Guelmim-Oued Noun

Guelmim-Oued Noun is where Morocco turns from mountains to desert. The last folds of the Anti-Atlas meet the Moroccan Sahara and the Atlantic here, and for centuries the region was a crossroads for caravans travelling between the desert and the north. Its capital, Guelmim, is known as the “gate of the Moroccan Sahara”.

Overview

The region has four provinces: Guelmim, Assa-Zag, Tan-Tan and Sidi Ifni. It mixes landscapes more than anywhere else in the south: palm-grove oases around Guelmim and Assa, a rugged Atlantic coast around Sidi Ifni, and the long, wild shoreline of Plage Blanche.

What to see

• The weekly Amhayrich camel market in Guelmim.
• The oases of Asrir and Tighmert, with their kasbahs and guesthouses.
• Plage Blanche, more than 40 km of empty white-sand beach.
• Sidi Ifni, a former Spanish enclave with Art Deco architecture and a surfing coast.
• Tan-Tan, a fishing port on the road south, famous for its annual moussem, a large gathering of nomadic tribes.

Economy

Livestock farming, especially camels, oasis agriculture and fishing out of Tan-Tan and Sidi Ifni are the region’s traditional activities, and tourism is growing around the oases and the coast.

Getting around

Guelmim is about two and a half hours south of Agadir, and its airport has flights to Casablanca. The region is best explored by car.