What is the Dakhla / Oued Ed-Dahab nature area in the far south?

Dakhla is the most far-flung nature destination I send adventurous guests to, and it's like nowhere else in Morocco. It sits at the tip of a long, slender desert peninsula in the Oued Ed-Dahab region of the deep Atlantic south, where the Sahara runs straight into the ocean. The defining feature is the Dakhla lagoon — a vast, shallow, turquoise sheet of water sheltered from the open Atlantic by the spit of sand, ringed by pale dunes.

For wildlife, the lagoon and the surrounding coast are a magnet for birds. Flamingos gather here in flocks that turn the shallows pink, ospreys hunt the rich waters, and the area lies on the West African flyway, so migrants pour through. There are wider conservation efforts across the region for desert species and the coastal marine environment too — this is where the Saharan desert ecosystem meets a productive cold-water ocean current, and the mix is extraordinary.

Most visitors come for the water as much as the birds. Dakhla is one of the world's premier kitesurfing and windsurfing spots, thanks to its reliable wind and flat, waist-deep lagoon water — even beginners can learn safely. I love pairing a few days of that with quieter excursions: oyster farms in the lagoon, the white dune, the hot springs, and dawn drives along the coast to watch flamingos with the desert glowing behind them.

The honest part is distance. Dakhla is a very long way south — most guests fly in rather than drive the endless coastal road, and it has a frontier, end-of-the-map feel. It's worth setting aside several days to justify the journey, and to combine wind sports, birdlife and desert landscapes. For travellers who want Morocco's wildest, least-touristed nature-and-adventure frontier, nothing else compares.