Figuig
An Oasis Of Seven Walled Ksour And Date Palmeries Pressed Against A Closed International Border; On UNESCO'S Tentative List, Which Is A Candidacy And Not An Inscription, And Among The Remotest Inhabited Places In Morocco · Figuig, Oriental
Figuig is an oasis of seven walled ksour and a great palmery at the end of the N17, roughly 370 km south of Oujda and pressed against a closed international border. It is one of the remotest inhabited places in Morocco and it is not a sightseeing town: there is no monument to tick off, and what you come for is the thing itself - mud-brick lanes roofed against the sun, gardens held on stone terraces below the ksour walls, and a system of underground channels and timed water shares that has organised life here for centuries. The Jorf escarpment above the oasis explains the place in one look: a green basin of date palms ringed by bare rock, with the Saharan Atlas beyond. Figuig sits on UNESCO's tentative list, which is a candidacy put forward for possible future consideration and not an inscription - the two are routinely confused in print. The border with Algeria has been closed since the mid-1990s and runs right against the palmeries, which shapes the roads, the farming and the economy. Honest caveats: the drive is long and empty, beds are very few, and the summer heat is extreme.
Oasis of seven ksour against the Algerian border, at the end of the N17 about 370 km south of Oujda, Figuig, Oriental, Morocco
There are no opening hours and no tickets anywhere in this row. The ksour, the lanes, the palmeries and the viewpoints on the Jorf are a living town rather than a site, open at all times, and the only thing that governs when you walk is the heat: early morning and the last two hours of daylight, with the middle of the day written off from May to September. Shops keep a broad mid-morning to about 19:00 pattern with a long afternoon closure, and the town is quiet on Friday around midday prayers. Getting there is the hard part. The usual approach is from Oujda, roughly 370 km north, by bus or by grand taxi in stages through Ain Beni Mathar and Bouarfa; the journey is commonly quoted at six to eight hours and departures are few, so travel early in the day and confirm the schedule the day before rather than trusting a timetable. A hired car is far easier and the road is surfaced and empty. There are very few beds in the oasis, so a room should be arranged before you arrive, and a local walking guide is worth asking your lodging to arrange. Ramadan shifts everything after sunset.