Morocco's most interesting places in 10 days
I spent an intense 10 days in Morocco in the summer of 2019. I saw bustling cities, the mysterious desert, Arab monuments, a stormy sea and colourful bazaars. I visited a tannery, swam in the ocean and rode a camel. Is this a ready-made plan for an exotic adventure within easy reach? Read on about the most interesting places in Morocco.
My journey starts in Marrakesh. These days it is easy and cheap to get there. Sometimes ridiculously cheap, if you "bag" a good Wizz Air deal - the airline flies direct from Warsaw (Okęcie) to RAK airport. I remember my trip in 2011, when I had to change planes in London and Milan, whereas now it is a 4-hour flight, often for next to nothing, and you find yourself in a world full of the exotic. My ticket cost only 122 PLN return. Remember that low-cost airlines like to add various fees, so this low price covered the passenger and a small backpack. Watching other travellers, I could see that this is what many passengers choose. We fly to Morocco with no visas, no procedures and no extra administrative costs.
If Marrakesh is your starting point and finish line, you can see a great deal of Morocco in a few days: cities, the sea, the desert, oases, Arab souks and the Atlantic coast. You can also plan a short trek in the Atlas Mountains. Bear in mind, though, that summer is very hot, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees. A pleasant and unexpected surprise is the weather on the coast: it is much more agreeable there, and in the evenings you will even need to throw on a light jumper.
Morocco is not just about "tangible" attractions. It is also a great joy for the palate. So what should you eat in Morocco? In most eateries you will find 3 dishes: kebab skewers, sandwiches (called "sandwich" here) and tagine. The variations come down to the ingredients: beef, lamb or chicken, or possibly vegetarian. A skewer is a skewer, a sandwich is more like the kebab we know back home, and tagine (or tajine) is Morocco's true speciality. You cannot leave without trying this dish of meat and vegetables, slow-cooked in a special clay pot with a clay lid (the pot is also called a tagine). It is all very tasty!
Day 1
Everyone who comes to Marrakesh sooner or later ends up on Jemaa el-Fnaa square (unfortunately, there is no official transcription of Arabic names, so the same place can be spelt in several different ways in the Latin alphabet). The square lies at the very heart of the city and it is an exceptional space, valued not so much for its architecture as for its atmosphere. Today it is very commercial, but it still manages to surprise you, as time and again you come across trained monkeys, snakes, acrobats' displays and storytellers. You have to go there, especially in the evening!
Another must on any visit to Marrakesh is the Jardin Majorelle garden. The intense colours of its buildings and garden features stand out against a wall of greenery. Although small, the garden is well kept, with beautiful exotic plants. It owes its fame to its owner, the charismatic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. Admission costs 7€, or 18€ including two museums (the Berber Museum & the YSL Museum). Children under 12 go free.
Day 2
If you don't see a tannery at least once while in Morocco, you won't understand the country. Tanneries occupy large areas on the edges of the old towns. Why on the outskirts? The answer is fairly simple: the whole area is filled with an almost unbearable stench. Visitors are handed sprigs of fresh mint, but in reality it doesn't help much. Camel hides are tanned in one part, and sheep and goat skins in another. People standing waist-deep in concrete vats soak the hides in pigeon droppings and cow urine. Many shops nearby sell finished leather goods. Admission is free in theory, but be prepared to hand out tips.
If you are in the old town, the medina, you can walk to the tannery. You can take a taxi, but I used a car I had rented for my trip around Morocco (a Fiat Panda from the broker Rentalcars cost PLN 70 a day). It is best to park outside the walls, near the Bab Debbagh gate.
Watch on YouTubeOnce you have recovered a little from an intense day in the city, it is worth preparing your palate for what Moroccan cuisine has to offer. In Marrakesh you can eat both cheaply and expensively. You can buy a street-food pizza for 2€, but at the Jardin Majorelle you will pay 18€ for 2 coffees, a lemonade and a brownie. Converting prices is easy, as 10 dirhams is 1€.
Your list of places to see in the city should also include the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace and the bustling souks that fill a labyrinth of streets.
Day 3
After a night in a traditional "riad" on the edge of the old centre, you can leave the city and head into the interior. But what is a "riad"? It is a traditional Moroccan house, unremarkable from the outside, often without windows, but with a richly decorated patio inside, often even with a small fountain. It has several storeys and an open-air roof terrace where you can also take a nap.
I head south, towards the Sahara. I have about 200 km ahead of me, which will take around 4 hours. Most travellers driving from Marrakesh to Ouarzazate take the N9. But driving by the book is not for me. I chose the "worse, but at least longer" road, #1506, which branches off the main road after about 100 km at Aguelmouss, runs through the gorges of the Atlas Mountains, passes the ruins of a beautiful but little-known kasbah at Telouet and the iconic Ait Benhaddou. The latter is where the best-known films about the life of Jesus were shot, as well as films about the adventurous, if usually short, lives of gladiators. I spend the night in Ouarzazate. The town has no stunning monuments or history, but two attractions are worth noting. First, the picturesque Taourirt kasbah, and second, the film studios. You pass the largest of them on the main road bringing traffic in from the north. Whatever was not shot in Ait Benhaddou was filmed on the sets built in Ouarzazate.
Day 4
This day means covering another 160 km towards the Sahara. Most of the route runs through the Draa Valley, and the world around you changes character and becomes ever more mysterious. Palm groves, date sellers and scenes we associate with sub-Saharan Africa. I reach Zagora, where it is worth hiring a local guide. Otherwise you won't discover the craftsmen's workshops hidden down the back alleys, producing silver jewellery and pottery, or making massive furniture, including huge decorated doors. The friendly Abdul showed me the remains of abandoned synagogues, the ruins of ancient caravanserais and what life in an oasis looks like.
The stretch from Ouarzazate to Zagora is exceptional in one more respect. It was on this route that I found the only shop selling.....alcohol. Usually it is served only in the best (read: most expensive) restaurants and bars. Finding a shop where you can buy beer borders on the miraculous, but there is one in Agdz (at the roundabout, past two petrol stations, on the right). The choice of drinks is a joy to behold. You can also pay by card, but it isn't cheap. A beer costs 3EUR.
Days 5 and 6
I spent the previous evening searching for and contacting potential organisers of a trip into the Sahara. Without doubt, experiencing the desert is one of the most magical things Morocco can offer. To find yourself in a sea of sand and see the great dunes, you have to travel "a little way": either to Erfoud (500 km from Marrakesh) or to Zagora (350 km). That is where the trips begin. Since in 2011 I had already had the chance to spend a night in the Sahara by the Erg Chebbi dunes south of Erfoud, this time I had to try something different, and my choice fell on the Erg Chigaga dunes, which you reach by heading south from Zagora, past the last settlement, M'Hamid. The whole way is covered in off-road vehicles in the care of a driver-guide. We associate the desert with merciless heat, but this time it was windy and....it drizzled now and then. The swirling grains of sand gave a taste of a sandstorm.
Watch on YouTubeThe camp prepared for tourists in the desert is downright luxurious. You will hardly miss anything. There are tented cabins with electricity, proper beds and bed linen. There is a separate tent fitted out as a toilet, with a toilet bowl and a washbasin. The only thing missing is a shower. The largest tent is the "cultural centre", and that is also where meals are served. Dinner was kebab skewers and fruit, and breakfast was jams, yoghurts, juices, bread, coffee and the incredibly sweet Moroccan tea.
I was not disappointed: both the night in the tents, under the stars, and the camel ride and the great dunes once again made a strong impression. On top of that came dinner with the Berbers and their evening music-making. The price of the trip with an overnight stay? From 40 to 100EUR per person, depending on how good a negotiator you are and when you are in Morocco.
When I got back to Zagora around midday, I had to grab a quick lunch, switch to my own car and head back north to spend the night in Taliouine, in the southern foothills of the Atlas.
Day 7
The morning in Taliouine, Morocco's saffron-growing capital, was crisp, but the temperature rose very quickly. I had to give up my trekking plans, which the locals had advised against anyway. Instead of a hike, I decided to do a loop by car. I like to get off the beaten track, and this time it paid off again. The 2-hour drive along the mountain loop Taliouine - Askaoun - Aoulouz offers beautiful mountain views, wasteland dotted with clumps of cactus and villages clinging to the mountainsides. Although most streams are dry in August, the reservoir near Aoulouz held enough water to feed a rushing mountain stream. The flowing stream had become a laundry for the residents of a nearby village. The local women smiled for the camera.
The afternoon is a quick transfer to Agadir. On the way there was a short lunch stop in Taroudant, known as "little Marrakesh" because of the mighty walls surrounding its old town.
Day 8
From the start I had planned to "skip" Agadir. This port city has largely lost its exotic charm. My night there was also purely "practical", without any particular expectations. I chose an ever-reliable Ibis Budget hotel, a chain with 18 properties in Morocco. It is a kind of McDonald's of accommodation: you know what you are paying for, and it is clean and functional.
Just an hour's drive north of Agadir is Paradise Valley. Where does this odd, slightly pretentious name come from? It was not invented recently to lure tourists bored with lying on the beach in the Atlantic resorts. Paradise Valley was discovered in the 1960s by a group of European hippies who fell in love with the valley, with its waterfalls, palm trees and rock pools of refreshingly cool water amid inaccessible, sun-scorched mountains. Although it loses some of its charm in summer - there is too little water to "switch on" the waterfalls - the rock pools are still a delight. Walking along the sun-baked mountain path towards the valley and the oasis, I recalled a lovely legend about a couple of ailing German hippies who regained their health completely after spending 6 months there.
My destination was seaside Essaouira. On the way, at friends' urging, I decided to make a slight detour from the main road and have lunch in Imessouane, which is a mecca for Moroccan surfers. It lies roughly halfway between Agadir and Essaouira. The atmosphere there is very relaxed, with skimpy outfits and no pretensions. There are a few nice eateries. Renting a board costs 10EUR a day, a wetsuit 5EUR, and a 2-hour lesson including equipment from 25EUR upwards.
Day 9
Essaouira surprised me greatly. I had expected a heavily processed, powdered-up seaside town that had lost its authenticity in order to please tourists. I had expected it to be beautiful but "empty". It is neither. The port, where boats come in with the daily catch, is a shock. Battered stalls and carts of seafood. Huge knives in the fishermen's weather-beaten hands gut the fish. Cats and seagulls fight over the entrails. Whatever is not eaten rots underfoot..... A spectacle that will stay with you for a long time.
Finding good fish in the Moroccan interior is not easy. All the more reason why it would be a sin not to try fish freshly caught in the Atlantic. The town's main square, next to the port, is home to several small fish restaurants. There is a wide choice, prices are negotiable and everything is grilled on the spot. A paradise for the palate!
Day 10
It is tempting to stay on the Atlantic for a few more days, but if you have to head back to Poland, Marrakesh airport is less than 3 hours' drive from the coast (180 km). The road is straight and flat and tempts you to drive faster. Watch out for mobile police patrols, though. Unfortunately, I had to pay up when I was caught by a hidden speed gun.
My impressions of Morocco? The most important things are those you won't see in Poland or anywhere in Europe: the mysterious fortified mud villages known as "kasbahs". Jemaa el-Fnaa square in Marrakesh, inscribed on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. And of course the Sahara, with the obligatory night out there, gazing at the stars and watching the sunrise. Then there is the food. I was won over by harira, a lentil soup ladled out of huge pots, only in the evenings. It is filling, very cheap (about 2PLN a portion), and eaten with flatbread and honey it tastes superb. The grilled sardines and prawns were excellent. But the winner was a tajine of......pigeon. It was on the menu of a restaurant in Taroudant. The pigeon, though lean, did not disappoint. It tasted a little like duck.
It is well worth spending a few intense days in Morocco and experiencing an exoticism that is friendly and within easy reach. Marrakesh - just a 4-hour flight from Poland - is a great place to start and finish such a trip. Africa awaits!
P.S. If you would like to read a little more about Morocco and see more photos, take a look at my article about my stay in the spring of 2011 - you will find it here.
