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Western Sahara tourist information with details about travel to and around the country. Where to stay and what to see is made easier with insider tips and hand-selected Western Sahara links, by dedicated editors and visitors to TravelNotes.org - The Online Guide to Travel.
The Shifting Sands of Politics Spanish Sahara, was partitioned between Mauritania and Morocco in 1976, and since 1979 has been occupied entirely by Morocco. Countries neighbouring Western Sahara are: Mauritania, Algeria and Morocco.
Portuguese navigators visited the area near modern al-Aaiún, in 1434, but didn't establish lasting settlements. The region was held by Spain in the early 16th century until Morocco took control and ruled this part of the Sahara for more than three hundred years. Spain came back into the picture in 1884, and established a protectorate over the coast from Cape Bojador to Cape Blanc. Saharawi nationalists sought independence in the early 1970s, but Algeria, Mauritania, and Morocco, all laid claims to the area. When King Hassan II of Morocco launched a massive non-violent invasion of Spanish Sahara in late 1975, Spain agreed to relinquish the area to Mauritania and Morocco. Spain withdrew in February 1976, leaving two-thirds of the former Spanish Sahara occupied by Morocco and the rest by Mauritania. Polisario guerrillas based in Algeria staged raids against Mauritanian and Moroccan outposts in Western Sahara between 1976 and 1978. Mauritania surrendered its portion in 1979, only for Morocco to annex it all. By February 1982, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was recognised by more than 70 nations and admitted to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Morocco suspended its OAU membership in 1985. The population of Western Sahara are mostly of Berber or Arab descent. Weather in Western SaharaView a graphical weather forecast for the week ahead in places around Western Sahara. Edchera Weather, La Guera Weather, Laayoune Weather. Most recently settlers from northern Morocco have been encouraged to migrate to Western Sahara through incentives offered to them by the Moroccan government. The main towns of Western Sahara are al-Aaiún, or Laâyoune - formerly the capital of Spanish Sahara - and Ad-Dakhla; formerly Villa Cisneros.
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