Western Sahara travel guide

Western Sahara’s rare visitors – if they’re not here to be swept off their feet by the perfect coastal kitesurfing climate, come to be seduced by the emptiness of its desert. But there’s an amazing abundance of rare wildlife if you know where to look, plus the hospitality of the remaining nomadic Sahrawi people who live here, too. Read all about it in our Western Sahara guide.

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Western Sahara travel guide

There are two reasons to visit the non-self-governing Western Sahara territory. The first: you’re interested in emptiness. Few tourists explore this disputed, desert region. The majority of Western Sahara is currently under Moroccan occupation, inhabited by Moroccans, and often visited via Morocco. The culture of the original tribes – known collectively as the Sahrawi – is increasingly marginalised. Since the 1970s, many Sahrawi have been forced to live in permanent refugee camps in Algeria, having been pushed out of Western Sahara.

Its ochre palette is both beautiful and inhospitable – but it’s not the desert that is the main threat to existence here, but conflict, mining – and climate change, which expands the already limitless-seeming expanse.

There’s another reason to come to the Western Sahara – and that’s because you know the seemingly empty desert is actually filled with wildlife. Safari here means discovery upon miraculous discovery by torchlight. Think like a fennec fox: sleep in the day, and stay up late for the chase. It’s not empty here, but full of surprises.

Read on in our Western Sahara travel guide.

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Western Sahara is…

a pleasant surprise for wildlife watchers.

Western Sahara isn’t…

for city culture – the beauty’s in the desert.

Things to do in Western Sahara

Visit with Sahrawi people. There are several Western Sahara tribes – the largest of which is the Reguibat – that are collectively known as the Sahrawi. Many previously nomadic Sahrawi people now live in towns, where they are a marginalised minority. Those who strive to keep up the nomadic life are squeezed by climate change, which is increasing the aridity of the land and drying their wells. In town or desert, you may be offered Sahrawi hospitality during your stay, and served amber-coloured tea in little glasses. Go wildlife watching. Whilst the Western Sahara territory hovers in uncertain dispute, its wildlife thrives. There are opportunities to spot desert species in greater numbers than you’d find elsewhere. Rüppell's foxes, fennec foxes and sand cats are the prize sights, but it takes patience – and a string of exhilarating night-drives – to spot them. Enjoy the coastline. Western Sahara’s 1,000km Atlantic coastline is comprised of towns, resorts and beaches. Strong north easterly trade winds blow, making this a paradise for windsurfers and kitesurfers, whilst migrating birds, over from Europe, shelter on the sandstone. It’s not all desert – Imlili, near Dakhla, is an interesting network of waterholes and salt flats. It’s an important wetland, attracting birds, and hosting an endemic, carnivorous fish.

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Things not to do in Western Sahara

Underestimate the desert. Never forget that the Sahara once reached 58 degrees and there's surely more to come in a warming world. The Western Sahara’s desert is a rocky and hostile place, where there are no roads and it's impossible for visitors to navigate without a guide. The wildlife has specially adapted into weird and wonderful conformations, but you have not, and must go prepared. Avoid travelling between June and October, and prepare for hot afternoons of rest, before going out at night. Expect a border with Morocco. There isn’t one. Western Sahara has been disputed between Morocco and the Polisario Front Independence Movement for 40 years, and most of the land – and certainly everywhere you’ll visit – is under Moroccan administration. Many people reach the Western Sahara via Morocco; drive down to Tarifa at the southern tip of Spain and keep going – and going. In fact, overland trips from Marrakech to west Africa are a fantastic way to see the vastness of the landscape, of which this area is part. Disregard the conflict. Though not a real danger for tourists, Western Sahara is known for the highest density of landmines in the world. Between 2008 and 2023 well over 7,000 have been removed by the United Nations Mine Action Service. Their presence is symbolic of this land’s strife, as the Polisario Front and Morocco wait for a seemingly permanently delayed UN referendum to decide the fate of the area.

Western Sahara travel guide