Lonely Planet Morocco Read online

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  Top Experiences

  Taroudannt

  With views of both the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas, this Souss Valley trading centre is known as Little Marrakesh, offering a medina and souqs without the big-city hustlers. Day trippers from Agadir will certainly find it charming. The town’s red-mud ramparts are unique, changing colour according to the time of day. Circle the 7.5km perimeter by foot, bike or horse-drawn calèche, then return to the medina through one of the gates. After the sunset glow fades from the walls, the town is a relaxing, everyday place with some good restaurants.

  MADZIA71/GETTY IMAGES ©

  Top Experiences

  Camel Trekking in the Sahara

  When you pictured dashing into the sunset on your trusty steed, you probably didn’t imagine there’d be quite so much lurching involved. Don’t worry: no one is exactly graceful clambering onto a saddled hump. But even if your dromedary leaves you knock-kneed, you’ll instinctively find your way to the summit of the dunes at nightfall. Stars have never seemed clearer, and with good reason: at Erg Chigaga, you’re not only off the grid, but several days' camel trek from the nearest streetlights.

  VIXIT/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

  Top Experiences

  Meknès

  Morocco has four old imperial cities. Rabat is the go-ahead capital, Marrakesh has the tourist bling, Fez its epic medina, and Meknès...well, Meknès is unfairly overlooked by far too many visitors. It has a wealth of grand architecture, from the incredible grain stores of Heri es-Souani to the imposing gate of Bab Mansour and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail (currently under restoration). Place el-Hedim is a mini Djemaa el Fna but without the tourist focus, and it's only a hop and skip away to the Roman ruins at Volubilis.

  Zellij on the Bab el-Mansour | JOHN COPLAND/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

  Need to Know

  Currency

  Dirham (Dh)

  Language

  Moroccan Arabic (Darija), Berber (Amazigh), French

  Visas

  Visas are not generally required for stays of up 90 days.

  Money

  ATMS are widely available. Credit cards are accepted in most midrange hotels and above, and at top-end restaurants.

  Mobile Phones

  GSM phones work on roaming. For unlocked phones, local mobile SIM cards are a cheaper option.

  Time

  GMT/UTC

  When to Go

  High Season (Nov–Mar)

  ASpring and autumn are the most popular times to visit.

  AAccommodation prices are highest.

  AMarrakesh and the south are popular at Christmas and New Year, but the north of the country can be chilly and wet.

  Shoulder (Apr & Oct)

  ASpring sandstorms in the Sahara and persistent rain in the north; popular elsewhere.

  AAccommodation prices and demand jump around Easter.

  Low Season (May–Sep)

  ADiscounts in accommodation and souqs.

  ADomestic tourism keeps prices high on the coast, where this is shoulder season

  AFrom 2017 to 2020, Ramadan will commence between the end of April and late May. Eid al-Adha will fall around August.

  Useful Websites

  The View from Fez (http://riadzany.blogspot.com) News and opinions.

  Visit Morocco (www.visitmorocco.com) Moroccan National Tourist Office website.

  Maroc Mama (http://marocmama.com) Morocco-themed food and travel blog.

  Al-Bab (www.al-bab.com/maroc) Handy links.

  Morocco World News (www.moroccoworldnews.com) Moroccan news portal.

  Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco) Destination information, hotel bookings, traveller forum and more.

  Important Numbers

  Always dial the local four-digit area code even if you are dialling from the same town or code area.

  Ambulance 15

  Fire 15

  Police (city) 19

  Gendarmerie (police outside cities) 177

  Exchange Rates

  Australia A$1 Dh7.36

  Canada C$1 Dh7.18

  Europe €1 Dh10.94

  Japan Y100 Dh9.57

  Mauritania UM100 Dh2.71

  New Zealand NZ$1 Dh7.07

  UK UK$1 Dh12.16

  USA US$1 Dh9.70

  For current exchange rates, see www.xe.com.

  Daily Costs

  Budget: Less than Dh500

  ABasic double (shared bathroom): from Dh50

  ASoup or sandwich: Dh4–30

  AFour-hour local bus trip: Dh60

  Midrange: Dh500–1400

  AAdmission to sights: Dh10–50

  AHotel room: Dh400–800

  ADinner main: Dh70–150

  Top end: More than Dh1400

  AHire a car: Dh300

  ADay tour: Dh300

  ADouble in a city riad: from Dh1000

  Opening Hours

  Morocco keeps the Western working week, but some businesses may close early/completely on the Muslim prayer day or Friday. Exact opening hours may vary.

  Banks 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday

  Bars 4pm till late

  Government offices 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday

  Post offices 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday

  Restaurants noon to 3pm and 7pm to 10pm (cafes generally open earlier and close later)

  Shops 9am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm to 8pm Monday to Saturday (often closed longer at noon for prayer)

  Work hours may be severely truncated during Ramadan.

  Arriving in Morocco

  Mohammed V International Airport (Casablanca) Trains run to Casa Voyageurs station (Dh43, 35 minutes) hourly from 6am to 10pm, and again at 11.45pm; taxis to central Casablanca cost Dh300 to Dh350 (45 minutes).

  Tanger Med ferry terminal Shuttle buses run hourly to central Tangier (Dh25, 45 minutes).

  Menara Airport (Marrakesh) Buses to central Marrakesh (Dh30) run every 20 minutes; taxis to central Marrakesh cost Dh70/100 petit taxi/grand taxi (50% more at night); private hotel transfer to the city costs around Dh200.

  Fes–Saïss Airport (Fez) Taxis to central Fez/medina cost Dh200.

  Getting Around

  Transport in Morocco is reasonably priced, and mostly quick and efficient.

  Train Reasonably priced, with good coverage and frequent departures between the major cities, but no lines in the south or along the Mediterranean coast.

  Car Useful for travelling at your own pace, or for visiting regions with minimal public transport. Cars can be hired in every town or city. Drive on the right, but beware erratic Moroccan drivers.

  Bus Cheaper and slower than trains, ranging from modern coaches to rickety local affairs. Useful for destinations not serviced by trains.

  Taxi Mercedes ‘grands taxis’ run set routes between nearby towns and cities. Cheap but cramped.

  If You Like…

  Medinas

  If you pause for a moment in the medina, stepping out of the stream of shoppers, you can watch Morocco’s very essence flash by. These ancient, crowded quarters – with winding lanes, dead ends, riad hotels, piles of spices, traders, tea drinkers, and a sensory assault around every corner – offer a strong dose of Morocco’s famous Maghrebi mystique.

  Fez The world's largest living Islamic medieval city, with goods still carried by donkey and mule.

  Marrakesh Exuberant Marrakshis course between souqs, palaces and the Djemaa el-Fna within the medina’s ramparts.

  Tangier Hop off the ferry for a fitting introduction to North Africa in this compact medina.

  Chefchaouen Medinas aren’t always like diving from the top board; smaller examples include this blue-washed treat.

  Craft & Culture

  Whether you want to catch some Gnaoua (bluesy music developed by freed slaves), see the Maghreb’s hottest contemporary art or forever transform your mantel with quality craftwork, Morocco will inundate you with options.

  Taroudannt Pick up Chleuh silver jewel
lery, influenced by Saharan tribes and Jewish silversmiths, in the souqs.

  Fès Festival of World Sacred Music In June, Morocco’s premier music festival features international names and intimate concerts by tariqas (Sufi orders).

  Marrakesh Shop beyond the souqs, alongside design fanatics in Quartier Industriel Sidi Ghanem, and collectors in the hip art galleries of Guèliz.

  Carpets Towns such as Ouarzazate and Tafraoute are low-pressure spots to bag a tasselled souvenir.

  Tangier The American Legation Museum is devoted to Paul Bowles, William Burroughs and the Beat writers.

  Off the Beaten Track

  Morocco’s small towns and picturesque villages are ideal for unwinding and meeting the locals over mint tea.

  Afella-Ighir The road to these oasis villages is little visited; in Tiwadou, stay in an auberge (inn) with a local museum.

  Agdz Enjoy the Drâa Valley from the palm groves and mudbrick kasbahs of Agdz.

  Imilchil The Middle Atlas village is famous for its marriage moussem (festival), but the journey there is stunning year-round.

  Tarfaya Clean up in a tented pool hall near a shipwrecked ferry, and watch the Saharawi world go by.

  Around Essaouira Leave the crowds in the medina and follow the surf trail south to Sidi Kaouki and Taghazout.

  Bhalil A friendly hillside village dating back to the 4th century, unusual for its troglodyte cave dwellings.

  Food Adventures

  Morocco offers culinary adventures from couscous rolling to eating camel tajine.

  Fez Take a street-food tour, roll your own couscous and visit the communal bread ovens.

  M'hamid Learn Saharawi recipes or the secrets of elaborate traditional couscous at M’Hamid’s Saharan retreats.

  Marrakesh Buy your ingredients at the souq, and feast on the results in a riad kitchen.

  Seafood Buy your dinner fresh off the boat in the ports of Al Hoceima and Essaouira.

  Taliouine Tour saffron and argan producers and learn how to make a saffron-tinted tajine.

  Demnate Try local almonds, olive oil and wildflower honey in this Berber foodie hub near Marrakesh.

  Architecture

  Morocco’s buildings, whether being reinvented as a boutique medina retreat or crumbling into a hillside, reflect the country’s long history as a cultural melting pot.

  Ali ben Youssef Medersa Inside this splendid 14th-century theological seminary in Marrakesh are five-colour zellij (tilework) walls and stucco archways.

  Art deco The Atlantic Coast has wonderful art-deco architecture, in Casablanca and Sidi Ifni.

  Kairaouine Mosque & University One of Africa’s largest mosques and the world’s oldest university, founded in Fez 1200 years ago.

  Rabat Morocco's capital looks to its past with its Almohad Tour de Hassan minaret, and to the future with the Zaha Hadid designed Grand Theatre of Rabat.

  Rissani Tour a zawiya (shrine), a ruined Saharan trading post, and multiple desert ksour (castle).

  Entrance to Rissani | JOSE IGNACIO SOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

  Berber Culture

  Morocco’s proud indigenous people are a memorable part of many travellers’ journeys here. Their Amazigh colour and character are a big part of special spots such as Marrakesh and the Atlas.

  Regional costumes From Riffian hats to colourful dresses, women display their local cultural roots.

  Demnate Immersion in indigenous culture awaits, with fine olive oil and a Berber Romeo and Juliet.

  Imilchil Berbers look for marriage material at the annual moussem in the Middle Atlas village.

  Maison Tiskiwin Understand how the Berbers fit into the rest of North Africa in Marrakesh’s museum of trans-Saharan culture.

  Al-Hoceima The seaside town is the unofficial capital of Morocco’s northern Berbers.

  A woman in Berber costume | LOTTIE DAVIES/LONELY PLANET ©

  Beaches

  Its coastline stretching from the Mediterranean to the Sahara, Morocco packs in beaches for every taste between its coves, cliffs, boardwalks and ports. Some are fit for family fun, others wait and will development to happen, and many are untrodden, apart from the odd surfer and migratory bird.

  Marabout’s Beach Lined with savage rocks, this is the most dramatic of Mirleft’s Atlantic beaches.

  Agadir ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; deckchair & umbrella DH30) Agadir's long, curving (and clean) beach has families scrambling for buckets and spades.

  Yellich This Mediterranean village has a fine beach with an island you can walk out to.

  Tangier Head for Plage Robinson, at the northwestern extremity of Africa’s Atlantic Coast.

  Deserts

  Morocco’s Saharan expanses are some of Africa’s safest and most evocative places to experience the great desert. Not only can you see curvy dunes and harsher hammada (stony desert), you can also meet blue-robed Berbers and try the nomadic lifestyle.

  Erg Chebbi This classic Saharan sandscape can be explored by camel, 4WD or sandboard.

  Figuig It’s worth trekking east to Morocco’s oasis par excellence, with palmeraies, ksour and Algerian views.

  Erg Chigaga Enlist a ‘Blue Man’ in M’Hamid, to explore these mountainous sand dunes.

  Drâa Valley Timbuktu-bound caravans once passed through this valley; now you can explore its oases by camel.

  Mountains

  With Berber villages nestling beneath snowy peaks, the High Atlas is one of the world’s most awe-inspiring mountain ranges. Whether you want to climb, trek, experience rural life or just escape the rat race far below, Morocco’s other mountains are also worth exploring.

  Jebel Toubkal Trek to the top of North Africa for thin air and views across the High Atlas.

  Ameln Valley Stay in a traditional village house among palmeraies and the gold-pink Anti Atlas.

  Middle Atlas The mellower northern Atlas range is ideal for day hikes through hills and forests.

  Jebel el-Kelaâ This Rif mountain is walkable in a day from the blue-washed town of Chefchaouen.

  Eastern Atlas Barren, Martian-red mountains overlook the Ziz Gorges and the wedding-festival village of Imilchil

  Month by Month

  Top Events

  Fès Festival of World Sacred Music, June

  Festival of Popular Arts, July

  Marriage Moussem, September

  Marathon des Sables, March

  Riffian Trekking, April

  January

  Moroccan winter: the north is wet and snow makes many mountains impassable for trekkers and even motorists. Marrakesh and the south receive the most tourists, especially around New Year.

  2Marrakesh Marathon

  The year-round Djemaa el-Fna carnival acquires a sporty dimension with this annual road race, when 5000 marathoners cross the finish line on the grand square. The route follows the city ramparts and alleys of palms, orange and olive trees.

  February

  Winter continues: the weather is generally poor, although drier, balmier spots, such as Marrakesh and Agadir, are bearable. Apart from overlanders and city-breakers, few visitors are spotted.

  zMoussem of Sidi ben Aïssa

  One of Morocco’s largest moussems (festivals) takes place at the Sufi saint’s mausoleum, outside Meknès medina walls. Public displays of glass-eating, snake bites and ritual body piercing are no longer allowed, but fantasias (musket-firing cavalry charges), fairs and the usual singing and dancing are.

  zMarrakech Biennale

  Held on even-numbered years, the Marrakech Biennale is the city's foray into both high and popular artistic culture, with everything from public art displays to chin-scratching conceptual installations.

  March

  The country wakes up with the beginning of spring, when the mountains thaw and wildflowers and almond and cherry trees blossom. Winds begin to disturb the desert and Souss Valley, continuing through April.

  zAlmond Blossom Festival

  A very pretty festival held in the Anti Atlas in spring, when the Tafraoute are
a is awash with blossoms. Traditionally about celebrating the harvest in Morocco’s almond capital, the festival is now also about local folklore, with singing, dancing, theatre and storytelling.

  zMarathon des Sables

  Starting and finishing in Morocco’s movie town, Ouarzazate, the Saharan ultramarathon is as epic as films made in ‘Ouallywood’. The gruelling six-day challenge, held in March or April, crosses 243km of desert. Water is provided.

  April

  Spring continues: the country is lush and green and temperatures are now reliably hot nationwide. Tourist numbers are high, particularly around Easter, when prices jump.

  zFestival of Sufi Culture

  This Fez festival hosts events including films and lectures, and concerts with Sufi musicians from around the world. The setting is the Andalucian-style garden of the Batha Museum, which is housed in a 19th-century summer palace.