TAGHAZOUT VILLAGE

Like almost all Berber villages in southern Morocco, virtually nothing is known about the earlier history of Taghazout; oral traditions only report of clashes of the united Berber tribes with the Portuguese in the 16th century. The Berber inhabitants originally resided in the foothills of the surrounding mountains and used the village purely as a place to store their fishing equipment. As the Spanish increased their hold on the area in the 19th century, factories and Mosques were built in order to house the Berber people and the village grew into a larger community.

In a similar fashion to Calangute beach in Goa India and Kuta on the island of Bali Indonesia, a beach just south of the village became famous in the late 1960s as a destination for young people to base themselves while exploring southern Morocco. On occasion, several hundred would reside in tents, makeshift buildings, and camper vans. However, the camp has been banned and instead replaced with fully equipped hotels and resorts for tourists.

Since 1992 Taghazout is the center of an independent municipality, which also includes several villages in the hinterland.