Lonely Planet Morocco

by Lonely Planet

  An early-morning start is recommended for the first day, starting on the 4WD track behind Camping Azilane, with an initially steep ascent climbing through trees to give great views over Chefchaouen’s medina. Skirting the southern slopes of Jebel el-Kelaâ (1616m), the track evens out to follow the stream passing through the hamlet of Aïn Tissimlane, before once again rising in an arc to a high pass by the jagged limestone crags of Sfiha Telj. The views here are astounding in both directions, and on a clear day you can see the Mediterranean in the distance. The climb is a killer with a full pack – the hardest of the trek – which explains the necessity for a cool early-morning start.

  The track turns east before descending. Stopping regularly to enjoy the fine views, take the right (southern) fork where the track splits – this takes you down in an hour or so to the village of Azilane, where there’s a homestay option and a gîte. If you don’t want to stop here, continue for another hour along a mostly level path to Afeska, where there’s another homestay and a gîte.

  Day 2: Afeska to Akchour

  Duration 3½–4½ hours / Distance 10km / Descent 860m

  From Afeska, the wide piste you’ve been following deteriorates to a smaller track. Heading north, you pass through more oak and pine woods to Sidi Meftah, where there’s a marabout (mausoleum of a saint) and spring, before leaving the woods and descending the switchbacks to Imizzar on the Oued Farda. Once beside the river, turn left (away from the village, northwest), then cross the river below some impressive overhanging cliffs and continue heading northwest. You’ll join a well-worn mule track that eventually leads down to Pont Farda, an ancient bridge over Oued Farda.

  Cross to the west bank of the river and continue north, dwarfed by the surrounding scenery. After an hour, the trail bears left away from the river towards Ouslaf, which is overshadowed by a giant rock buttress, but keep on the same path while it bears right, descending to rejoin the river on the outskirts of Akchour (398m), which sits on the Oued Kelaâ.

  Akchour is strung out along the river. As you approach it, you first come to a small cafe with very welcome river-cooled soft drinks, and a dam with a deep pool that seems made for swimming, although the water temperature means short dips only!

  Akchour has a gîte that’s very comfortable and provides excellent meals.

  From Akchour, it’s usually possible to get transport back to Chefchaouen – most likely one of the rugged vans or 4WDs that battle it out on the piste. If there’s nothing going from Akchour, try Talembote, 2km further north, which has a market on Tuesdays with regular transport to Chefchaouen (Dh15). Most passing vehicles will stop to pick you up if they have space – a case of paid hitchhiking. They may drop you at Dar Ackoubaa, the junction town 10km north of Chefchaouen on the N2 highway.

  Side Trip: God's Bridge

  With an early start from Afeska, you can reach Akchour by lunchtime, allowing time for the short hike (1½ hours, 3km return) to God’s Bridge, an unlikely geological structure that shouldn’t be missed.

  The path south from Akchour’s dam up the Oued Farda is rough in places, but well worth any scrambling. You’ll also have to cross the river twice but this is quite easy where it’s not deep – if you don’t mind the occasional splash. (However, if you’re trekking in spring, check in Afeska that snow melt hasn’t made the river impassable.) God’s Bridge is about 45 minutes from Akchour. A huge red stone arch towers 25m above the river and it almost beggars belief that it was carved by nature and not by human hand. Over countless millennia, the river flowed as an underground watercourse, eroding the rock and carving a path deeper and deeper, leaving the bridge high and dry.

  Day 3: Akchour to Pastures Above Abou Bnar

  Duration 4½–6 hours / Distance 12km / Ascent 977m

  An early-morning start (with full water bottles, since there are no springs on the route until you reach Izrafene) sees you leaving Akchour by heading to the north, crossing the bridge over the Oued Kelaâ and then cutting right (southeast) along the track to Izrafene. It’s a particularly picturesque walk as you climb up and around Jebel Azra (1375m). Your eyes lift from the steep gorges you’ve trekked through and out over the sweep of open mountains. If you’re up for some scrambling, add half an hour to attain the peak, from where you can drink in further gorgeous views.

  Having cut around the mountain, the countryside becomes gentler – rolling even – as the trail heads south. The village of Izrafene marks the halfway point of the day’s trek. Just before the village, a track bears east at a col, tempting the adventurous to abandon the Bab Taza hike and walk to Taourarte (where there’s a homestay and a gîte) and on to Bou-Ahmed on the coast, a further two to three days’ walk.

  From Izrafene, the track turns into a 4WD piste – the first since Afeska. It follows a narrow valley, gradually turning east up onto a ridge with gentle views. Where it forks, turn left, and then, just 25m later, turn right onto a trail that heads southeast to Abou Bnar through a pretty stretch of oak wood. There’s little to detain you here, so continue alongside the river (not the 4WD track) through the open, grassy country to the marabout of Sidi Jil. This is a pretty area for camping, but if you continue for another 30 minutes, you’ll come to an even more beautiful spot, set in wide pasture near the El-Ma Souka spring – an idyllic place for a night’s rest.

  Alternative Route: Return To Chefchaouen

  It’s possible to trek back to Chefchaouen from Akchour in a day by an alternate route. The route goes via the villages of Ouslaf, Arhermane and El-Kelaâ. El-Kelaâ is the site of the fascinating Mosquée Srifi-yenne, with its strange leaning tower. This route takes a quick six hours and avoids any major climbs or descents.

  Day 4: Pastures Above Abou Bnar to Talassemtane Village

  Duration 2–2½ hours / Distance 6km / Ascent352m

  From the camping site southwest of Abou Bnar, walk back to the 4WD track. Turn left and cross the river, and walk south into the pine woodland. You will quickly come to a T-junction, where you should keep on the right (the left goes downhill to Beni M’Hamed) where the path starts to ascend again.

  Keep on the main track, ignoring further side tracks and junctions. As you rise and go through several mini-passes, the views return. To the west, the huge mass of Jebel Lakraa (2159m) dominates the countryside.

  By late morning you’ll reach Talassemtane village. A small sign indicates that you should turn left off the 4WD track to the house of the park’s Eaux et Forêts guardian. There’s an official camping site here.

  Side Trips

  The short walking day allows plenty of time to explore the area and watch wildlife, particularly Barbary apes.

  Head north, back along the 4WD track above the guardian’s house to a clearing and junction. Here you turn right and follow the track east into mgou country. Troupes are relatively common here, although they quickly retreat into the safety of the trees if you get too close. The track bends south, giving great views out across the valley to the long ridge of Jebel Taloussisse (2005m), before turning briefly east again. Here a trail on the right leads south over the spur of Talassemtane (1941m) to a football pitch – strange, but true! – on an area of flat land. From here it’s possible to make a rocky traverse west, back to the campsite.

  Climbing Jebel Lakraa is another alternative for gung-ho trekkers. The best approach is from the north of the mountain, trekking along the ridge to descend one of the stream gullies southeast of the summit. However, there’s no fixed path and it’s a scramble in places. Allow around 3½ hours return.

  Day 5: Talassemtane Village to Bab Taza

  Duration 2½–3½ hours / Distance 13.5km / Descent 825m

  The final day is a quick descent along the 4WD track to Bab Taza, where local kif cultivation is much in evidence. The trail swings through a wide pasture and on through the cork woodland of Jebel Setsou (1363m) before revealing the sprawl of Bab Taza (or so it seems after a few days in the mountains) below.

  In Bab Taza, there are quite a few cafes and a couple of grot
ty-looking hotels strung along the main road. The main business seems to be in huge sacks of fertiliser used for growing kif. Grands taxis leave regularly throughout the day for Chefchaouen (Dh12, 30 minutes) from the western end of town.

  BEFORE YOU GO: CHEFCHAOUEN TO BAB TAZA CHECKLIST

  Weather Trekking is possible year-round, though it can be bitterly cold with snow between November and March. There’s frequent rain between late September and June. It’s fiercely hot in summer, when some water sources dry up.

  Guides Organise trekking guides through Abdeslam Mouden in Chefchaouen. Guides charge Dh400 per day.

  Accommodation Many villages have simple gîtes that cost from Dh200 per person including dinner and breakfast. It’s also possible to arrange gîtes in person during the trek, though there is a risk that the guardian may not be around and the gîte may be closed – not uncommon.

  Camping is not encouraged as local people don’t benefit. But in some areas there are no gîtes, so it’s the only alternative. There’s one official camping site at the village of Talassemtane. Permission to camp (free) must be obtained from the Eco-Museum in Chefchaouen in advance. Staying with families en route is an option in some villages and it is possible to stop for tea with locals and to visit weaving and cheese-making cooperatives.

  Maps From the government 1:50,000 topographical series, survey sheets Chaouen and Bab Taza cover the Chefchaouen to Bab Taza trek.

  The Eco-Museum at the entrance to the park has maps of the routes.

  Equipment Where there are no gîtes, a tent is necessary. A decent sleeping bag is essential, as is a light waterproof jacket – rain showers are common. Food and fuel supplies can be bought in Chefchaouen.

  Mules to carry your luggage cost from Dh250 per day including muleteer. From August to October, mules can be hard to organise as they’re used for the kif harvest, and prices increase accordingly.

  Oued Laou واد لاو

  Pop 8500

  Don't let Oued Laou's dusty main street lined with slapdash construction fool you – if the tourist developments along this stretch of the coast continue apace, it will all look like Martil within a few years. For now, waterfront budget rooms and cheap beer and food along the new corniche back a very long, empty beach to make it a backpacker paradise, especially in summer. There’s nothing to do aside from watching the fishermen haul their boats in the morning.

  The road from Chefchaouen to Oued Laou has recently been upgraded and the journey is now reduced to a little over an hour.

  4Sleeping & Eating

  Seafood is the order of the day here, with corniche restaurants serving up fish fresh from the boat, along with the usual selection of tajines.

  There are a few cheap bars serving cold beer and cheap wine, though they're not very female-friendly. It's nicer to linger over a coffee on the corniche.

  Hotel Oued LaouGUESTHOUSE€

  (%0650 18 43 38, 0655 21 37 89; Blvd Massira; s/d without bathroom Dh200/250)

  There are several new budget hotels to choose from, but this is the best. A new road splits it from its cafe-restaurant on the beach. Get a room with views to the sea.

  AramarSEAFOOD€

  (Corniche; mains from Dh60; hnoon-11pm, closes earlier out of season)

  The best of the fish restaurants along the corniche, the Aramar does a tasty platter of poisson friture (fried fish) for Dh80 while you watch the fishermen on the beach.

  8Information

  Cyber Costa (internet per hr Dh5; h9am-midnight) Opposite La Plage Restaurant but unlikely to be open out of season.

  8Getting There & Away

  If you’re driving from Chefchaouen, turn off the main Tetouan road at Dar Ackoubaa, 11km north of Chefchaouen. It’s a wonderful drive past the large hydroelectric dam and through rolling hills and the stunning Laou Gorge. Coming from Tetouan, the Rocade N16 hugs the dramatic coastline for 140km all the way to El-Jebha.

  Three buses a day connect Tetouan and Oued Laou (Dh25, two hours). There’s also one bus from Chefchaouen (Dh20, 90 minutes), which continues along the coast to El-Jebha (Dh35, five hours); the return service leaves El-Jebha early in the morning. However, at Oued Laou it dumps you out by the souq, which lmeans a 45-minute walk or Dh7 grand-taxi ride to town.

  Grands taxis run from beside the mosque in Oued Laou to Tetouan (Dh30, one hour) via Dar Ackoubaa (Dh15, 20 minutes), where you can pick up a passing taxi for Chefchaouen.

  Targa to El-Jebha من ترگا إلى الجبهة

  This stretch of the coast is very dramatic, and still remote. Pine-clad hills are interspersed with valleys of cultivated fields that roll down to the sea and beaches of grey pebbles. However, the new coastal road (Rocade) linking Tetouan to El-Jebha promises massive development projects with golf courses, luxury hotels and apartments.

  Seventeen kilometres southeast of Oued Laou, Targa is a little village with a history of piracy. High atop an outcrop of black rock, a stone fort, built during the Spanish protectorate, overlooks the village. The 13th-century mosque is associated with a local saint.

  About 18km southeast of Targa, in the wide valley of Oued Bouchia, are the twin villages of Steha and Bou-Ahmed. Set back from the coast, the latter is the end point for a long-distance trek from Chefchaouen. There’s an interesting souq every Tuesday, and a basic camping area in summer.

  From here the road follows the coast on a splendid roller-coaster ride to the blue-and-white town of El-Jebha, 52km to the southeast. The rugged coastline forms a number of breathtaking and secluded bays – worth exploring if you have your own transport. Each Tuesday, the local souq draws Rif farmers from the surrounding villages. At El-Jebha you can turn south into the Rif to Issaguen, or continue on the Rocade to Al-Hoceima.

  8Getting There & Away

  Grands taxis link Tetouan to Targa. From Targa, grands taxis run to El-Jebha, which has connections to Al-Hoceima.

  Al-Hoceima الحسيمة

  Pop 57,000

  Al-Hoceima is a great place to spend a few days. Quiet, safe, relaxing and hassle-free, this modern seaside resort is full of proud and genial Berbers with a surprisingly independent outlook that's far more Western than any other town in the north.

  Founded by the Spanish as Villa Sanjuro, the town was built as a garrison after the Rif Wars in the early 20th century; rebel Abd al-Krim operated nearby. Independence brought the name change to Al-Hoceima, but Spanish influence remains strong in language, architecture and business.

  In recent years a lot of money has been ploughed into the town, particularly into its booming tourism industry. The wide Pl Mohammed VI has fountains and a sweeping corniche following the coast and forms a natural centre to the town. The nearby Al-Hoceima National Park has been carefully opened to rural tourism – an opportunity not to be missed.

  Al-Hoceima

  1Sights

  1Plage QuemadoD2

  4Sleeping

  2Hotel al-HanaC4

  3Hotel al-KhouzamaB3

  4Hotel NationalC3

  5Hotel RifB4

  6Hotel Villa FloridoC4

  7Mercure Quemado ResortD1

  8Suites Hotel Mohammed VC1

  5Eating

  9BasilicB1

  10Boulangerie Patisserie AzirB3

  11Café La Belle VueB2

  12Épicerie HassouniB3

  13Espace MiramarC3

  14La Dolce PizzaC3

  15Supermarché el-BouayadiB3

  6Drinking & Nightlife

  Mercure Quemado ResortD1

  Suites Hotel Mohammed VC1

  7Shopping

  16BougamarB4

  17SouqC4

  1Sights

  In the summer, good options are the three beaches that begin 5km south of town. During the low season they tend to be strewn with rubbish. The best way to reach the beaches is by grand taxi. For the entire taxi, reckon on about Dh50 to Cala Bonita ( GOOGLE MAP ) and Dh75 to Plage Asfiha ( GOOGLE MAP ). Local buses to Ajdir and Imzouren, which pass the turn-offs for the beaches (Dh5
to Dh7), leave from beside the Mobil petrol station at the south end of Blvd Mohammed V.

  El Peñón de AlhucemasFORT

  ( GOOGLE MAP )

  One of the plazas de soberanía (places of sovereignty), this extraordinary white island fortress can be seen a few hundred metres off Playa Asfiha, along with the uninhabited Isla de Mar and Isla de Tierra, which fly the Spanish flag. Spanish rule dates back to 1559, when the Saadi dynasty gave it to Spain in exchange for military assistance.

  In 1673, the Spanish military established a garrison there, and never left. Today, the fort hosts 60 soldiers, and cannot be visited. Spanish sovereignty has been contested by Morocco since independence in 1956.

  Plage QuemadoBEACH

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP )

  A pretty, steep-sided bay protects the yellow sand of the town beach. The place teems in the summer, providing a great view of Morocco at play. Pedalos are available to hire in season.

  Plage IslyBEACH

  ( GOOGLE MAP )

  A grey-sand beach south of town, with a few eating shacks serving fish during the summer months.

  The PortPORT

  ( GOOGLE MAP )

  The port is mainly used for a large commercial fishing operation. It is a great place to watch the catch being unloaded, and to find dinner: take your selected fish to the Club Nautique for cooking.

  4Sleeping

  Accommodation is in high demand in the summer – book ahead. The streets between Pl du Rif and the souq are packed with ultra-cheap hotels. Some are pretty dingy, so look around before committing.