Where to Stay in Kenitra, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra

What is Kenitra known for?

On the Sebou river near the Atlantic in northwest Morocco, it grew as the country's chief river port, and it keeps the busy harbour on the Sebou, the great cork forest of Mamora nearby, the bird lagoon of Sidi Boughaba on the coast, and the old kasbah of Mehdya at the river's mouth. The flat Gharb plain spreads around. Cork oaks fill the woods.

What are the main landmarks in Kenitra?

The Mamora forest is the pride of the Kenitra country. The great cork-oak forest south of the town, the largest of its kind on earth, is the emblem of the region, out of downtown. A lagoon draws the birds.

The Sidi Boughaba lagoon on the coast fills with wintering birds nearby, while the Sebou harbour, the Mehdya kasbah, and the Gharb fields mark the country around Kenitra.

What is the history of Kenitra?

Kenitra is a young French town. The French built the port on the Sebou in nineteen thirteen and named it Port-Lyautey, making it the chief river harbour of Morocco. The Sebou carried the Gharb's trade.

Down the river came the grain, citrus, and cork of the rich Gharb plain, and Kenitra grew fast as a port and market town. The land around held forest and lagoon. South of the town spread the Mamora, the greatest cork-oak forest on earth, and on the coast lay the Sidi Boughaba lagoon, thick with birds.

History guarded the river mouth. At Mehdya an old kasbah stood above the Sebou's mouth by the sea, and Kenitra grew as the river port of the Gharb, keeping its harbour, its forest, and its lagoon. The Sebou still carries the ships.

Kenitra keeps its river port on the Gharb plain.

Where is Kenitra?

Kenitra lies in the northwest of Morocco, on the Sebou river near the Atlantic coast. The city sits on the flat, fertile Gharb plain a little way up the Sebou, with the ocean and the Mehdya beach to the west and the great Mamora cork forest to the south. Its river winds to the sea.

The Gharb spreads level and green on every side.

What is the climate of Kenitra?

Kenitra has a mild, wet Mediterranean climate. Warm dry summers and mild wet winters cross the plain, with sea air off the Atlantic and rain in the cold months. Warm dry summers rule the plain.

Winter rains green the Gharb.

How do you get to Kenitra?

Kenitra lies on the Atlantic coast of northwest Morocco, north of Rabat. Fast trains run to it up the coast from Rabat and Casablanca, and the highway follows the Sebou. Boats work the river port.

Rabat lies south down the line.