Getting There & Away
Moulay Bousselham is about 40km due south of Larache. To get here by public transport you’ll
need to make your way to the little town of Souk el-Arba du Rharb, from where there are
frequent grands taxis (Dh20, 45 minutes) and a few buses (Dh12, 45 minutes) to Moulay
Bousselham. You can get to Souk el-Arba du Rharb by grand taxi from Kenitra or Larache
(Dh35, one hour) and Rabat (Dh40, 1½ hours). Souk el-Arba du Rharb also has a train station
with daily trains in either direction. Villanora can arrange a private taxi from Larache to Moulay
Bousselham (Dh150, one hour).
Larache
Larache, like the other towns on this stretch of coast, is sleepy and laid-back for most of the
year, bursting into life in summer when Moroccan tourists come to the beach. The charming
town otherwise sees few visitors. The new town has some grand Spanish-era architecture,
particularly around the central Pl de la Libération (the former Plaza de España), while the tiny
crumbling medina is worth a stroll. North of the river Loukos, on the edge of town sit the
overgrown ruins of ancient Lixus, the legendary site of the Gardens of Hesperides.
Larache was occupied by the Spanish for most of the 17th century. The port activities were
limited because of some dangerous sandbars offshore, but the locals made ships for the
corsairs further south. It became the main port of the Spanish protectorate in 1911. Today the
whitewashed houses with blue doors, the church, the market, the hotels and bars still reveal the
strength of the Spanish influence. The town may be as picturesque as Assilah, but it gets far
fewer visitors and has none of the hustle.
All Larachians seem to come out for the paseo (evening stroll) in the centre of town. The
cafes and few restaurants fill up as the locals drink coffee, play cards and chew over the day’s
events, and by 10pm the streets are again deserted.
The French writer Jean Genet loved the bay of Larache and although he died in France, he
was buried here.