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Figuig Figuig is NOT on the usual tourist track, largely because of its difficulty of access. Anyone traveling there should budget 12 hours for getting there from Fes, and another 12 for heading out .Travel inconveniences include a 6 hour train ride from Fes to Oujda (a not so exciting town on the Algerian border), and a 6 hour bus ride from Oujda to Figuig. The trip in itself is an affair to remember, and your memories of Figuig will be worth the trouble. However, you need to have four days to do this properly. Figuig is a collection of 7 separate villages, all sharing the precious oasis water from 3 different underground sources. These nearby villages used to fight recklessly for the water- today they have devised a profitable scheme to share the resource. Stay at the Figuig hotel (and only hotel)- whose dramatic terrace overlooks the palmeraie, and whose swimming pool provides much refreshment from blazing desert days. Walk amongst the gardens, tasting the grapes (fall), figs (summer), dates (fall), almonds which each individual grows for his own consumption. Study the complex irrigation system. Enjoy the silence of a town where no one tries to harass you. Watch the women walk by in their traditional white garments, or the men playing "shiiit" in the village squares.
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