Dakhla 2026: The Complete Travel Guide to the Jewel of the Moroccan Sahara
Dakhla 2026: The Complete Travel Guide to the Jewel of the Moroccan Sahara
Dakhla: Where the desert kisses the Atlas Mountains to give birth to Morocco's coastal jewel. Located 1,700 kilometers from the capital, Rabat, and 530 kilometers south of Laayoune, the Dakhla peninsula stretches its arms into the Atlantic Ocean, establishing one of the rarest ecological balances on Earth: shimmering white dunes alongside warm turquoise waters, and a constant breeze carrying the fresh scent of oysters. This is Dakhla, a city that is no longer just a tourist destination, but a living geographical laboratory demonstrating how the desert can flirt with the sea without swallowing it up. Entering the story: A history that oscillates between winds and waves. Dakhla was founded in 1884 as a Spanish colony under the name "Villa Cisneros," after a staunch Spanish cardinal. But the place quickly shed the shackles of its colonial name to rediscover its Amazigh-Saharan identity. Today, only the Church of Our Lady of Carmen and a 60-meter lighthouse remind us that thi…