Legzira Beach

Legzira is on Morocco's Atlantic coast between Sidi Ifni and Mirleft, in the far south-west of the country. It is a long beach of golden sand beneath red sandstone cliffs, and it was known for two natural arches standing out from the cliff into the sea.

One of them is gone. The larger arch collapsed in September 2016, without warning, and what remains is a pile of rock at the waterline; the second arch still stands and is visibly fractured. The collapse is the reason this beach is worth documenting carefully: the images that circulate almost all show the arch that no longer exists, and visitors regularly arrive expecting it.

The beach itself is long, open and empty, backed by cliffs whose colour is the real attraction — a deep red-brown sandstone that turns to something close to scarlet in late afternoon light. The Atlantic here is cold, driven by the Canary Current, with real swell and rip currents; surfing is the main water activity and swimming is done with care and without lifeguards.

Development is minimal: a few small guesthouses and cafés on the sand and at the top of the access track, and nothing else. The road down is rough. Sidi Ifni, a Spanish colonial town with Art Deco buildings and a distinct atmosphere, is fifteen minutes north. Mirleft, fifteen minutes south, has a series of small cliff-backed beaches and a Spanish-era fort, and Plage Blanche further down the coast is forty kilometres of empty sand reached only by four-wheel drive.

The arch in the photographs collapsed in September 2016 and the one still standing is visibly fractured, so keep clear of it. What remains is a long empty Atlantic beach under red sandstone that turns close to scarlet in the last hour of light, cold water, and no lifeguard for forty kilometres in either direction.