Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Oued Laou it dumps you out by the souq, leaving you a 45-minute walk or Dh7 grand-taxi
ride to town.
Grands taxis run from beside the mosque in Oued Laou to Tetouan (Dh30, one hour)
via Dar Ackoubaa (Dh15, 20 minutes), where you can pick up a passing taxi for
Chefchaouen.
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Targa to El-Jebha
This stretch of the coast is very dramatic, and still remote. Pine-clad hills are interspersed
with valleys of cultivated fields that roll down to the sea and beaches of grey pebbles.
However, the new Rocade coastal road linking Tetouan to El-Jebha promises massive de-
velopment projects with golf courses, luxury hotels and apartments.
Seventeen kilometres southeast of Oued Laou,
Targa
is a little village with a history of
piracy. High atop an outcrop of black rock, a stone fort overlooks the village, built during
the Spanish protectorate. The 13th-century mosque is associated with a local saint.
About 18km southeast of Targa, in the wide valley of Oued Bouchia, are the twin vil-
lages of
Steha
and
Bou-Ahmed
. Set back from the coast, the latter is the end point for a
long-distance trek from Chefchaouen. There's an interesting souq every Tuesday, and a
basic camping area in summer.
From here the road follows the coast on a splendid roller-coaster ride to the blue and
white town of
El-Jebha
, 52km to the southeast. The rugged coastline forms a number of
breathtaking and secluded bays - worth exploring if you have your own transport. Each
Tuesday, the local souq draws Rif farmers from the surrounding villages. At El-Jebha you
can turn south into the Rif to Issaguen, or continue on the Rocade to Al-Hoceima.
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Al-Hoceima
POP 283,100
Al-Hoceima is a great place to spend a few days. Quiet, safe, relaxing and hassle-free, this
modern seaside resort is full of proud and genial Berbers with a surprisingly independent,
Western outlook, far more than any other town in the north. In fact, if the northern Berbers
