Moulay Bousselham — Lagune12h · 5 kt
0NOT RECOMMENDEDPick your slot
Min. level
Beginner
Optimal wind
14-32 kts
Season
May to September
Live · now
What to check
Atlantic: range 2-3 m. Tide-driven lagoon — some areas inaccessible at low tide.
Discover the spot
The spot
Discover Moulay Bousselham
A flat, knee-deep lagoon backed by Morocco’s largest bird reserve — Moulay Bousselham is a different kind of session. This seaside village halfway between Tangier and Rabat sits where the Merja Zerga meets the ocean, and you get two waters in one trip: a sheltered summer-thermal flatwater behind the sand bar, and the open Atlantic beach with its waves. The setting is rare. So is the caution it demands: a fast-running inlet, and a RAMSAR reserve whose kite status nobody has nailed down.
Here the wildlife comes first and the kite second — and that order is the whole charm. Most people meet the Merja Zerga from a birdwatcher's boat, drifting past tens of thousands of overwintering birds, long before they think of a kite. The site reads as two waters. Behind the sand bar the lagoon lies flat, shallow and sheltered — often standing depth — a natural sandbox you can ride almost any direction on a good summer thermal. Out front, the open ocean beach takes the swell. But the real keeper of the place is the inlet, where lagoon and ocean trade water through a strong tidal current over a shifting, silting channel — and there's no rescue if it goes wrong. You come for the rare setting and the glassy water, but you stay sharp on the tide, the day's wind, and a bird reserve whose kite rules nobody has fully spelled out. A spot for the patient, not the careless.
Who & when
Level and best time
Who it’s for
In the heart of the lagoon, on a good thermal day and well away from the inlet, this is more of a beginner-to-intermediate spot: flat, shallow water — you can often stand — and room for freestyle or foiling. Sources call it a natural learning ground. But two caveats raise the bar. First, there’s no rescue infrastructure anywhere nearby: no boat, you rely only on yourself and your buddy, especially outside summer. Second, the wind is inconsistent — less reliable than Dakhla or Essaouira — and the inlet channel runs a strong current. Near the inlet, or in an easterly that pushes you towards the wave-strewn ocean, this is no longer a place to learn on your own.
source : unplug-kitesurf.com ↗Best time
The season follows the thermal wind and the Passat trade winds: spring through autumn, peaking in July-August when afternoons bring rideable wind. Winter is quiet, with few windy days. The lagoon works best at high tide, when it fills up. Water sits around 18 °C in winter and 23 °C in summer; air ranges from 20 °C in winter to 25-35 °C in summer. Wetsuit: full suit in winter, shorty in the shoulder season, shorty or boardshorts in summer.
source : unplug-kitesurf.com ↗On site
Arrival guide
Access & two bodies of water
You arrive by road from Tangier via Larache, the village lying halfway to Rabat, about 70 km north of Kénitra. Sandy beach with parking and a short walk. On site, two bodies of water not to be confused: the Merja Zerga lagoon spreads south of the village, behind a sand bar — flat, shallow water, roughly 1.5 m average depth; the ocean is the long open beach, with waves. The lagoon connects to the ocean through an inlet to the north, near the village.
source : unplug-kitesurf.com ↗Schools & facilities: little developed
The spot is still poorly equipped, nothing like Dakhla or Essaouira. Only one outfit shows up in the kite listings, Saysay Surfshop, and accommodation is basic. The village mainly comes alive in summer, with bathers and holidaymakers; off season it’s quiet and isolated. In practice, you come here self-reliant, with your own gear and a buddy, without expecting the back-up you’d find at a developed spot.
source : unplug-kitesurf.com ↗Before you go
Safety
Inlet & tidal current: hazard #1
The number-one hazard is the inlet between lagoon and ocean, and the tidal current running through it. Scientific measurements give a flood current reaching about one metre per second in the passes and over the shoals, and summer spring tides up to 0.9 m/s — that’s strong. The inlet is also unstable and silting, a shifting zone. A kiter who loses the wind or falls near the mouth can be dragged by the current: out to sea on the ebb, inland on the flood. The tide also governs the lagoon’s water level, which fills and empties: you ride mostly at high tide. So keep well clear of the inlet and time your session to the tide.
source : mdpi.com ↗Easterly: offshore towards open sea
On the ocean the supportive wind blows sideshore, from the north-north-east or south-south-west, along the beach. The directional hazard is the easterly: on the ocean it’s offshore, pushing you out to sea. In an easterly, don’t head for the wave spot or the open ocean — you’d be blown far out with no rescue behind you. On the sheltered lagoon the wind can come from almost any direction, but an easterly stays offshore relative to the bar and the inlet: take care on the mouth side. On top of that the wind is simply inconsistent — less reliable than at Morocco’s big spots — so plan for the chance of it dropping.
source : web.kite-and-windsurfing-guide.com ↗Protected reserve & no rescue
The Merja Zerga lagoon is a protected reserve on several counts: a RAMSAR site since 1980, a Permanent Biological Reserve since 1978, a SIBE and an important bird area, where tens of thousands of birds overwinter. The tolerated, documented activities here are non-motorised and supervised — guided boat trips with the fishermen, kayaking. The status of kitesurfing on the lagoon is neither confirmed allowed nor confirmed banned by the sources: it could be restricted or prohibited to avoid disturbing the birdlife. Never treat the lagoon as a free kite spot; check locally, with the managing authority (Water & Forests) or the schools, before going on the water. There is also no rescue infrastructure on site — no boat, especially off season: you rely only on yourself and your buddy.
source : rsis.ramsar.org ↗Community
Soon, by the riders
These spaces will fill up with the community’s feedback.
Session reports (today’s thermal wind, inlet state, lagoon water level, summer crowds)
Does anyone have up-to-date info on the status of kiting on the lagoon (RAMSAR reserve)?