Morocco’s coolest surf town is no longer a secret – but as its popularity booms, the local community is rolling with the tides.
For a second, it feels like I’m losing my balance. But my body reacts before I can think, and my feet readjust, sharpening my stance. I squat lower and my arms steady out – to my surprise, I’m actually gliding along the wave as the whitewash roars behind me. This must be that surfer’s high everyone talks about, I think to myself, beaming. When a local surfer stretches out his arm for a high five, I miss, crashing back into the sea with a laugh that bubbles up from nowhere.
I’m halfway through a lesson with Dar Surf, a surf camp based in Taghazout, Morocco. Of course, the waves decide the spot – and it’s rarely on your hostel doorstep. So today we’re a short drive south at Anza Beach, one of countless surf-friendly beaches along Morocco’s Atlantic Coast.
Bobbing back to the surface, I catch a glimpse of my instructor, Mohammed Akhermaz – AKA Momo. He throws me a thumbs-up from the lineup, the spot where surfers wait for the next oncoming wave. Like many travellers these days, I had come to Taghazout for the waves and low-key hangouts. But I hadn’t expected to find such a deep sense of community and belonging.
Read more: An Intrepid trip inspired me to uproot my life and move to Morocco
The rise of Taghazout
Momo grew up in Rabat, Morocco’s capital city about six hours up the coast, and picked up his first surfboard when he was 17 years old. It was a relatively late start in the world of surfing, but one of his best decisions nonetheless. His passion for catching waves led him to become an instructor and he made the move south to Tamraght – Taghazout’s up-and-coming neighbour – five years ago.
‘Surfing isn’t just a sport,’ he says. ‘It’s a connection between you and the ocean.’
It’s this feeling of connection that first drew international surfers to Morocco in the early ’60s and ’70s. Once they’d experienced the country’s underrated waves, word soon spread – and it wasn’t long before foreigners were favouring the consistent surf and jaw-dropping scenery in and around Taghazout.
Surfers from Europe and the United States would stay for months at a time, camping out on the beaches in vans and tents. Slowly, they introduced the sport to the local community. When it was time to move on, they would often leave behind their boards and wetsuits, giving more locals the chance to fall in love with catching waves.
Once a tiny fishing village, Taghazout became the epicentre of Moroccan surf culture in just a couple of decades. And the rise of homegrown talent like Olympian Ramzi Boukhiam and big-wave surfer Othmane Choufani has further embedded surfing into the region’s identity.
Today, business is booming; Taghazout’s visitor numbers have jumped 25 per cent in three years and with a multimillion-dollar resort development project well underway, the region is expected to see those numbers continue to grow. While some locals have valid worries about gentrification and rapid change, many see this growth as a positive step.
‘I don’t remember a time without tourists,’ Momo says. ‘But [the area] has gotten more famous over the last five years. And that’s good for the locals. It gives us a better life.’
If there’s one way travellers can support Taghazout as it adapts, he adds, it’s to ‘learn about Morocco before you come,’ he says. ‘The number one rule is to respect the culture and the country first.’
Read more: How I found healing on a group trip to Morocco
Waves and warm welcomes
Despite this quick growth, community bonds still run deep in Taghazout. Perhaps that’s because surf culture and Amazigh hospitality echo the same values of generosity, connection and mutual respect. It’s that kind of welcome that keeps people wanting to come back – although I’ve met a few who have simply never left.
It’s easy to get hooked on that energy. As an introvert, I still found myself drawn into the charismatic nature of the surf herd, cheering when people caught waves and sharing banter with others while I caught my breath at the lineup. Even though I was having a one-on-one lesson with Momo, I was struck by the camaraderie in the water as he gave a few words of encouragement to a lone surfer paddling by. ‘That’s what we do. We share,’ he says, scanning the ocean for the next wave for me to catch. ‘That’s my favourite part. I like to make people happy. Like with you just now, I could see your smile from really far away.’
Peak surf season is between November and March, but even in July, as I wrestled out of my wetsuit after the session, the lineup remained packed with surfers. Salty and sandy, Momo and I made our way to one of the barefoot beach cafes and plopped down on colourfully-patterned poufs facing the sea. ‘There are always waves,’ Momo says, pointing towards a clean set as we sip our ness ness – Morocco’s signature blend of coffee and milk. ‘A pro would want to surf that.’
Read more: The best meal I had on my trip to Morocco had little to do with the food
Riding the wave
While Taghazout is considered a surfer’s paradise – with infamous spots such as Anchor Point and Killer Point attracting the most skilled – many locals such as Momo live in the town over, Tamraght.
We drive through it after loading up our surfboards. Surf camps and boutiques already line the winding roads, but more are clearly coming. It’s hard to miss the heavy construction underway. ‘You’ll see,’ Momo says, ‘Tamraght will become the next surf town.’ I don’t doubt it. Time will tell how these towns, once untouched by tourism, will cope with such quick transformation.
After Momo drops me off in Taghazout, bidding me farewell with a shaka, the ubiquitous surfer’s pinky-and-thumb-out hand gesture, I wander past co-working spaces and vegan cafes overlooking the beach, where fishermen still cast their lines at sunrise. As the call to prayer floats through the streets, I realise that, for now, Taghazout’s cultural identity runs deep as the ocean.
It isn’t fading. It’s simply changing with the tides.
Learn to surf in Taghazout on an Intrepid 18 to 35s trip. Choose between the 16-day Epic Morocco trip and 12-day Real Morocco trip, or spend Five Days in Morocco.
All images (excluding one credited to Unsplash) by Med Lebsat Surf Photography.
