More than 50 kite surfers are participating in a dramatic journey from Morocco’s southern city of Dakhla along the Atlantic coast to Lagouira on the border of Mauritania, between August 13-20, in a unique adventure commemorating the 44th anniversary of the recovery of Morocco’s Oued Eddahab province.
The 5th edition of Dakhla Downwind Challenge 2023 is a challenging five-day tour for only the most strong and adventurous kite surfers. They must be able to endure many hours of kite surfing each day, while travelling from one unique site to the next along the route, and camping out each night with their team in the desert.
Much of the 500 km route crosses over Morocco’s military zone and is inaccessible without official authorization.
Entrepreneur Soufiane Hamaini, the founder of the challenge, is Morocco’s first professional kite surfer and represented the kingdom at the World Kite Surf Tour for more than 14 years.
He initially discovered Dakhla in 1999 and, curious about what lay beyond the water’s edge, embarked on the first Downwind Challenge adventure in 2015 after receiving support from Dakhla’s Wilaya and the region’s military.