Why this is the year you should discover Morocco
With rich history, cultural character and plenty of new arrivals, there’s never been a better time to visit this charming, hopeful country
Morocco started 2024 strong as International tourists returned. After a difficult few months in late 2023, Morocco had returned to form.
Morocco has made the leap to a mainstream travel destination. After all, it is within touching distance of Europe, and yet – with its incredible diversity of landscapes, rich regional variations and a clutch of historic cities – it is so thrillingly different.
The mood in the country is upbeat, and travellers are catching the bug in a big way – so why not join them? Spring has arrived, when the roses bloom in their thousands, music festivals fill historic centres and the weather is a perfect 24 degrees. Here are some wonderful ways to get in on the action.
1. Trek Mt Toubkal to support mountain communities
The High Atlas villages south of Marrakech were hit hard by the earthquake, but they are recovering rapidly thanks to tourists who venture into these snow-dusted Amazigh (Berber) villages on adventurous treks to scale the summit of Mt Toubkal (4,167m), Morocco’s highest mountain. By Prior Arrangement is plugged into the communities and is contributing to the rebuilding through its 3-day Mt Toubkal Winter trek. Or if that sounds a bit much, take a day trip and experience home-cooked Moroccan meals in village homes, and an endless series of the most spectacular mountain views beneath the brightest blue sky.
2. Go beyond tagine in the Moroccan kitchen
Moroccan cooking offers so much more than the ubiquitous tagine, and By Prior Arrangement offer a range of wonderful cooking schools throughout the country.
In Marrakech we offer a class at Dar Attajmil for the authentic homely experience or at Chef's Tarik Organic garden and cooking school just outside Marrakech.
We also offer option at Cafe Clock or Palais Amani in Fez or L'Atelier in Essaouria.
3. Surf the Atlantic trade winds
Morocco’s 3,500km coastline is where the Atlantic trade winds originate, and its swells are perfect for surfing year-round. American servicemen may have been the first to ride these waves in the 1960s, but now there are over 100 surf schools, at their most numerous between Essaouira and Agadir. Taghazout is the main hub, with its long sandy beaches and waves to suit all levels of expertise, but March to May’s medium swells are particularly good for intermediates and beginners – plus, you’ll find the line-ups crowd free.
4. Explore the modernist architecture of Casablanca
Casablanca is Morocco’s biggest commercial hub, yet is often avoided by tourists. That’s a shame, because it is also one of the most complete models of modernist urban architecture in the world, an African version of Miami Beach. Locate yourself at the contemporary Four Seasons, which is situated in Casa’s classiest neighbourhood. Here you’ll find expert concierges who can craft bespoke architecture, art and food itineraries.
5. Enjoy a sensory adventure in the Valley of Roses
No one knows how they got here, but the High Atlas valley of M’Goun is awash with intensely scented Damask roses in late spring. The season is between April and mid-May, when thousands of roses bloom and 4,000 tons of petals are harvested. The harvest ends with the three-day Festival des Roses in the market town of Kalaat M’Gouna, a hybrid trade fair (like a Moroccan Chelsea Flower Show).
6. Find a new vibe at Essaouira’s Gnaoua World Music Festival
The Gnaoua World Music Festival is Morocco’s most famous, celebrating the country’s unique Sufi soul music in its most picturesque port Essaouira. This year, the event runs from June 27-29 and will feature maâlems (masters) from all over Morocco, alongside International jazz, rock and blues musicians who come to jam with them. Nights are filled with soul-lifting rhythmic chanting and fusion sounds, and there are ten stages throughout the medina, all of which are freely accessible.
7. Swap Marrakech for Taroudant
Before founding Marrakech, the Almoravid dynasty had its power base in Taroudant, a magnificent walled town framed by the Anti-Atlas mountains. It’s also the centre for the Chleuh tribe, famed for their silver jewellery, which is still sold in the souks. Chilean artist – and friend to Pablo Picasso – Claudio Bravo retired here, and now his house is an art-filled hotel. From Taroundant you can explore the Anti-Atlas where you’ll find tiny Taliouine, the saffron capital of Morocco, camp in canyons, see Neolithic rock engravings and visit the rock-hugging villages of the Ameln Valley, which are awash with almond blossom in spring.
8. Paint the town in Tangier
Tangier has long attracted artists and designers due to its magnificent light and intensely saturated colours, with artists such as Eugene Delacroix and Henri Matisse describing the city as a painter’s paradise. Certainly stylist Joan Heckerman and interior designer Gavin Houghton think so, and now run painting and sketching holidays from Houghton’s charming house La Di Dar. All levels are welcome, and days consist of still-life and life-model painting in the house as well as sketching in the medina.
9. Find nirvana with the pink flamingos at Oualidia’s lagoon
Oualidia’s crescent-shaped lagoon and coastal wetlands are a paradise for migrating birds, including pink flamingos, oystercatchers and curlews which flock here in autumn. It’s also the perfect spot for in-the-know spa junkies who kick-back at La Sultana, which sits beside the lagoon, its tiered terraces furnished with five jacuzzis and an infinity pool. Beyond the spa, days can be spent birdwatching, cycling, paddleboarding and sucking down oysters at Ostrea.
10. Trek in Morocco’s “Happy Valley”
Aït Bougmez, or “Happy Valley”, is the most beautiful valley in the High Atlas. Sitting in the shadow of the snow-capped M’Goun Massif, this richly cultivated enclave moves to a deeply rural beat, its alluvial plain full of wild flowers, medicinal herbs, orchards and wheat. Twenty five mud-brick douars (villages) are strung along the valley blending seamlessly with the spectacular backdrop. While winter snow makes summiting impossible, the real pleasure here is a hike along the valley floor visiting the local villages and craft cooperatives.
11. Appreciate Morocco’s cultured capital Rabat
Over the past few years a significant transformation has taken place in Rabat. Unesco heritage sites like the Kasbah des Oudayas and the Chellah have been sensitively renovated; there’s been epic investment in renewing the marina; and, the late Zaha Hadid’s Grand Theatre looks likely to open soon. So, book in for a cultured weekend and visit the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art; check out the cultural programme at the Hiba Foundation; and enjoy Mawazine, the world’s largest World Music festival, from June 21-29.
12. Saddle-up for a coastal adventure
Morocco is a horse-mad nation with a proud equestrian history, displayed throughout the year at local festivals in the form of the t’bourida – a spectacular ritualised cavalry charges immortalised by Eugène Delacroix in his painting Fantasia Arabe (1833). There are now 300 riding groups and twenty t’bourida competitions throughout the year, culminating in the Hassan II Trophy in Rabat in June. Make friends with the hardy Arab-Barb horses on a riding holiday of your own – ideally around Essaouira along the Atlantic Coast, where you’ll find some of the country’s most scenic trails.
13. Discover Middle Atlas Imperial cities and ancient forests
The Middle Atlas is an undiscovered natural wonderland of forests and vineyard-clad hillsides, all within an easy drive of the Imperial cities of Fes and Meknès. The 200km loop from Fes to Meknès and up to Azrou on the edge of the Ifrane National Park makes for a wonderful late-spring or early-summer road trip when mountain meltwater fills waterfalls secluded in the forests. Spend two or three days each in Fes and Meknès, then stop at Château Roslane vineyard for wine tasting and, finally, end in Azrou where you can go trekking in the cedar forests.
14. Stay longer in the “Blue Pearl” of the Rif Mountains
Morocco’s most photogenic village is undoubtedly the strikingly blue Rif town of Chefchaouen. Most visitors spend just a few hours here snapping pictures – but stay longer and you’ll see the true beauty of this mountain town, with its violet-blue alleys and encircling Rif Mountains. Take art and cookery courses at Café Clock and or plan some time with our local guide to really explore the area.
15. Immerse yourself in Morocco’s most cultured city, Fes
Founded in 789 by Moulay Idriss II, Fes is Morocco’s oldest city. It is also the country’s cultural and spiritual heart, as well as being the world’s largest car-free medina (220 hectares). Full of history and culture, it deserves a week of exploration The Fes Festival of Sacred Music takes place between May 24 and June 1. It attracts global talent and includes art exhibitions, round table discussions and Sufi trance nights.
16. Explore Sufism in the cities of Moulay Idriss I & II
Fes may be Morocco’s spiritual capital, but the whitewashed mountain town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun is its most important pilgrimage site. It was founded by Idriss I, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammed and Morocco’s first Islamic leader. What’s more, the Roman ruins of Volubilis – where Moulay Idriss first founded his sanctuary – are just an hour’s walk away. The annual pilgrimage takes place in August and fills the town with markets, hundreds of devotees and t’bourida
17.Scale the awesome orange canyon of Todra Gorge
The 300m-deep Todra Gorge is one of Morocco’s most spectacular natural wonders. Carved over the centuries by a once-powerful river, it is just 10 metres across at some points, the sandstone walls changing shades between pink, orange and red throughout the day. Between September and November it is prime climbing territory
18. Connect with artisans on a craft road trip
In Morocco, skilled craftsmanship is on display everywhere, from the rugs in your hotel to the shimmering zellij tiles on monuments and thousands of babouche in the souk. While maâlems (masters) may make it look easy, one of Amazigh Cultural Tours’ hands-on trips will show you just how tricky it is to loom a rug or cut brass. The tours which collaborate with grassroots cooperatives and small communities of weavers, embroiderers, jewellers and basket makers travel all over the country, led by a skilled guest artist who leads daily discussions and frames the craft techniques you encounter.
19. Feel the Spanish vibes in Northern Morocco
Tetouan was founded in the 15th century by Muslim and Jewish refugees from Andalucia. Five hundred years later, in 1913, the Spanish claimed northern Morocco as a Protectorate, their influence soon stretching south to the walled city of Larache on the Atlantic Coast and Chefchaouen in the Rif Mountains. Visiting them makes for a fascinating Spanish-influenced itinerary that traverses the Rif Mountains, drops down to Larache then passes the Roman ruins of Lixus, ending in arty Asilah where paella is still a local favourite. In July, Asilah holds a month-long art festival filling the town with mural artists, concerts and workshops.
20. Take the caravan trail down the Salt Road
Stretching 200km from Ouarzazate in the north to the oasis town of Zagora in the south, the Drâa Valley was the principal caravan route from sub-Saharan Africa to Marrakech. It is dotted with towering kasbahs nestled amid the largest date palm grove in the world. Spring (until mid-May) is the perfect time to travel the historic salt road from Agdz to Zagora and Amezrou, and then out onto the Iriqi Salt pan – the last section in your own camel caravan. Enroute, you’ll tour Morocco’s finest mudbrick kasbahs, visit a medieval library, see traditional pottery being made and take tea with desert nomads.
21. Cycle off-road in the High Atlas
Mountain-biking off-road amid Morocco’s awesome mountains is a thrilling and challenging experience. In the High Atlas, itineraries traverse impressive mountain passes up pencil-thin tracks, wind through remote Imazighen (Berber) villages that cling to the hillsides and descend via steep, loose gravel tracks to lush valley floors. At times you’ll be riding above 2,000m, where the views are incredible. Along the way you’ll get to know the villagers, too, with invitations for mint tea and local lunches.
22. Marrakech town & country combo
As Marrakech morphs into a mainstream city break, repeat visitors are branching out and exploring the countryside around it. There’s plenty of choice, from glamping in the lunar landscape of the Agafay Desert to restful retreats in quiet country houses set in olive groves, and High Atlas refuges from where you can step out on daily hikes..
23. Discover Morocco’s Unesco highlights
Morocco has nine sites on Unesco’s World Heritage List – more even than Egypt. They range from the largest car-free medina in the world (Fes) to the Jewish sites of Marrakech, the rammed mud-brick kasbah of Aït Benhaddou, the fortified sea ports of Essaouira and El-Jadida, the Roman ruins of Volubilis and the mountain refuge of Chefchaouen. The storytellers in the Djemaa el-Fna, along with the tradition of couscous-making and Gnaoua music, are also intangible cultural assets. A tour of the sites will take you from the edge of the desert to the Rif mountains and give you an overview of the country’s dramatic historical arc.
24. Golf by the seaside
Golf may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Morocco, but the country is supplied with some fantastic pro-designed golf courses, and guarantees balmy weather deep into December. Although there are excellent courses around Marrakech, Agadir – with its 9km-long beach, five-star facilities and Atlantic views – offers better value. This year saw the opening of the much-anticipated Kyle Philips course at the Hyatt Taghazout Bay Resort, located 11km north of Agadir on spectacular bluffs overlooking the ocean.