The day began in Fes, where I had to wake up at about 6am so I could leave to catch my bus to Chefchaouen. I’d went to the CTM bus station a few days earlier to buy my tickets, so I just had to worry about getting to the station. I went to gate near my hotel and got a taxi to the station. I arrived early and checked in, then waited until it was time to leave. The bus ride was about 4 hours long, but luckily my riad had given me a to-go breakfast so I had something to eat, and I’d gotten some snacks the day before. The ride was pretty bumpy with a lot of turns up in the mountains, and even though I’d taken some dramamine for motion sickness, it was still a little rough. The scenery was beautiful though, and I really loved seeing the Rif Mountains as we drove.
I arrived in Chefchaouen around noon. My hotel was supposed to have someone to pick me up, but I was supposed to call them so they would come down. I tried the number several times, but the pay phone at the bus station wasn’t working, so I ended up having to get a cab there. I stayed at Casa Del Rio, which was on the outside of the main area of the town. If the name sounds curiously Spanish, that’s because Chefchaouen is actually one of the few towns in Morocco where the main language spoken (outside of Moroccan Arabic) is Spanish, not French. I got settled into the hotel and then left to check out the town.
I started exploring at Plaza el Makhzen, a square close to my hotel that has a lot of stores selling groceries, souvenirs, and plenty of tie-dyed clothing. I ate lunch near the square at an outdoor restaurant and then spent most of the day wandering through the streets and taking photos of the town. Chefchaouen is painted almost entirely blue, which legend has it is due to the Jewish residents who moved in and painted it all that way years ago when they moved there (Morocco’s once large Jewish population has since dwindled as most of them have relocated to Israel).
01 | Plaza el Makhzen
02 | Mosque
03 | Clothes drying outside a house
04 | An alley
05 | Plaza el Makhzen
06 | Staircase in the medina
Since there isn’t too much to do in Chefchaouen, I decided to spend most of the day wandering and taking photos. I also did a little bit of shopping while I was exploring. Prices here tend to be a bit higher due to the lack of competition, but sellers aren’t nearly as aggressive as in Fes or Marrakesh. I purchased a djellaba and a few other things while there.
07 | Chefchaouen
08 | End of an alley
09 | Peeking into the mosque
10 | Blue walls and walkways
11 | Doors to houses
12 | The Souks
13 | Things to buy
14 | One of my favorite photos!
15 | The souks
16 | Blue door
17 | Wandering in Chefchaouen Morocco
18 | Doors
19 | Wandering in Chefchaouen Morocco
20 | A fountain
21 | Zellige tiles and fountain outside the mosque
22 | Zellige tiles and a green door at the mosque
23 | Blue door
The Kasbah is the one of the few real sites in Chefchaouen, and if you’re there, it’s not to be missed. Inside there are beautiful gardens, and a tower with spectacular views over the city as well as a few museum visits. I really enjoyed seeing it later in the day when the sun wasn’t as strong, and it also turned out to be a great time for photos.
24 | Kasbah
25 | Kasbah
26 | Outside of the mosque
27 | Cat in the medina
28 | Blue alley
29 | Fountain with a cup
30 | Souks
31 | The kasbah
32 | View from the kasbah
33 | View from the kasbah
34 | Kasbah
After seeing the Kasbah, I walked a little bit out of the town to walk up to a hill where you could see the city. As I was walking up the hill I noticed a lot of local kids playing soccer nearby in the dirt. I watch the sunset from the hill and took some photos, but unfortunately it was impossible to capture both the city and the colors of the sky at the same time.
35 | Sunset over Chefchaouen
I finished the day with a dinner at Espanol Chaouen, which is in Plaza el Makhzen and had a roof deck with views over the square. The food was great and I also chatted with some other Americans while I was there. After dinner I went back to the hotel and went to bed.
36 | Chefchaouen just after sunrise
The next day I got up and went back to the same hill that I’d watched sunset from the night before. The weather was perfect and I was able to get a lot of really beautiful photos of the city. I went back to the hotel and ate breakfast on the balcony before leaving to do a bit more wandering before it was time to leave. I went to Plaza Kenitra, another public square that was mostly empty since it was fairly early still.
37 | Early morning in Plaza Kenitra
38 | Fountain in Plaza Kenitra
39 | A cat in Plaza Kenitra
40 | Plaza Kenitra
41 | Cats in Plaza Kenitra
42 | Doorway
43 | Wandering through an alley
44 | Fountain in the medina
45 | An alley
46 | Street
47 | Walkway in the medina
As I was wandering I found a fruit and vegetable market with sellers from the countryside who had come in to sell their goods in the morning. I walked around there for about 45 minutes or so, getting some really great photos along the way.
48 | Farmers market
49 | Woman at the Farmers market
50 | Woman feeding a chicken
51 | Woman giving someone change
52 | Woman selling eggs
53 | At the farmer’s market
54 | Boy herding goats
55 | Woman with goats
56 | A cat eating a fish at the market
When I was done there I when to another restaurant in Plaza el Makhzen to get some tea and people watch to kill time.
Around 2pm I took a cab to the bus station to catch the bus to Tangier. It was a three hour ride through the mountains, which was beautiful. Once in Tangier I took a cab to the train station to catch the overnight train to Marrakesh where I would then be taking a bus to Essaouira. In Tangier I noticed a lot of animals like chicken and goats wandering freely, which I thought was strange to see, but I’ve also noticed the same in Turkey.
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