The Times discovers in Dakhla “the seaside resort you’ve never heard of”

“The North African seaside resort you’ve never heard of”: that is the headline under which The Times devotes a lengthy report to Dakhla this Saturday, September 12. The British daily describes a still little-known destination, despite an already well-established reputation among surfers and kitesurfing enthusiasts.

Dakhla’s main asset lies in its geography. The peninsula extends some forty kilometers into the Atlantic and forms a vast natural lagoon with warm, shallow waters. These conditions are complemented by steady winds, particularly sought after for kitesurfing, windsurfing and windfoiling.

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The first foreign surfers began visiting the region in the late 1990s. The newspaper particularly credits Moroccan Olympic windsurfer Rachid Roussafi with the growth of water sports in Dakhla, as he quickly recognized the potential of this immense stretch of water swept by the trade winds.

Much more than kitesurfing

The report nevertheless does not reduce Dakhla to its watersports spots. The journalist recounts swimming in the lagoon, discovering the White Dune, visiting an oyster farm and taking an excursion to Imlili and its astonishing natural pools in the middle of the desert.

The landscape, compared in places to the surface of Mars, is the other great surprise of the trip. At night, the distance from major urban areas and the proximity of the Tropic of Cancer make it possible to observe the Milky Way beneath a sky almost free of light pollution.

The Times is also interested in the development of the hotel offering. The newspaper stays at an establishment designed to limit its environmental impact, using natural ventilation and solar energy in particular. Roads, service stations, hotels and apartments are multiplying around Dakhla at the same time, a sign of Morocco’s growing tourism ambitions for the region.

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For travelers, the report’s conclusion is considerably lighter: Dakhla brings together in a single trip a lagoon suited to water sports, spectacular desert landscapes, local oysters and nights beneath the stars. A destination that The Times presents as still preserved from mass tourism, but probably not for much longer.