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Morocco: a desert nation in Africa filled with spectacular gates, attractive tiles, purple partitions, the beginning of the Sahara, scrumptious delicacies, and vibrant marketplaces. There are countless fascinating issues to do in Morocco – from beautiful cities to go to, to scrumptious meals to eat, to unimaginable experiences to have.
So let’s dive into the record! Here are 15 unforgettable issues to do in Morocco:
Explore Old Fortified Cities
In the desert and the Atlas Mountains east of Marrakech is an space often known as the Road of 1000 Kasbahs. A kasbah is a big, fortified dwelling, and customarily has 4 towers within the corners. This a part of the Moroccan desert was a part of the salt highway, and kasbahs dot the panorama. Occasionally, you’ll come throughout a ksar, or a fortified village.
The most well-known of those fortified villages is the Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, a surprising fortified village constructed into the hillside of the desert. Ait Ben Haddou was an necessary cease on the Salt Road, and thus hosted many vacationers and needed to keep off many bandits. Today, only some households stay within the historic city, however you may stroll via and uncover the numerous alleys, church buildings, granaries, and retailers.
You may discover throughout your go to that they nonetheless use the identical strategies of building in Ait Ben Haddou in the present day as in years previous, creating bricks from mud and straw.
Haggle within the Souks
The souks and marketplaces of Morocco, are vibrant, bustling locations, filled with fascinating items and colourful wares. You can discover all types of issues to buy and produce dwelling as souvenirs from Morocco, like conventional Moroccan kaftans or djellabas (lengthy “dresses” that each women and men put on, with hoods), tagines (the dish that many Moroccan meals are cooked in), leather-based sneakers and purses, contemporary pressed argan oil, ceramic bowls, platters, and plates painted in quite a lot of colours, buckets heaped full of colourful spices, shiny teapots, and extra.
Wandering via the souks is an expertise, each due to the issues on the market and on show, but in addition as a result of the salesmen are always calling out to you, inviting you to look at their wares. And in case you are concerned with making a purchase order, don’t look forward to finding any costs listed. Instead, the store proprietor will quote you a value, and then you definately’ll must haggle the worth all the way down to a suitable level.
In Morocco, haggling is sort of like a pleasant dance. They quote a value, and then you definately fake to think about, and say, “oh wow, that’s a lot. How about this much instead?” And they are saying “oh no, no it’s very high quality/I need to feed my family/or some other line.”
This goes backwards and forwards for some time till you attain an agreeable value. While newcomers generally is a little intimidated by the haggle recreation, simply keep in mind – be pleasant however follow your weapons (we often aimed to pay 50% of the unique asking value) and simply lean into the method.
Stay in a Riad
A riad in Morocco is a conventional guesthouse that often has just some rooms, with an open-air courtyard within the center and exquisite decorations. Staying in a riad is an absolute must-do when visiting Morocco – it actually looks like a cultural expertise in its personal proper.
There are, after all, riads that may match into any finances, however even probably the most primary riads have lovely archways and sometimes some lovely tilework inside. Many riads really feel like little museums in and of themselves, with mosaics, columns, plunge swimming pools, heavy materials, and water options.
In explicit, the riads of Fes are completely unimaginable artworks, with lots of them having carved stucco and cedarwood and being lined in mosaics, at a really cheap value.
Marvel on the Bahia Palace
Morocco, and Marrakech specifically, has many completely attractive buildings crammed with intricate tiles and mosaics, and are completely beautiful. Visiting the Bahia Palace is without doubt one of the most unimaginable issues to do in Morocco to get pleasure from these visible masterpieces.
This historic palace is kind of massive and has many rooms you may wander via. There are massive and small courtyards and gardens, plus adjoining rooms, crammed with carved cedarwood, stained glass, water options, and symmetrical layouts.
The Bahia Palace is without doubt one of the most well-known sights in Marrakech and one you’ll not wish to miss!
Go Glamping within the Sahara
The Sahara desert begins on the very japanese fringe of Morocco, and one of the epic issues you are able to do in Morocco is to spend an evening (or two!) within the Sahara sand dunes.
You’ll meet up together with your guides within the city on the fringe of the Erg Chebbi sand dunes, climb aboard your camel, after which trip the 1.5 hours into the desert, arriving at an expensive desert camp earlier than watching the solar set on the horizon.
You’ll get pleasure from your individual, spacious tent, full with an actual mattress, carpets on the ground, electrical energy, and a full toilet, and sumptuously ready meals the place you may dig your toes into the sand whereas consuming your tagine.
At night time, collect across the campfire to take heed to the boys play conventional Berber music, which is heavy on drums and rhythmic beats. In the morning, you may go ATVing, go sandboarding, or simply take your self on a stroll into the undulating, orange dunes.
An expertise doing a Sahara desert tour will likely be one of the memorable nights of your life and is completely probably the greatest issues to do in Morocco.
Drink Mint Tea
Mint tea is the popular drink of virtually each Moroccan, and you may be provided mint tea when arriving at your riad and at most restaurant meals. It’s a poignant custom to take part in, because it comes with some spectacular rituals.
Mint tea is definitely inexperienced tea that has been steeped with mint leaves. Your server will deliver the ready mint tea to your desk in a shiny, engraved steel teapot and pour it for you into glasses that resemble a big shot glass. The model of the pour is extremely necessary – you will need to maintain the teapot excessive above the glasses, creating a protracted arc of tea into the cup.
Plenty of sugar cubes can be found on the desk so as to add to your tea – Moroccans love their tea candy!
Observe the Tanneries in Fes
Fes is an fascinating metropolis for a lot of causes – it has an identical hustle and bustle as Marrakech, however with out the purple partitions. There had been extra lined passageways in Fes, and the streets felt much more slim and winding than in Marrakech. And whereas Marrakech does have tanneries, the tanneries of Fes are indisputably the largest, greatest, and oldest within the nation.
Observing the tanneries is without doubt one of the most fascinating issues to do within the metropolis. There are just a few leather-based retailers with terraces overlooking the tanneries, and shopowners are very pleased to let guests come observe on the terraces. You’ll see males working hides in vats of coloured liquids and chemical compounds, taking the hides via the method to show them into positive leather-based merchandise.
Of course, the shopowners are all too pleased to point out you their items whereas taking you again out of the store (and actually, there are such a lot of unimaginable leather-based items to purchase – from sneakers, poufs, wallets, jackets, and extra). This is without doubt one of the most iconic spots in Fes and value a cease, notably in case you are concerned with making a leather-based buy.
Wander the Blue City of Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen is named the “Blue Pearl of Morocco,” as the whole medina is painted various shades of wealthy blue! While the origins of why the town was first painted blue are unknown, you may’t deny that it’s extremely aesthetically pleasing. Chefchaouen is a smaller city nestled within the mountains north of Fes, so there aren’t plenty of sights within the metropolis – the town IS the attraction.
You can spend an exquisite day wandering the streets of Chefchaouen, discovering all the lovable little corners and spots, doing a little purchasing, and taking footage of the streets with colourful pots or baskets on them. For an amazing view over the town, do a brief hike as much as the Spanish Mosque, which sits on a hill overlooking the city.
Stand in Awe on the Hassan II Mosque
As a predominantly Muslim nation, you will note mosques and minarets in each city and metropolis you go to. However, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the largest mosque in Morocco, and it’s the seventh largest mosque on the planet, with the third tallest minaret.
It can be the one mosque in Morocco that enables non-Muslims to enter. There are a number of guided excursions of the mosque out there every day, the place you may enter the mosque, study its building and historical past, and study extra about Islam.
The mosque is completely beautiful, with intricately carved stucco and cedarwood adorning the partitions, ceiling, arches, and columns all through the mosque. Rich carpets are on the ground, colourful mosaics are on show, and the rooms are massive, with hovering ceilings.
Visiting the Hassan II Mosque is an unimaginable factor to do in Morocco and for certain must be part of your Morocco itinerary.
Feel Academic at Madrasa Ben Youssef and Madrasa Al Attarine
Many of the bigger cities of Morocco had been places for universities beginning within the 1300s, and in the present day these historic universities, or madrasas, are open to the general public. In Marrakech, you may go to the Madrasa Ben Youssef, and in Fes, you may go to the Madrasa Al-Attarine.
In these madrasas, you first enter into a big widespread room, with smaller rooms tucked off to the aspect. Then, go as much as the above ranges to see small school rooms and the “dorm rooms” the place college students slept. Like each necessary constructing in Morocco, these madrasas are artworks, with intricate tilework, arches, and water options within the massive gathering rooms of the previous faculties.
Read additionally: Per week in Marrakech and the Sahara Desert
Explore Roman ruins at Volubilis
Not removed from the town of Fes in northern Morocco are the traditional Roman ruins of Volubilis (do you know that Morocco had a Roman affect?). Volubilis was a rich and busy metropolis in Roman instances because of the fertile area that surrounds it, and it was an administrative heart of the Roman empire in that area.
At its peak, as much as 20,000 folks lived right here! But after the Roman empire, and several other earthquakes, Volubilis was deserted and destroyed. Today, Volubilis has a number of actually well-preserved ruins, and a few of the buildings have been excavated and reconstructed, together with the basilica, capitoline temple, and triumphal arch.
The ruins are actually lovely and exploring the ruined buildings is without doubt one of the most fascinating issues to do in Morocco.
Enjoy the Sun and Sea at Essaouira
Essaouira is a charming city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. It’s about 2 hours from Marrakech however looks like a very totally different world. In distinction to the busy and frantic tempo of Marrakech, Essaouira is laidback and chill and is a haven for browsing and windsurfing, particularly between the prime months of April-November.
Essaouira can be a significant fishing port, and you may see the long-lasting blue fishing boats lined up within the harbor and the place fishermen are busy at work bringing of their catch of the day.
Besides browsing, just a few well-liked issues to do in Essaouira embrace exploring the charming previous medina, the place buildings are painted blue and white, or strolling the town ramparts overlooking the ocean. You can simply spend just some hours in Essaouira and get a style of the town, or spend just a few days wandering round and hanging out on this lovely Moroccan metropolis.
Eat Tagine and Couscous
One of the funniest issues to do in Morocco is to pattern the native delicacies! Morocco has many very conventional dishes, probably the most well-known and ubiquitous being tagine. A tagine meal is made in a tagine cooking dish (as we talked about within the purchasing the souks part, above) and is usually composed of rooster or beef and greens. You can even have a vegetable-only tagine. The tagine dish acts as a steamer to cook dinner the meal.
Couscous is one other extremely widespread Moroccan meals that’s historically ready on Fridays, the holy day for Muslims. However, you will discover couscous on many menus within the nation which are out there all through the week.
Wander the Red City of Marrakech
In some ways, Marrakech is probably the most traditional and recognizable model of Morocco – there’s all of the unique really feel and appeal you’d anticipate plus the frenetic tempo, smells, and sounds you’d anticipate from a vibrant metropolis. It is an exquisite metropolis, crammed with purple partitions and arched openings, intricate doorways, fascinating cultural and historic websites, and exquisite mosaic tiles and flooring.
Among the architectural wonders are the Saadian Tombs, the El Badi Palace, the Jardin Secret, and the Jardin Majorelle. The mixture of all these components makes Marrakech certainly one of Morocco’s must-see locations.
Go Hiking within the Atlas Mountains
There are many mountaineering alternatives within the Atlas Mountains, which showcase plenty of totally different terrains – tall gorges, purple rocks, valleys, waterfalls, and mountain peaks. One of the nice factors of mountaineering in Morocco is that almost all spots and trails are fairly off the crushed path.
The Ourika Valley is just not removed from Marrakech (about 1 hour away) and has a number of paths to hike. One of the preferred hikes is the path to the 7 Waterfalls of Setti Fatma.
Farther away from Marrakech (about 4 hours away) are the Dades Gorge and the Todra Gorge, which each provide unimaginable mountaineering alternatives within the red-orange canyons, via palm and olive groves, and over the tops of hilly ridges.
Best Things to Do in Morocco – The Wrap-Up
For anybody who loves the unique and a little bit of journey, Morocco is a dream vacation spot. There are virtually countless enjoyable and fascinating issues to see and do in Morocco. Put this cool African nation in your bucket record in the present day!