Chefchaouen

I was only in Morocco for a few days before hopping to one of my bucket list cities, and one that sparked my interest in Morocco in the first place, Chefchaouen. The ‘blue pearl ‘as its known to many was my next stop. Chefchaouen is known for a few things, but for most, it’s the blue city. A small city situated in the East of Morocco, within the Rif mountains, the city is a must see in my opinion. Nearly ever building within the medina walls is painted a shade of blue, creating a very enthralling atmosphere. A photographers dream, there is so many hidden gems around every corner of this city. It’s no surprise that the city is a tourist hot spot for photographers and IG influencers alike. This city is by far one of the most beautiful I have seen, but it wasn’t just the allure of the blue that caught my eye here. The blue is very calming, creating a very serene, down to earth feel. There are a few theories that have been thrown around as to why the city was painted blue in the first place – a cooling color to deter mosquitos, tourism due to its captivating and picture perfect buildings, and the original Jewish influence that was once present here. I’ve heard and spoken with multiple locals, and it doesn’t seem like there is one ‘right’ answer as to why it is this way, but regardless, it’s stunning. There are a few different ways to get to Chefchaouen, you can do a day trip from nearby cities, or as I did, hop on a bus and spend some time exploring the area. My days spent here were some of my favourite, so hopefully you’ll pay a visit to the most blue-tiful city in all of Morocco!

The Spanish Mosque

Perhaps one of the best views overlooking the city is from the Spanish Mosque. The Mosque was built by the Spanish back in 1920, abandoned during the Rif war, and never used.  It overlooks the entire city of Chefchaouen, is surrounded by the Rif Valley Mountains, and has one of the best spots to watch both the sunset and sunrise. After a quick and easy 20-minute walk up the hill from the eastern gate (~2 km, with many viewpoints along the way) you will reach the Mosque. I would normally say grab a beer for the view, but you’re in Morocco so… grab a seat (and maybe a spliff if you’re so inclined), and watch the magic happen as the sun fades over the mountains.

The Rif Mountains

One of the main industries in Morocco, though much less talked about, is the Hash industry. Yes, hashish. Marijuana and hash are still illegal in Morocco, but here, the police tend to look the other way, likely given how much money the industry has made for the country. Everywhere you walk in Chefchaouen you will likely be asked ‘Do you smoke? I have hash’. Though I’m not going to condone doing illegal things on this blog, I was keen to check out what the whole industry was about, and they were more than willing to offer. No, I didn’t buy hash from these guys; instead, I went up to a hashish farm. Most owners are more than willing to show you their hash farm up on the hill behind the mosque and to make it right in front of you so you can see the process. I had been warned about hash prior and how many things can get melted into it when it’s being made (such as plastic) to increase its weight for sale, so seeing it being made first hand was key for me. Our farmer in the mountains offered us into his house for some ‘tea’ - we walked through his cattle barns, around the chicken coops, and past the marijuana plants before finally reaching his house. He sat us down and started the process. He explained everything from why this area is so great for growing, before starting the process of converting his dried marijuana to hash. He showed us everything from stripping down the plants, prepping the bin to collect the kief (THC crystals), pounding out the plants to get the kief itself and how you heat/melt the crystals to convert the final product into hash. All of this was done right in front of us. It was a very interesting experience seeing first hand how it’s made before making its way elsewhere to be (albeit illegally) sold around the world. Though the hash industry relies significantly on tourism, its one of the main sources of income throughout the whole of Morocco.

If you too want to check out a farm, all you need to do is show up in Chefchaouen and start walking on the paths past the Spanish Mosque. Enjoy a little hike and beautiful views of the Limestone Rif Mountains, and venture to one of many farms up there for a few hours to see how its all done.

Akchour Waterfalls

Though most people come in and out of Chefchaouen pretty quickly, I was here for 3 nights, and could have stayed much longer. If you choose to take your time, a trip to the Akchour waterfalls are well worth the day trek. The drive from Chefchaouen to the drop off point takes about 45 minutes, and is easiest (and cheapest) by grabbing a shared ‘Grand’ taxi from town near the traffic circle outside of the old medina.

The hike itself is around 2 hours one-way to the final falls, and the path is not very well marked, and to make it even more confusing, there are 2 different routes you can take to two different falls/lookouts. People at the drop off will offer their ‘tour’ services, but as long as you don’t mind getting lost once or twice, you really don’t need one, as the walk itself is quite easy. As for the two routes, you will need to decide relatively early on if you want to do one, or both. The start of the hike will take you past a hydroelectric dam, and branch off from here. Following the path to the left, will take you to the proper Akchour Falls. Heading to the right will take you to ‘Gods Bridge’, an unusual rock formation. The God’s Bridge hike takes ~45 minutes 1-way, the Akchour Falls route ~2 hours. We only did the Akchour Fall route, so I can’t give you too much info on the Gods Bridge scenery or walk, but I’ve heard great things. If you’re at the drop-off early enough in the day, you could certainly squeeze both of these in!

To get the to Akchour falls, you will find a dirt path to the left just before a hotel that takes you on the ‘right’ path to the different falls you will see. To know you’re on the right path, keep an eye out for signs that talk about the native plants in the area. If you see this – you’re on the right track. As for the waterfalls themselves, they have classified them as the little (lower) & grand (upper) waterfalls, though you will see many more than two waterfalls along the whole hike. If you’re lucky, like we were, you may also get to see some Barbary Macaque monkeys swinging through the trees too, so be sure to keep an eye out. The final’ large’ falls has a pool of water in front that you can swim into, but be warned, its FREEZING cold. I felt like I was swimming in a lake back home with how brisk the water was. A local has set up a little restaurant at the end with mint tea, tanginess, etc., so even if you’re cold, you can easily warm up in the Moroccan breeze, or with the help of some hot tea and food.

You will likely not see too many people along your hike, so enjoy spending the day out in serene nature in the beautiful Rif Mountain Valley before catching a shared taxi back into town!