Oued Laou: A Gentle Mediterranean Detour in the Rif

Most visitors to northern Morocco draw a straight line between Tangier, Tétouan and Chefchaouen and never think to turn towards the sea. That is a pity, because about an hour east of Tétouan the mountains drop away and open onto one of the calmest stretches of Moroccan coast: Oued Laou.

It is a small place, home to roughly twelve thousand people, named after the river that comes down out of the Rif and meets the Mediterranean right beside the town. There is no grand medina here, no queue for tickets, no monument you must climb. What there is instead is a long, flat, uncrowded beach, a promenade you can walk in slippers, a weekly country market that fills the fields with farmers and their animals, and grilled fish that was swimming that morning.

For travellers over 60, that combination is worth a great deal. Oued Laou asks almost nothing of your knees. It is the kind of place where you stay three nights, slow down, and find you would happily have stayed a week.

A little history

The river gave the town its name, and the river is the oldest part of the story. The Laou rises in the western Rif, near Bab Berred, and runs some 65 to 70 kilometres north-east through a deep valley before spilling into the Mediterranean. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder is said to have recorded this river mouth in antiquity, describing it as navigable — a reminder that boats have been using this sheltered corner of coast for a very long time.

The surrounding countryside belongs to the Jebala, the mountain people of the western Rif, whose villages, terraced fields and distinctive straw hats you will notice at the market. Like all of northern Morocco, the area sat inside the Spanish protectorate until independence in 1956, and you will still meet older people who speak Spanish more comfortably than French — a small, pleasant surprise if Spanish happens to be your second language.

For most of the twentieth century Oued Laou was simply a fishing village with fruit orchards behind it. It grew as the coastal road improved, and today it lives on three things: fish, farming in the fertile valley, and Moroccan families who come down from Tétouan and Chefchaouen in summer. Foreign tourism has barely arrived. That is precisely its charm.

The Oued Laou river, which runs down from the Rif mountains and gives the town its name.

What to see

Oued Laou is about atmosphere rather than sights, but there are four things genuinely worth your time.

The main beach

The town beach is wide, sandy and long — it runs for kilometres — with water that is usually calm and clear. Because the sand is flat and the promenade runs alongside it, you can enjoy the sea view without ever setting foot on soft sand if you prefer not to. Outside July and August you may have whole stretches of it more or less to yourself.

The river mouth

Where the Laou meets the sea, the water spreads into shallow channels and pools that shift with the tide. It is a lovely, easy stroll at the end of the afternoon: herons and gulls, local men fishing, and the Rif turning pink behind you. Flat ground, no climbing, and shade is scarce, so go late in the day.

The Saturday souk

The weekly souk, held every Saturday a short distance outside town, is the single best reason to time your visit. Farmers come down from the mountain villages with vegetables, olives, honey, pottery and livestock. It is busy, dusty and completely genuine — the produce and the animal market are at their best in the morning, roughly from mid-morning to early afternoon. Go with a local guide or a taxi driver who will wait for you, wear closed shoes, and take your time.

The fishing harbour and the boats

Small blue and white boats are pulled up near the town, and the day's catch goes straight to the restaurants along the front. Watching the boats come in is free entertainment, and it explains why the fish here tastes the way it does.

The beach at Oued Laou, on Morocco's Mediterranean coast.

A day trip nearby

There are two excellent half-day drives, and both are best done with a hired driver so that you can look at the view rather than the road.

South-east along the coast

The N16 continues along the shoreline past a string of quiet beaches. Kaa Asras lies only a few kilometres away, and the village of Targha is roughly 15 to 20 kilometres further on, under steep mountain slopes. This is one of the prettiest coastal drives in Morocco and takes well under an hour each way, with plenty of places to stop for a coffee and a look at the sea.

Inland to Chefchaouen

The mountain road to Chefchaouen (the P4105) climbs through the Oued Laou gorges and the edge of Talassemtane National Park, past a dam and red rock walls, before reaching the blue city. It is about 55 to 60 kilometres but takes roughly an hour and a half, because it twists constantly. The scenery is magnificent; the bends are relentless. If you are prone to travel sickness, take something beforehand and sit in the front.

The Akchour waterfalls, often recommended in this area, involve a rocky riverside trail of several hours. They are beautiful, but they are a genuine hike — not a gentle walk — and we would not suggest them for anyone with uncertain balance or knees.

Mountain scenery known locally as Chrouda, on the road between Chefchaouen and Oued Laou, in Talassemtane National Park.

Honest advice for comfortable travel

• The town itself is flat. This is Oued Laou's great advantage over Chefchaouen or Tétouan: no stepped alleys, no steep medina lanes. Most of what you want is along one level seafront street.
• Stay on or just behind the front. Accommodation is simple here — small hotels and holiday flats rather than boutique riads. Ask for a ground-floor or first-floor room, and confirm whether there is a lift; many buildings do not have one.
• Avoid July and August if you can. Those are the weeks when Moroccan families arrive, the town fills, the beach gets noisy and rooms are scarce and dear. May, June, September and early October are warm, calm and far more pleasant.
• Shade is limited. There are few trees on the beach and the midday sun is strong even in spring. Plan mornings and late afternoons outdoors, and rest in the middle of the day as locals do.
• The sand is soft. If walking on sand is difficult, use the promenade and the harder-packed strip near the water's edge, and consider a walking pole.
• Facilities are basic. This is a modest working town: pharmacies and small clinics yes, international-standard hospitals no. Tétouan, about an hour away, is the place for anything serious. Bring the medication you need with you.
• Cash is king. There are cash machines, but small restaurants, the souk and taxis expect dirhams in cash. Draw money in Tétouan or Tangier before you come.
• Hire a car with a driver. It costs less than you would expect, removes the stress of mountain bends and parking, and means someone waits for you at the souk.

What to eat

The reason to eat in Oued Laou is very simple: the fish has not travelled. Sardines, sea bream, sole and whatever the boats brought in that morning are grilled over charcoal and served with bread, salad and a wedge of lemon. Order it plainly grilled and you will not be disappointed.

The dish to look for, though, is tagra. It is the signature of this coast — a fish stew baked in a wide, shallow, unglazed clay dish of the same name, with tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, olives, lemon and chermoula, the local marinade of coriander, garlic, cumin and paprika. It is gentle food: soft, aromatic, not fiery, and easy on a digestion that is not used to travelling. Jebala pottery workshops in this region still make the clay tagra dishes, and one makes a good, if heavy, souvenir.

Beyond that, expect harira soup, skewers, tagines, excellent bread, oranges and other fruit from the valley orchards, and mint tea poured from a height at every opportunity. Alcohol is rarely served in a small, traditional town like this — do not count on wine with dinner.

One practical note: restaurants here are plain, family-run and inexpensive. Stick to freshly cooked, hot food and bottled water, as you would anywhere in Morocco, and you will eat extremely well.

Fishing on the Oued Laou river, which is known locally for its eels.

Getting there

Oued Laou sits on the N16 coastal road in the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region. The road is paved and in good condition throughout; the coastal stretch from Tétouan is straightforward, while the inland route from Chefchaouen is scenic but winding.

Our verdict

Oued Laou will not give you monuments, museums or a famous photograph. What it gives you is rarer: an unhurried Moroccan town by the sea, where the ground is flat, the beach is long, the fish is honest and nobody is trying to sell you a carpet.

We would not recommend it as the centrepiece of a first trip to Morocco. But as a two- or three-night pause between Tétouan and Chefchaouen — a place to unpack, breathe the sea air and recover from the cobbles and the hills — it is close to ideal, and it is one of the easiest destinations in the north for travellers who no longer want to be climbing steps all day.

Come in late spring or September, take a driver for the coastal road, be here on a Saturday, and eat tagra at least twice. That is the whole plan, and it is a very good one.

A quiet, empty stretch of the Oued Laou coast on the Moroccan Mediterranean.

“Where the Rif finally runs out of mountain, it leaves you a long flat beach and the smell of grilled fish.”

Photo credits

• Oued Laou shore Morocco: Goodgirll at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Rio de oued laou - marruecos: Amzieb omar, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Oued Laou beach in Northern Morocco on the Mediterranean coasts: Jodal rachid, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Landscape Chrouda, between Chefchaouen and Oued Laou: Othmane.elam, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• La pesca en el rio , hay muchas anguilas: Amzieb omar, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Oued Laou isolated beach in Northern Morocco on the Mediterranean coasts: Jodal rachid, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons