Dakhla Bay

Dakhla Bay is a wide sheltered lagoon on the Atlantic coast of Western Sahara, separated from the open ocean by a narrow peninsula. The bay forms a natural harbour of calm shallow water typical of lagoon systems with limited tidal exchange through the inlet channels. Its geographic setting at the edge of the Sahara makes it visually arresting: calm blue water, orange dunes on the horizon and the full force of the Atlantic horizon to the west. The bay is well known among kiteboarders and windsurfers for its consistent trade winds and flat warm water, and the high season from November to March brings reliable strong conditions and relatively mild air temperatures for this latitude.

The flat water conditions in the bay are especially prized by kiteboarders for learning new tricks and practising transitions. The wind is side-onshore to offshore depending on location within the lagoon, creating different zones suited to different skill levels. A string of oyster and clam farms on the tidal flats at the lagoon's edge reflects the growing importance of sustainable aquaculture in the regional economy. The surrounding desert, dominated by orange sand dunes that meet the sea at the bay's southern end, adds a stark visual counterpoint to the blue water and bright sky.

The bay's ecosystem is richer than the surrounding desert suggests. The tidal flats support large flocks of greater flamingos and a wide variety of waders including pelicans, herons and egrets. The seagrass beds in the shallow water provide nursery habitat for fish that sustain both the commercial fishery and the growing oyster farms. The wider Dakhla region, which includes both the established city and the newer Moroccan-administered settlement, has grown rapidly in recent decades as a result of investment in tourism and fisheries.

The bay was used as a Spanish fishing station before the 1975 Moroccan takeover of the territory, and a few of the old stone jetty structures can still be seen at low tide. Today it forms the centrepiece of Dakhla's wind-sport tourism economy, with new eco-lodges, kite schools and adventure operators joining established fishing and aquaculture businesses along the shore. The landscape is one of the most striking on the Atlantic coast of the Sahara, where two vast and contrasting environments meet and merge. The bay is particularly beautiful at dawn and dusk, when the temperature drops and the flat water surface mirrors the sky in a perfect silver sheet.

World-class flat-water kitesurfing and windsurfing in a spectacular desert-lagoon setting.

One of the most visually striking landscapes on the Atlantic Sahara coast.

A growing sustainable aquaculture sector producing oysters and clams for the regional hospitality market.