Best Tourist Places to Visit in El Aaiun, Laayoune, West Africa, Africa
El Aaiún is the capital and largest city of Western Sahara, which comes under the Laayoune Province in Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra region. It is well known as a fishing and phosphate mining centre of the region. The Mohamed Laghdaf Stadium and the Spanish Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi are the two important landmarks of El Aaiún. El Aaiún geographically is located at 27°9′13″ N 13°12′12″ W and features a mild desert climate with an average temperature of 20°C per year.
History of El Aaiún:
The Spanish name El Aaiún is also called Layoun, which came from the Arabic language, meaning “the water sources”. El Aaiún was settled in the year 1934 and built in 1938 by the Spanish colonizer Antonio de Oro. El Aaiún became the capital of the Spanish Sahara in 1940 and since 1976, El Aaiún has been serving as the capital of the Morocco occupied Western Sahara.
How to reach El Aaiún?
El Aaiún is served by Hassan I Airport with scheduled flights from Agadir, Casablanca and Las Palmas. The airport is located around 3 km away from the city centre, can be reached by minibuses and airport taxis.
El Aaiún can be reached by regular bus services from Marrakech and many other southern Moroccan cities. The city of El Aaiún is well catered by public bus services and other local travel options are petit taxis and grand taxis.
Culture, Food and Shopping in El Aaiún:
El Aaiún is culturally grand city with many grand festivals that are mainly celebrated in the middle months of the year. El Aaiún is also home to a football club Jeunesse Massira.
The traditional market of El Aaiún Black houses around 20 shops with colorful locally produced jewelry, handicraft items and clothes. Pizzeria Samir is one of the recommended places to eat pizza and other fast food items in El Aaiún.
Things to do in El Aaiún:
- Exploring desert beaches
- Walking
- Traditional shopping
Places to see in El Aaiún:
Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi:
The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi is a landmark religious site constructed during the Spanish colonial period. The church is surrounded by a well maintained garden, making the area more lovely and pleasant.
Stade Sheikh Mohamed Laghdaf:
The Stade Sheikh Mohamed Laghdaf is a multi-purpose football stadium and the home ground of JS Massira football club. The stadium can hold maximum of 30,000 people.
Traditional Market in El Aaiún:
The Traditional Market in El Aaiún is attractive and typical, home to around 20 shops that offer a wide array of local specialties like antique knives, art and craft works and special jewelry. All are affordable and worth a price.
Desert beaches:
As its location in the deserted region, El Aaiún houses many spectacular desert beaches, located to the west of the central business district of the city.
List of other places of interest near El Aaiún include:
- Dakhla Waterfront
- Windfish Pro-Center
- Massage du Monde
- Moroccan Berm
- Tarfaya
- Laayoune-Plage
- Laayoune Off Road
- Dchira
- Guelta Zemmour
- Centre Artisanal
Best time to visit El Aaiún:
Probably from June to September is the best time to visit El Aaiún when the weather remains dry and pleasant and supportive for outdoor activities.
Hotels in El Aaiún:
Hotels are limited in El Aaiún but substantially upgraded to draw more number of tourists to the city. There are also many specialty lodges in the city that offer the blend of modern and traditional facilities to provide the real feel of Western Sahara’s hospitality services. Some standard hotels in El Aaiún are listed below:
- Hotel Josefina
- Hotel Residence Lajwad
- Hotel Nagjir Ville
- Hotel Salwan
- Camping Sabor del Sahara
- Hotel Parador
- Le Camp Bedouin