Soon afterwards I passed through the town of Bouarfa but didn't stop as I was keen on getting to Figuig. The road south of Oujda had slowly shown the gradual change into desert and the 100km+ road out to Figuig on the Algerian border became quite dramatic as harsh rock and sand started to dominate.

After the 4th police checkpoint of the day (the closer to the border with Algeria you are the more there are) I came into Figuig and was slightly under whelmed. It looked a bit drab when I first stopped to take the picture above.

But first appearances proved deceptive. The Figuig Hotel had a beautiful camping area and after settling in I ended up staying for two weeks!

Figuig, or Figi as it's sometimes known, is actually a collection of seven small villages (ksars, meaning fortified settlements) separated by a large cliff face. It is completely surrounded by large hills that mark the border with Algeria, with just one road in and out. It used to provide the second main border crossing after Oujda, and was the last stop before crossing the Sahara for pilgrims heading to Mecca in Saudi.

As the border has been closed for almost 10 years there is no through traffic in Figuig, hence it's a very quiet and laid back sort of place.