Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
The Draa and the Dades
Palm oases strung along the Draa, and gorges cut red through the Dades and the Todra.
North Africa · Afrinkong
Morocco
Atlas, Sahara and the medinas.
Four thousand metres of High Atlas within three hours of the Atlantic, four imperial cities, and the edge of the Sahara at Merzouga — a country you can cross from surf to dunes in two days.
Where it is
Africa · North Africa · Morocco
The land in brief
- Spans
- 1,560 km E–W, 1,520 km N–S
- Latitude
- 36°N to 21°N
- Borders
- 1 country
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- Spring and autumn: the Atlas is walkable and the south is not yet an oven.
Also in North Africa
AlgeriaThe largest country in Africa, and the emptiestEgyptThe Nile, and five thousand yearsLibyaLeptis Magna, and the sand sea behind itSudanMore pyramids than EgyptTunisiaCarthage, the Sahel and the desert south
Compare Morocco with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
Spring and autumn: the Atlas is walkable and the south is not yet an oven.
01Highlights
What Morocco is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Barbary Macaques and the Argan Forest
Macaques in the cedar forest above Azrou, and goats standing in the argan trees near Essaouira.
The High Atlas
Toubkal is 4,167 metres and the highest point in North Africa, walkable in two days from Imlil.
The Atlantic Coast
Essaouira's wind, Taghazout's point breaks, and the long empty beaches between them.
The Cedar Forest
The Middle Atlas cedar, some of it a thousand years old, above Ifrane and Azrou.
Culture
Amazigh and Arab
Three Amazigh languages, Arabic, French and Spanish, and a culture that predates all of them.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Morocco with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- The Draa and the DadesPalm oases strung along the Draa, and gorges cut red through the Dades and the Todra.
- The High AtlasToubkal is 4,167 metres and the highest point in North Africa, walkable in two days from Imlil.
- OuzoudA hundred metres of water in three stages, with macaques in the olive trees beside it.
- The Draa RiverThe longest river in Morocco, mostly dry, and green the whole way where it is not.
- The Atlantic CoastEssaouira's wind, Taghazout's point breaks, and the long empty beaches between them.
- The Cedar ForestThe Middle Atlas cedar, some of it a thousand years old, above Ifrane and Azrou.
Wildlife
- Barbary Macaques and the Argan ForestMacaques in the cedar forest above Azrou, and goats standing in the argan trees near Essaouira.
- Desert CountryNot the safari of the east — the wildlife here is desert-adapted, and you look for it at first light.
- Oasis AgricultureThe khettara irrigation channels still working, and the argan cooperatives run by women.
- Trek, Surf, RideMulti-day Atlas treks, Atlantic surf schools, and horses on the Essaouira sand.
People and culture
- Amazigh and ArabThree Amazigh languages, Arabic, French and Spanish, and a culture that predates all of them.
- The People of the AtlasVillage life at two thousand metres, where the year is still organised around the snow.
- Moussem and GnaouaThe Gnaoua festival in Essaouira in June, and the moussems that mark the harvest.
- Zellige, Leather and WoolTile cut by hand in Fez, tanned leather, and carpets woven to patterns held in memory.
- Tagine, Bread and MintSlow-cooked tagine, bread baked in the neighbourhood oven, and tea poured from height.
- Easy TravellingShort drives, good roads, and a train line down the coast that children enjoy.
- The Souk in the MorningBefore the tour groups, the medina is simply where people buy their vegetables.
Places
- Marrakesh and CasablancaJemaa el-Fnaa at dusk, and the Atlantic modernism of Casablanca an hour up the road.
- Riad and MedinaRooms built inward around a courtyard, because the street was never meant to see in.
- Volubilis and the KasbahsA Roman city on the plain at Volubilis, and Ait Benhaddou standing above the Ounila.
- The Imperial CitiesFez, Marrakesh, Meknes and Rabat — four capitals, each of a different dynasty.
Ways to travel
- Dunes, Gorges and SurfTrekking in the Atlas, surfing the Atlantic points, and a night out on the erg at Chegaga.
- Desert Camps and RiadsErg Chigaga camps well beyond the day-trip dunes, and riads restored room by room.
- Light on Earth WallsPisé takes late light the way nothing else does, which is why every photographer comes here.
- Chefchaouen and the RifThe blue town in the Rif, and a mountain range most itineraries drive straight past.
03Why go
The case for Morocco.
Why Visit This Country
Two Days, Four Climates
Surf in the morning, cedar forest by lunch, and the Sahara the following evening.
Hidden Gems
Chefchaouen and the Rif
The blue town in the Rif, and a mountain range most itineraries drive straight past.
Eco Tourism
Oasis Agriculture
The khettara irrigation channels still working, and the argan cooperatives run by women.
Heritage
The Imperial Cities
Fez, Marrakesh, Meknes and Rabat — four capitals, each of a different dynasty.
04Go deeper
All of Morocco, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Morocco starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.