

In 1958 Spain joined its holdings in the region into a single province of Spanish Sahara, and the town grew a little with fishing, a port and administrative buildings. Phosphate discoveries at Bou Craa in the north made the wider territory more valuable in the 1960s, and the pressure for decolonisation grew, from the United Nations, from neighbouring states and from a Sahrawi independence movement.

The end of Spanish rule came fast. In November 1975 Morocco organised the Green March of civilians into the territory, and Spain, Morocco and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords, under which Spain withdrew by early 1976. Mauritania took the southern part of the territory, including the town, and renamed it Ad-Dakhla. The Polisario Front, which declared the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1976, fought both states. Mauritania made peace and left in 1979, and Morocco took over the town.

A ceasefire under United Nations auspices took effect in 1991, and a UN mission remains in the territory. The status question has not been settled: the United Nations lists Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, Morocco administers the part west of a long sand wall known as the berm, and the Polisario Front disputes that administration and controls part of the area east of it. Governments, courts and companies handle the question differently. In practice a visitor to Dakhla arrives on a Moroccan domestic flight, spends dirhams and meets Moroccan police, and is well advised to read their own government's travel advice for the region first.

The geography explains almost everything a visitor does here. The peninsula is a long, narrow spit of sand, roughly 40 km long, that runs south-west from the town. On its western side is the open Atlantic, with swell and a cold current. On its eastern side is the lagoon, a large, shallow, sheltered bay of flat water that the peninsula protects from the ocean.

The wind is the second half of the story. Trade winds blow along this coast from the north and north-east for much of the year, and they are strongest from spring to autumn, with the afternoon usually stronger than the morning. In the lagoon, the wind arrives over the sand without the waves, and that combination of steady breeze and flat, waist-deep water is what made the place a centre for kitesurfing, windsurfing and, more recently, wingfoiling.

The sport arrived as a trickle of travellers in the early 2000s and became an industry. Kite camps and schools grew on the lagoon shore, mostly along the peninsula road at distances of about 10 to 45 km from town, each with its own beach, lodgings, kitchen and equipment shop. Competitions bring in more people at some times of year. The camps are the reason a visitor needs a plan for transport: the town has the airport, the banks and the shops, while the lagoon has the wind and the beds.

The lagoon is also a working and natural landscape. Oysters are grown in racks on the shore, and fishing boats work the bay and the ocean. Birds, including flamingos and pelicans, use the lagoon and its islands in season, and a protected area covers part of the shore (check the boundaries with a guide). The White Dune on the eastern side, a large ridge of pale sand that meets the water, is a favourite trip, reached by 4x4 across the flats or by boat, and its access depends on the tide.

Safety here is mostly about respecting conditions. The lagoon is forgiving because it is shallow and flat, but wind can strengthen quickly, the sea outside the lagoon is cold with rip currents, and rescue is slower than in a busy resort. Take a lesson with a school that has a rescue boat, wear a wetsuit, and check the wind and the tide before any boat or dune day. In winter the wind is lighter and less reliable, and nights are cool, so the town is quiet and beds are cheaper.

Long before kites, the town lived on the sea. The cold Atlantic current that runs along this coast brings up nutrients, and the waters off the Sahara are among the richest fishing grounds in the region. Sardines and other small pelagic fish, octopus, sole and bream are landed at the port, and fish processing and freezing plants sit on the edge of town.

The fishing harbour is the best free show in Dakhla. Early in the morning boats come in, crews unload crates, ice trucks queue on the quay and dealers sort the catch by size and species, with gulls working the edges. It is a working port, not a tourist site, so keep out of the way of forklifts and vehicles, ask before photographing people, and never point a camera at naval, customs or police areas. The best hours are roughly 07:00 to 09:30, and by noon the quay is quiet.

The second local speciality is oysters. Farms on the lagoon shore grow oysters on racks in the cold, nutrient-rich water, and Dakhla oysters are sold at the shore and around Morocco. Eating them near the farm is a short, cheap pleasure: they are opened to order, served on ice with lemon, and a dozen costs a modest sum compared with Europe. As with any raw shellfish, choose a place that keeps them cold and skip them if you are pregnant or unwell.

Seafood is the table's main event. Small restaurants near the port grill sea bream, sole and grouper whole and serve them with salad, bread and a simple sauce. The market has fried fish and sandwiches for a few dirhams, and octopus appears grilled or in a tajine. Camel meat and milk belong to the older Sahrawi kitchen, and you will see them on some menus, though not every place has them.

Ask the price before you order, especially for fish sold by weight, and carry small notes because change is scarce. In Ramadan most restaurants and cafés close in daylight and reopen after sunset, so the fish lunch becomes a fish dinner. If you eat one meal with a view of the water, make it oysters on the lagoon shore, and if you eat one meal with the local crowd, make it the port grills at lunch.

The town's people are a mix. The Sahrawi, who speak Hassaniya, a dialect of Arabic with its own vocabulary, are the desert's older inhabitants, historically pastoral nomads organised in tribes. Since the 1970s and 1980s many settlers and workers from elsewhere in Morocco have come for the port, the administration and the fish plants, and the town also has families from Mauritania and the wider Sahel. In the streets you will hear Hassaniya, Moroccan Arabic and French, and Spanish is still spoken by some older people.

Tea is the social centre. Sahrawi tea is green tea brewed strong and sweet in a small pot over charcoal, and poured from a height into small glasses to make foam. Three glasses are served in sequence, and the saying that goes with them, that the first is bitter like life, the second sweet like love and the third gentle like death, is repeated to visitors in many versions. Accept the first glass, stay for the second, and you have done your part. If you are invited into a home or a tent, a small gift of sugar or tea is welcome.

Dress and manners are conservative. Shoulders and knees are covered in town and at the market, and swimwear belongs at the beach or in a camp. Ramadan changes the town: cafés and restaurants are closed in daylight, and the streets fill after sunset. Greet before you ask a question, use the right hand to give and receive, and ask before photographing people.

Politics is best left alone. The status of the territory is a subject on which people hold strong views, and officials in particular are not people to debate it with. Do not photograph police, checkpoints or military sites, and do not take part in demonstrations. If someone raises the subject with you, listening politely is enough.

Music, poetry and the camel matter in the desert culture, and some camps and tour operators offer an evening of tea and a meal in a tent or a courtyard. These are worth doing if they are run by local hosts and priced clearly. The town's craft stalls sell rugs, tea sets and jewellery. Bargain lightly, ask where things are made, and buy what you would use.

Dakhla is small and low, which makes it easy to read. A grid of wide streets runs between the port on the north-west, the market to the south and the bay-side promenade to the east. The main street, lined with cafés, shops, pharmacies and banks, is the town's spine. Buildings are mostly one to three storeys, plain and functional.

The wind shapes daily life. Sand blows across the paving and collects at the edges of kerbs, shopfronts have deep awnings, and people move along the sheltered side of the street. Midday is quiet, with shops shut between about 13:00 and 15:00, and the town wakes again after the afternoon breeze and after sunset. Distances feel longer than they are, because a walk into the wind is tiring. For any trip between clusters, a petit taxi is cheap, and a walk is better kept for the promenade or a single cluster.

Some older administrative and religious buildings in the centre date from the Spanish period. Modern government buildings, a mosque and new blocks show the town's recent growth. Ask your hotel which older buildings can be visited, because access and status change (check), and do not photograph police, military or government sites.

The bay promenade, on the eastern side, is the place to end a day. It is a paved walk along the water with a viewpoint, benches and a wide sky. The wind eases late in the afternoon, the light is low, and families and joggers come out. It is not a resort front, and there is little shade or shelter, so bring a windbreaker. A tea at a nearby café is the natural next step.

Do not expect nightlife. Alcohol is served only in some hotels, camps and licensed restaurants, and the streets are quiet after 22:00. The town's evening is tea, a meal, a walk and an early night, which suits a kite day. If you want more, the camps on the lagoon have bars and terraces, and most travellers end up there.

Dakhla is remote, and the practical points matter more than the sights. There are few flights, mostly from Casablanca with some European and Canary Islands routes (check), and the road from Laayoune and Agadir is long. Taxis wait at the airport only for flights, and camps are 10 to 45 km from town, so pre-book a hotel or camp transfer before you land. If your flight arrives late, ask your hotel to hold a room and a driver.

Police and gendarmerie checkpoints are frequent on the roads. Slow down, greet the officer, hand over your passport when asked, and keep two or three photocopies of your passport photo page and entry stamp in your bag. Do not photograph the checkpoint or the officers. Rental cars need papers and insurance that apply here, so check the policy for Western Sahara before you sign.

Landmines and unexploded ordnance remain in the interior and near the berm. Stay on paved roads and marked tracks, do not walk or drive off them, and go to the dune and desert with a camp or a licensed operator. Most governments advise against travel east of the berm, and some advise care in the region as a whole, so read your own government's advice.

Money is simple but cash-based. The dirham is the currency, ATMs are in the centre and can run empty at weekends, and cards work at hotels and camps. Withdraw enough in town before a camp stay and keep small notes for taxis and grills. Buy a SIM in town with your passport, since coverage thins on the peninsula road and near the dune.

Seasons decide the trip. From spring to autumn the wind is steadiest and camps are busiest, with strong afternoon winds and cool evenings. In winter the wind is lighter, nights are cool and beds are cheaper. Bring sun protection, a wetsuit or rash vest, a windbreaker and a hat in all months, and drink water more than you think you need. Ask about insurance that covers your activities and confirms cover for Western Sahara, and plan one buffer day for a cancelled boat or a windless slot.