Famous for its blue painted buildings and streets and the surrounding Rif mountains. There are multiple reasons for the blueness according the people in that town:
- to keep mosquitos away
- to keep the house cooler
- represent sky or water
- All of the above??
Chefchaouen Riad – We stayed at the beautiful Riad located just outside the medina, offering a beautiful view of the medina and also close to the hiking trail that goes up a hill to a mosque that offers beautiful view of the Chefchaouen medina and the surrounding Rif mountain. We hiked up this trail to the mosque in the evening, which happens to be quite popular path for tourists and got to see the sunset and the medina in numerous hues as the sun was setting.
The rooms in the Riad were spacious and top quality by any standard, and with a restaurant serving great food. I would highly recommend this place should you plan on visiting Chefchaouen.
Chefchaouen medina – We spent a lot of time wandering in Chefchaouen medina and admiring the blue streets, shops, and buildings. We had an excellent dinner in one of the restaurants in the main square Plaza ta El-Hammam, which is inside the medina.
Chefchaouen medina plaza – Many things happen around the hustle and bustle of the main square, Plaza Uta El-Hammam. Sitting in the center of the medina, the square is surrounded by restaurants, shops, the Kasbah, and the Grand Mosque. The Grand Mosque is still used for religious worship so it is not open for tourists, however, its unique octagonal minaret can be viewed from the square.
Chefchaouen Kasbah near the plaza. There is a $7 charge to enter the kasbah. It has a beautiful garden and a tower that you can climb to the the top to get a sweeping view of Chefchaouen.
Talassemtane National Park – An hour drive from Chefchaouen is the scenic Talassemtane National Park. On the drive to the park, in addition to the rugged mountains and canyons, you can see simple rural life with outdoor ovens for baking bread and women herding sheep and goats.
Hiking in Talassemtane National Park – Panoramic scenic views, waterfalls, streams, and well marked trails makes this place great for hiking. There are villages scattered through the valleys and mountainsides. We did not have time to hike all the way to the waterfall and natural bridge. We hiked for a little more than an hour and enjoyed a few smaller waterfalls and panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.
A whole day in Talassemtane National Park would be a good idea, especially if you are planning on hiking all the way to the natural bridge and waterfall.
Moroccan Breakfast – On the way from Chefchaouen to Fes, we stopped at a local family’s house for a Moroccan breakfast. Barley bread, Moroccan vegetable soup, fresh olives, dates, mint tea.
After this, we started towards Volubilis, which has the remnants of the Roman empire in Morocco.