Guelmim Camel Souk

Guelmim was a caravan town - the assembly point where routes from the Sahara met those going north, and the market that came with that - and the Saturday souk still trades livestock on open ground at the edge of the town, camels among them, along with goats, sheep, fodder, tack and everything else a rural market carries. It is worth saying clearly what it is not: the guidebook description of a great camel market with thousands of animals belongs to a different era, and what you will find on a normal Saturday is a working livestock market with a modest number of camels in one corner, sold for meat and for breeding rather than transport. That is still worth seeing, early, when the trading is happening and the light is good. Guelmim is also the gateway to Plage Blanche, Fort Bou Jerif and the desert routes south, and holds a moussem in summer.

What you actually see

• A working livestock market - goats, sheep and fodder with camels in one corner.
• Saturday morning trading - the business done early and over by the middle of the day.
• A caravan-town remnant - the market that grew where Saharan routes met northern ones.
• A modest reality - far smaller than the guidebook descriptions suggest.

When to go

Saturday morning, October to April. A morning.

Honest expectations

It is much smaller than its reputation - do not travel for it alone. Trading finishes by mid-morning. It is a livestock market with the smells and conditions of one. Photographing traders needs asking.

Nearby

Plage Blanche is west; Fort Bou Jerif is on the way to it.