Moroccan treasures - Tangier

Tangier has an international airport at Ibn Batouta (previously known as Boukhalef), and ferry connections with Algeciras, Gibraltar and the French port of Sète. Unless you are bringing a car over from Spain, it's a better point of arrival than Ceuta: both for the town's own attractions, and for the convenience of moving straight on into Morocco. Asilah is a mere forty minutes' ride on the train;

Meknes, Fes, Rabat and Casablanca are all comfortably reached within the day, while if you are in a hurry to get south, there is an overnight train for Marrakesh.

The coast detailed in this section is the Atlantic stretch south towards Rabat. Asilah , on the train line, is the easiest destination; Larache can be reached by bus or grand taxi only, either from Tangier or (simpler) from Asilah. A more distinctively Moroccan resort is Moulay Bousselham , south of Larache and accessible by bus or grand taxi via Ksar El Kebir or Souk El Arba du Rharb.

Bird watching
When travelling between Tangier and Larache, there are interesting bird habitats to be seen on both sides of the road.

A few kilometres north of Asilah , the dry flatlands attract wintering great bustards and large numbers of common cranes , and you're also likely to see callandra and crested larks . Hereabouts, too, and particularly between Asilah and Larache, there are wetlands and salt pans which attract the water pipit, black-winged stilt , and greater flamingo .

To the southeast of Larache, and accessible by car, are the Loukos wetlands . These marshes and pools are said to be the best spot in Morocco for spotting the little bustard and in winter there are four species of rails to look out for - moorhen, coot, crested coot, and purple gallinule. Amongst other birds recorded here are the squacco heron, white stork, glossy ibis, and greater flamingo. Bird-watching historians might like to note that it was close to here, around the confluence of the Oued Loukous and its tributary, the Oued El Makhazine, that the Battle of the Three Kings was fought.

Mountain gardens
two most prestigious addresses in Tangier are La Marshan , the area west of the Palais du Mendoub, and La Montagne , the 'Mountain' behind the Spanish Consulate, on the inland route to Cap Spartel. The Mountain, less imposing than its name suggests, was a rebel base against the British and Portuguese occupations of Tangier, but is now thoroughly tamed. Its cork and pine woods shield two vast royal palaces: one, built by the Victorian British consul Sir John Hay, which was (until her recent death), the residence of King Hassan's mother; the other, heavily guarded, among the numerous retreats of the Saudi royal family. It is also peppered with villas, many of which have beautiful gardens with stunning views of the bay, and several of which are owned by expats who are prepared to show serious garden-lovers around. One such is Anne Lambton, Villa Palma, La Vielle Montagne (tel 03/993 1393), who asks only for a donation to SPANA, the animal welfare charity. Like many who live on the Mountain, Anne is an artist and occasionally exhibits at the Lawrence Arnott Art Gallery.

To reach La Montagne you'll need to drive or take a taxi. From Place de France take Rue Belgique to its end, where it becomes the Rue de la Montagne and begins winding its way up. If you want to make a day-trip of it, you can continue, over the mountain, towards the Caves of Hercules