Morocco Savvy

Dakhla is the new destination of choice for the hip and happening crowds - and celebrating its new status with a festival of its own.

Surfing, kite-surfing, paragliding, quad-biking and rough-sea fishing. Dakhla is quickly becoming the real men’s paradise, where talk is about hitching your way into Mauritania rather than finding the most lavish palace restaurant.

Marrakech is for tourists, Dakhla is for travelers. But beware, French daily Le Figaro this weekend put the town on its list of cool destinations. The door to package holidays could be opened soon.

Apart from enough wind to get your kite going, Dakhla has one major unique selling point. It is one of the few places on earth where the desert almost literally touches the ocean.

The small town was a bit of an unknown entity to most people, except UN peace keepers and Moroccans who travel from all over the country to work here during the fishing season. But lately, more and more foreigners are finding their way to Dakhla.

Thanks to the early years of aviation, the town even has an airport. But its business fell last year,  with only 24.459 passengers passing through its tiny terminal (most of them UN officials, we guess). The new tourists - erm, sorry - travelers will probably opt for the much more adventurous 26-hour bus ride from Marrakech.

Dakhla’s authorities are determined to get more visitors. So next weekend, the town is celebrating its first Desert & Sea Festival. There’s the usual menu of folklore and gnaoua music, mixed with kite-surfing (of course), funboarding, martial arts demonstrations and even a film festival.

Among the artists that will be performing are the Gypsy Kings and American jazz pianist Randy Weston. Recent Motorola Music Awards winners Hoba Hoba Spirit, H Kayne and Darga are also appearing.

The festival’s website will stream the entire festival, allowing us to watch the event online. Which fits perfectly with the new, cool Dakhla. 

• Help the Dakhla tourist board with a new slogan that fits its hip status - post your suggestions