Moulay Bousselham: Morocco's Quiet Lagoon of Flamingos

Most visitors to Morocco race up the motorway between Rabat and Tangier without ever turning off. That is a pity, because about halfway along, a small road leads west through eucalyptus and pine to a village where the Atlantic meets a shallow, silver-blue lagoon full of birds.

Moulay Bousselham sits in Kénitra Province, in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region. It is small — a few thousand residents — and it has no grand monuments, no medina to get lost in, no queue for tickets. What it has instead is space: a long sweep of sand on one side, the wide water of Merja Zerga on the other, white domes of saints' tombs above the village, and fishing boats drawn up on the shore.

For travellers over 60, that combination is unusually kind. There is very little you must do here, almost nothing that requires climbing, and a great deal to simply sit and watch. Come for two or three nights and you may find yourself quietly extending.

A little history

The village takes its name from a Sufi holy man. The story told locally, and recorded in reference works, is that he came from Egypt around the middle of the sixteenth century and was killed at the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578, then buried here. Miracles were reported at his grave, a domed shrine — a koubba — was built, and the place became a destination for pilgrims. Several other white domes stand nearby, giving the village its distinctive skyline.

For centuries this was simply a fishing settlement beside the lagoon, with a religious calendar of its own. Pilgrims still come in the summer months, and you may well find the village livelier and more crowded then than at any other time of year.

The seaside resort came much later. From the 1960s onwards, Moroccan families began building summer houses along the shore, and Moulay Bousselham became what it remains today: a modest, mostly domestic holiday village rather than an international beach destination. That is precisely why it still feels like itself. Prices are local, conversations are unhurried, and nobody is trying very hard to sell you anything.

The lagoon's own story is longer still. Merja Zerga — the name means something close to "blue lagoon" — was recognised as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1980, and is protected today as a national park. It is one of the most significant coastal wetlands in North Africa.

The village of Moulay Bousselham, with the white domes of saints' tombs above the houses.

What to see

Merja Zerga, the blue lagoon

The lagoon is the reason to come. It is a shallow tidal body of water, open to the Atlantic through a single narrow channel, fringed by marshes and sandbanks. At low tide, mudflats appear and fill with feeding birds; at high tide, the whole thing turns into a pale mirror. You can see a great deal of it simply by standing at the edge of the village, which is the single best argument for visiting at this stage of life: the view does not have to be earned.

A boat on the water

Local boatmen take visitors out onto the lagoon in small flat-bottomed craft, usually by the hour, and some of them are genuinely knowledgeable guides who speak English and know where the flamingos are standing that week. This is the classic Moulay Bousselham experience and it is almost entirely sedentary — an hour or two sitting low on the water while the birds come to you. Ask your guesthouse to arrange it with someone they trust, agree the price and the length of the trip before you set off, and request a calm morning.

The beach

The Atlantic beach is broad, sandy and long, and outside high summer you may have most of it to yourself. It is lovely for a flat early-evening walk, and for watching fishermen bring boats in. Swimming is another matter: this is open Atlantic coast, the water is cool and currents can be strong. In summer there are busier, supervised stretches near the village; elsewhere, enjoy the sand and leave the swimming alone.

The village and the channel

The village itself takes perhaps half an hour to see: a short main street, cafés with plastic chairs facing the water, a fish market, the domes above. Walk out towards the narrow opening where the lagoon drains into the sea — the colours there, lagoon-green against ocean-blue, are the image most people take home.

The pale blue water of Merja Zerga at Moulay Bousselham.

The birds of Merja Zerga

You do not need to be a birdwatcher to enjoy this, but it helps to know what you are looking at. Merja Zerga is a key stop on the East Atlantic Flyway, the great migration corridor between northern Europe and West Africa, and it has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.

The numbers are genuinely remarkable. In winter the lagoon regularly holds tens of thousands of waders and ducks, along with large flocks of coot, and greater flamingos are present in the hundreds or more. Oystercatchers, godwits, stilts, plovers, terns, spoonbills and gulls all pass through or stay. Roughly a hundred species have been recorded.

There is a melancholy footnote, too. Merja Zerga was for years the most reliable wintering place in the world for the slender-billed curlew, a wader last confirmed here in the mid-1990s and now considered lost. Standing at the water's edge knowing that gives the view a certain weight.

Practically speaking: winter and early spring are the richest seasons, mornings are best, and a pair of binoculars will multiply your pleasure more than any other item in your luggage.

A flock of Eurasian oystercatchers wintering at Moulay Bousselham.

A day trip nearby

The obvious outing is north to Larache, roughly 35 to 50 km away by road — well under an hour by car or grand taxi. Larache is a faded, likeable port town with Spanish-era architecture, a circular plaza, a small medina and views over the Loukkos estuary. It makes an easy half-day, and most of the pleasant part is level.

Just outside Larache lie the ruins of Lixus, one of the oldest settlements on the Moroccan Atlantic, with Phoenician origins and substantial Roman remains including a theatre and amphitheatre, baths, and the tanks where fish were salted for the garum trade. It is quiet, atmospheric and almost never crowded.

Be honest with yourself about Lixus, though. The site climbs a hillside on rough, uneven ground, there is very little shade, and the upper terraces involve a real ascent. If steps and loose stones are difficult, enjoy the lower section near the entrance, or admire the hill from Larache and spend the time on the estuary instead.

Inland, the market town of Souk el Arbaa du Rharb sits on the main road and railway and has a big weekly souk — more agricultural than touristic, but a genuine slice of the Gharb plain if you enjoy markets.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• The terrain is mostly kind, with one catch. The village and the lagoon shore are essentially flat, but the houses sit a little above the water, so reaching the sand or the boats can mean a slope or a flight of steps. Ask your guesthouse for the gentlest way down before you set out.
• Choose accommodation by the water. Stay where you can see the lagoon or the beach from your terrace and the whole trip becomes easier — most of the pleasure here is sitting still and looking. Rooms on the ground floor are worth requesting; small guesthouses rarely have lifts.
• This is a village, not a resort. Expect simple, friendly places rather than international hotels, limited medical facilities, and few pharmacies. Bring your own medication in sufficient quantity. Kénitra and Larache have larger clinics.
• The climate is gentle. Summers here are warm rather than fierce — August averages are in the mid-20s Celsius — and the ocean breeze helps. Winters are mild but genuinely wet, with most rain between November and February.
• Mind the sun and the sand. The light off the water is strong. A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen matter even on cool, overcast days, and loose sand makes for tiring walking, so stick to the firm strip near the water.
• Boats need care. Lagoon boats are small, low and boarded from the shore. Ask for a hand getting in and out, go in calm morning conditions, and insist on a life jacket.
• Avoid high summer if you want quiet. July and August bring Moroccan holidaymakers and pilgrims; the village is cheerful but busy, and rooms fill up.
• Carry cash. Card acceptance is patchy in small villages, and ATMs are limited — draw money in Kénitra or Larache before you arrive.

A view down between buildings to the beach at Moulay Bousselham.

What to eat

Fish, and then more fish. The lagoon and the ocean between them supply the village kitchens, and the local pleasure is straightforward: grilled sardines, fried whiting and sole, calamari, prawns, and sometimes eel or shellfish from the lagoon itself. A common arrangement is to choose your fish at the market and have a nearby grill cook it for you on the spot — ask about the cost before committing, and you will eat extremely well.

Alongside that you will find the standards of the Moroccan table: tagines, harira soup, grilled meat skewers, bread baked in wood ovens, tomato and pepper salads, and a steady supply of mint tea. The surrounding Gharb plain is fertile farmland, so vegetables and fruit in season are excellent.

Two small notes for comfort. Grilled or fried fish is lighter and easier on the digestion than a long, rich tagine if you are eating late. And if you are careful with stomach upsets, stick to cooked food, peel your fruit and drink bottled water — unremarkable advice that works.

Bread for sale at a souk in the Gharb plain, near Moulay Bousselham.

Getting there

There is no railway station and no airport in the village itself, but the connections are better than the isolation suggests: the A1 Rabat–Tangier motorway runs inland, and a short westward road brings you to the coast.

For most travellers over 60, the simplest plan is a private transfer or hired car with driver from Rabat or Tangier — door to door, luggage handled, and a stop along the way. Shared grand taxis are cheap and perfectly normal but cramped, and they leave when full rather than on a timetable.

Our verdict

Moulay Bousselham is not a sight. It is a place to be, and that is exactly what makes it worth the detour.

Go if you like water, birds and long flat walks; if you would rather watch fishermen than queue for a monument; if you want one or two nights of real quiet between the cities of the north. Go in spring for the light and the mild air, or in winter if the thought of a thousand flamingos on a tidal lagoon moves you more than sunshine does.

Think twice if you need international-standard hotels, nightlife, or a programme of organised excursions — none of that exists here, and the village is the better for it. Think twice too if you cannot manage a few steps down to the shore, unless you book a room where the view comes to you.

For a slower traveller, though, it is one of the easiest and most rewarding stops on the Moroccan Atlantic: flat, friendly, inexpensive, and genuinely beautiful at the hour when the lagoon turns pink and the birds come in to roost.

Fishing boats at Moulay Bousselham, seen from the lagoon side.

“Between an ocean and a lagoon, a village where the day's only appointment is the tide.”

Photo credits

• Merja Zerga: Zinkh, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Moulay Bousselham 4: M.Rais, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Lagune Bleu Moulay Bousselham: Younes MAHRACH, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Haematopus ostralegus, Moulay Bousselham, Morocco 8814204538: rob Stoeltje from loenen, netherlands, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Mollay Bouselham beach view: Elwyn Lloyd, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Souk East Arbor du Rharb Bread near Moulay Bousselham 37086251893: Dr Mary Gillham Archive Project, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Moulay Bousselham 1: M.Rais, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons