Roadtrip to Dakhla: Mirleft, Akhefennir, Khnifiss National Park… Your tourist guide N ° 1

Rabat – Dakhla by car 

Total duration: 8 days minimum
2 nights on the way before arriving in Dakhla
3 nights in Dakhla
2 nights on the way back

Stopovers:
It's relative.
We had done Rabat -> Mirleft -> Akhefennir -> Dakhla.
You can do Laayoune or Tarfaya instead of Akhefennir. Or do Agadir or Ifni in the middle of Mirleft.

I will share in this article all the stops we made along the road from Rabat to Dakhla.

Mirleft

📍First stop: Mirleft

📌Along the Atlantic Ocean, on the road between Agadir and Ifni, lies the town of Mirleft, offering a variety of natural landscapes resulting from the coexistence of the mountain ranges of the Anti Atlas and the Atlantic Ocean. 

🛣 In Rabat-Agadir, we took the direct highway. From Agadir, the road along the coast is particularly pleasant. There are miles of wild beaches all the way to Sidi Ifni. While passing through Souss Massa and Aglou National Park before arriving in Mileft.

📣Consider buying argan oil or silver jewelry on the road. This is the place to be!

🏄‍♀️ 🎣 🪁 Many Europeans have settled between Aglou Plage and Sidi Ifni, making Mirleft a refuge for surfing, fishing, paragliding, kite surfing and windsurfing enthusiasts.

🏨 The accommodation is of very good quality with a lot of choices, especially between Aglou and Mirleft.
We stayed at Tifawin Apartment, a nice 3 bedroom apartment at 600dhs / night 💰 You will find it on Booking or Airbnb

🌞 Much like Agadir, Mirleft is known for its beautiful, mild weather that is sunny all year. Which makes it a coastal town that attracts tourists all year round. Yes, in Mirleft you can swim every month of the year.

🏖 Mirleft is a less commercial and less touristy seaside resort than the Agadir region. This charming city will appeal to lovers of calm and simplicity. The locals are very warm and helpful like all the Amazighs of the Anti-Atlas.

📸 In the photo, Legzira beach south of Mirleft. I will talk about it in detail below.

🏖 Legzira Beach

Between Mirleft and Sidi Ifni, there is the most unique beach in Morocco. Often ranked among the most beautiful beaches in the world: Legzira beach.

🏞Naturally formed after years of erosion, Legzira is distinguished by its two gigantic stone arches. Unfortunately, there is only one left. The other collapsed in late 2016, undermined by the wave action. The second arch is also likely to collapse, as the sea continues to wear down on the fragile red sandstone from which it is formed. 

🚌From Taghazout / Tamghart, there are direct shuttles to Legzira beach. Otherwise take the public bus that goes Tiznit - Sidi Ifni and ask to stop at the exit of Legzira beach, from there you have an 800m walk to the beach. 

🍽Restaurants:
On the shores of the beach, you will find restaurants with all kinds of dishes: grilled fish, Fish tagine, Chicken tagine, Beef tagine, Pizza, Panini… etc. And there are also cafes.

🏨Accommodation:
There isn't really apartments to rent on site, at least if you have your tent and sleeping bag (this place is very secure and the locals are super nice and warm). br> Alternatively you can rent a house or apartment in the two nearest towns, which are, Mirleft (village 20 km from Legzira beach) or Sidi Ifni (a small town 10 km from Legzira beach ). The rental price of the apartments is really cheap (from 200dhs / night 💰).

📍Aglou

🏖On the way before Mirleft, we stopped at Aglou beach near Tiznit. A charming seaside resort which has more and more attractive tourist residences on the edge of the Corniche.

🏄‍♀️ For sports enthusiasts, a surf club on the beach and the possibility of quad bike rides.

🏚 We took the opportunity to visit the cute cave houses of Aglou, one glued to the other. There are thousands of caves recorded in this coast as far as Agadir, serving as a fisherman's hut. In the 1970s, Aglou and its troglodyte dwellings were a veritable international haunt for hippies. Most caves do not have any amenities.
The best equipped are rented on Airbnb or other ... from 300dhs per night.

📞No network in the caves or internet connection. 

Akhefennir

📍The Devil's Hole or Akhefennir Gouffre

On the way from Oued Chbika to the village of Akhefennir, is this unique natural phenomenon of its kind. 

🕳 The Devil's Hole as it is called is a yawning chasm carved into the limestone 25 to 30m in diameter by the sea causing the roof to collapse after thousands of years of erosion.

🌊 This natural curiosity is a pleasure for the eyes.
Seeing the ocean rush into it and hearing the dizzying sound of the wind whipping through this abyss causes a feeling of dread and wonder.

🛣 This is an important stopover for travelers embarking on an adventure on the coastal desert road.

📍Khnifis National Park

We continue our roadtrip. After miles of desert as far as the eye can see from Akhefennir, Khnifiss National Park seems to appear out of nowhere. 

🌊 🐪 🛶
It is the only park in the world to include the ocean, the desert and a Naila lagoon (the only Saharan lagoon in North Africa).
Total change of scenery, we could even forget ourselves and believe that we are in another country.

💚💗💙💛
Hence the generosity of this colorful park: green around the lagoon especially at low tide, pink of the many flamingos, blue of the ocean and finally yellow of the desert

📍The park is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, 20km south of Akhefennir and further 180 km northwest of the town of Laâyoune, between Tarfaya and Tan-Tan, opposite the Canary Islands. The national road 1, crosses the park. But to visit the lagoon you have to take an exit on the right if you are going SOUTH.

📜History 

In 1960, the park was first established as a nature reserve.
In 1980, Khnifiss Bay was classified as a Wetland of International Importance and was recognized as a Ramsar2 site.
In 1998 , the nature reserve has been transformed into a permanent biological reserve (SIBE)
In 2006, creation of the Khnifiss national park and includes a coastal part, the Naila lagoon, and the interior part of the desert

The park includes a lagoon system of 6000 ha, 20km long near the Ocean 🌊, the whole being set in a desert context.

🏞What to see in the Park?

The park is accessible 24 hours a day, admission is free.

🛶The Naila lagoon

🦅 The lagoon is a stop-over site for many species of migratory birds, which is one of the reasons that allowed it to be classified in the RAMSAR convention. It is also home to an incredible amount of fish.

🐪 The desert and Sabkhat
The dune ridge is sufficiently consolidated to stop the influences of sea currents.
Vast sebkhas extend the lagoon to the South (Sebkha Tazra and Sebkha Houisselga) and the West (Sebkha Mzeira ),
🧂 The Sebkha Tazgha, which is a salt lake spread over an area of 360km², provides a real exploitation of salt whose level is 50 m below sea level.

🧂 Visit of the Sebkhas of the park to see the exploitation of salt, since there is a cooperative on site, tourists can chat with the workers and see how the salt is made. 

🛶 Boat trips are available with a guided tour to observe birds, take a tour in the lagoon and finally arrive at the dune that separates the lagoon from the ocean with a panoramic view of Khnifiss bay. The ride costs 400dhs 💰 for a max of 8 people.

Spend the day at the beach accessible only by boat.

⛰ Discover the natural sites of the hinterland with the Oued Ezzahar valley, the Oued Khaoui Naâm valley and the El Ghouiba plateau.

-And finally, the archaeological sites with the Bourj Agoutir and the site of Echguiguen.

⚠️The park faces many constraints.
The transport network is very limited, a major handicap to tourist activity.
The vagaries of the weather, strong winds and the possibility of silting up.

🏨Where to stay in Akhefennir?

Several hostels are available in Akhefennir, the village closest to the park.
A single campsite is located at the end of the Akhefennir village, on the beach of the Khnifiss association . A very large Sahrawi at 150dhs per night.
And an inn next to the same association at 200dhs per bed.
Contact: Association Khnefiss 0667726638

🍽What to eat in Akhefennir?

Welcome to the world of fish. You will taste the finest fresh fish in the Kingdom. Lots of restaurants along Akhefennir's only main avenue

📍 Largest wind farms in Africa

🛣 Along the coastal road in the rural communes of Akhfennir, Tah and Foum El Oued, we can see giant wind turbines stretching as far as the eye can see in the middle of a silent desert facing a tumultuous ocean. 🌊 

💨 This region experiences a steady wind coming from the Atlantic Ocean which now offers an important source of renewable energy.

🪁In addition to the Akhefenir, Foum El Ouad and Laayoune wind farms, Tarfaya is home to the largest wind power generation park in Africa which amounts to 300 MW with 131 wind turbines.

🗓The park entered service in December 2014, after two years of work and 5 billion dirhams of investment. This park provides the equivalent of the consumption of a city of two million inhabitants.

♻️These wind farms consolidate Morocco’s international commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development

Dakhla

I wrote a detailed article on Dakhla: Accommodation, hotels, activities, restaurants… Click here .

📍Oued Chbika

On the road between Tantan and Akhefennir, is the mouth of Oued Chbika which does not go unnoticed. A magnificent landscape which combines River, Desert and Ocean.

“We stopped straight away to enjoy the view of a river with a desert background. We are told that we have to cross the river (on foot of course, but not deep at all) and then the sand dune to get to the beach.
Of course we didn't hesitate. And to our surprise, we come across a magnificent deserted beach as far as the eye can see with fine golden sand. We were literally the only ones swimming in the beach. Best swim of the trip!

🏝 I advise you to stop along the coastal road, hundreds of atypical and deserted wild beaches to discover.

📣You have surely heard of the great project of a tourist town that will emerge from the sand on the horizon including: 8 5 and 4 star hotels, 1851 residential units, Marina (100 rings), a 27-hole golf course, a medina, a congress center and a sports center

‼ ️ Indeed, the seaside resort Oued Chbika of Tan Tan in the great south of Morocco has never came into being despite promises repeatedly reiterated since the Egyptian Orascom signed an investment agreement with the State in 2007.