The atlantic transsahara route, 1000 KM by road and other Western Sahara Things to Do Tips

Most people who visit Western Sahara, will come there to take the Atlantic Transsahara Route from Europe to Mauritania, Senegal and other West African countries. So we did, but we came from the south and travelled to the north.

What is anyway a ´must see´, not because you maybe will like it, but because you can cannot avoid to see it for about 1000 KM, is the stripe of asphalt in the inmense desert landscape. Maybe it is boring at the long run, but it is also impressive.

If you like to learn more about the transsahara routes, look at the website below.

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Directions: From Tarfaya in the north to Guergarat in the south, passing Laayoune, Boujdour and Dakhla.
Website: www.sahara-overland.com

The Atlantic Transsahara Route in Western Sahara is often very close to the Atlantic coast. That doesn´t mean you can see it often, but everytime we got a glimpse at the ocean, it was great. The views at the ocean give some variety en route during our long drive in the desert.

We didn´t visit Dakhla - it´s 40 KM from the route-, but we could see the city from far at the peninsula.

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Address: south of Dakhla

After the Spanish left Spanish Sahara, 350.000 Moroccan civilians walked into the Western Sahara, the so-called Green March of 1975, orchestrated by the Moroccan King Hassan II. I was at that time In Marrakesh. I didn´t know exactly what was going on, looking at the impressive procession of thousands of people of all kind like young, old, traditonial, modern, male and female.

After the ceasefire between the Moroccans and Frente Polisario in 1991, Morocco poured money into infrastructure and housing projects. Moroccans from the north have been lured to move to here by tax-free living and prospect of employement.

In the desert we saw many new built houses and urban areas. As an European townplanner it was interesting for me to see, how newtowns are built in these desert areas.

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All you see along most of the 1000 km road from south to north Western Sahara is desert and sky. The changes in scenes are not big, it tends even to be boring. Sometimes is the desert is sandy, sometimes more rocky, sometimes flat and sometimes there are some mountains or sanddunes. That´s all.

Despite the little changes, it is always special to drive in such an immense and empty desert landscape for hours and hours. In the desert the skies can be very spectacular.

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Boujdour, 186 KM south of Laayoune is the first town we crossed at our route from the south of Western Sahara to the north.

Boujdour is a small town lying at the coast with a fishing harbour and a lighthouse. In Boujdour is no hotel, but there are several shops and you can find some cafés for having a meal.

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Directions: 186 Km south of Laayoune

Crossing Boujdour from the southern roundabout, through the wide mainstreet, a dual carriageway lined with palmtrees, to the entrance-exit arch at the north side took only three minutes. At the mainstreet we saw a busstation and several shops.

The towns in Western Sahara and South Morocco all have entrance-exit arches.

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Directions: Boujdour lies 186 KM south of Laayoune.

Laayoune lies about 22 KM inland from the coast. At the coast lies Foum el-Oued. Here you have a beach, an esplanada and soem accommodations. Foum el Oued is a nice and relaxed place for swimming, but be careful because the waves of the ocean can be a bit dangerous. And there a big difference between season and off-season, when all is closed and empty.

We reached Layoune, coming from the Dakhla road from the south. After passing Laayoune-port and Foum el-Oued the road went inland in the east direction. We drove through the sanddunes, which surround Layoune. Allthough we saw allready a lot of sanddunes during our transsahara trip, it is always spectacular again to be in the middle of it. There was hardly any sand on the road, but it looked like the road has to be cleaned from the blowing sands sometimes.

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Laayoune (or Al-'Uyun, Aaiún, Aiun) lies in the Wadi Hamra region, in the northern part of Western Sahara. The town was founded in 1930 by the Spanish, allthough there were also allready before 1930 settlements in this area. This first town grew up at the southern shores of the wadi Seguiat al Hamra, becoming important as the administrative centre of the phosphate industry. From 1940 to 1975 Laayoune was the capital of Western Sahara or Spanish Sahara, an African overseas province of Spain.

In 1975 Morocco annexed Laayoune and so it became after 1975 the -not internationally recognized- capital of the Laayoune province of Morocco. A second town centre grew up on the hills over old Laayoune.

Today the town has more than 200,000 inhabitants and survives most on Moroccon governmental subsidies.

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Directions: North part of the Western Sahara, 476 KM south of Agadir.

Entering the town from the west, coming from the coast, the first orientationpoint you will see is the Place De Mechouar. Like in other Moroccan cities it is the big central square whithout any shade or protection against the hot sun at the square itself.

Laayoune's place is built by the Moroccans as the town's showpiece, made up with four towers and the Palais de Justice as the central point.

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Directions: At the westside of the citycentre, west of the Boulevard de Mekka.

All the buildings around the Place du Mechouar and the four towers are made in the same kind of Moroccan architecture, which unity is intensified by the use of the same red-pink colour.

During the day we didn't see much activity at the Place du Mechouar. And I can't imagine there will be often in the evening.

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Directions: At the west side of the citycentre, west of the Boulevard de Mekka.