Part of Morocco’s appeal to tourists is its
markets, known colloquially as souks. You will find souks in every town in Morocco, but the largest and most impressive are in
Fez and
Marrakesh. Whilst it can be very tempting to load up on souvenirs when walking through the souks, it is important to consider how you are going to get them home, and be wary of phoney merchandise and fake “antiques”.
Some of the souvenirs you may wish to purchase include beautiful Moroccan craftwork, semi-precious stones and fossils, or some tasty authentic foodstuffs, all of which you will be expected to bargain for.
Learn more about shopping in Morocco including what to buy, locations and times of souks, avoiding scams, and how to bargain.
Outdoor activities in Morocco
Morocco offers magnificent trekking opportunities, impressive golf facilities, a couple of ski resorts (plus some adventurous off-piste skiing) and excellent fishing.
Trekking
Trekking is among the very best things Morocco has to offer. The
High Atlas is one of the most rewarding mountain ranges in the world, and one of the least spoilt. A number of long-distance Atlas routes can be followed – even a “Grand Traverse” of the full range, but most people stick to shorter treks in the Jebel Toubkal area.
Other promising areas include the Jebel Sirwa, the Western High Atlas, and, in winter the Jebel Saghro and Tafraoute region of the Anti-Atlas. The Middle Atlas has much attractive walking too, in such places as Tazzeka (Taza), and around Azrou.
Skiing
Morocco doesn’t immediately spring to mind as a skiing destination, but the High Atlas mountains are reliably snow-covered from late January to early April, with good skiing at Oukaïmeden
Off-piste skiing is popular in the High Atlas, particularly in the Toubkal massif, where the Toubkal Refuge is often full of groups. Most off-piste activity is ski mountaineering, but skinny skis (langlauf) are good in the Middle Atlas if there is snow, in which case the Azilal–Bou Goumez–Ighil Mgoun area is possible.
Snowboarding is also gaining in popularity at Moroccan resorts. For further information on skiing and mountaineering, contact the Fédération Royale Marocaine du Ski et du Montagnisme.
Horse riding
The established base for horse riding holidays is Résidence de la Roseraie at Ouirgane, which runs trekking tours into the High Atlas. Another stable offering horse riding is
Amodou Cheval near Agadir. A number of operators offer horse and camel treks, including Best of Morocco.
Fishing
Morocco has an immense Atlantic (and small Mediterranean) coastline, with opportunities to arrange boat trips at Safi, Essaouira, Moulay Bousselham (near Asilah), Boujdour, Dakhla and elsewhere.
Inland, the Middle Atlas shelters beautiful lakes and rivers, many of them well stocked with trout. Good bases include Azrou (near the Aghmas lakes), Ifrane (near Zerrrouka), Khenifra (the Oum er Rbia River) and Ouirgane (the Nfis River). Pike are also to be found in some Middle Atlas lakes (such as Aguelmame Azizgza, near Khenifra), and a few of the huge artificial barrages, like Bin el Ouidaine (near Beni Mellal), are said to contain enormous bass.
Watersports and swimming
Agadir offers opportunities for sailing, yachting, windsurfing and diving, while Taghazout, just to its north, has become something of a surfing village, with board rental and board repair shops and some great surfing sites. There are lesser surfing centres at Sidi Ifni, Mirhleft, Kenitra, Bouznika Plage, El Jadida, Safi, and even Rabat.
With your own transport, you could scout out remote places all the way down the coast. When they’re working, all breaks can be busy in peak season (Oct–Feb), when deep lows come barrelling east across the mid-Atlantic.
For windsurfing, the prime destination is Essaouira, which draws devotees year-round.
The Atlantic can be very exposed, with crashing waves, and surfers, windsurfers and swimmers alike should beware of strong undertows. Inland, most towns of any size have a municipal swimming pool, but women especially should note that they tend to be the preserve of teenage boys.
In the south, you’ll be dependent on campsite pools or on those at the luxury hotels (which often allow outsiders to swim, either for a fee or if you buy drinks or a meal).
The High and Middle Atlas have also become a popular destination for whitewater rafting and kayaking enthusiasts. One holiday firm specializing in these sports is Water by Nature.
Golf
The British opened a golf course in Tangier as far back as 1917. Today the country has an international-level course at Rabat, eighteen-hole courses at Mohammedia, Marrakesh, Tangier, Cabo Negro, Saïdia, Larache, El Jadida, Essaouira, Agadir, Fez and Ben Slimane (Royal Golf, Av des FAR, BP 83, Ben Slimane), and nine-hole courses at Meknes, Ouarzazate and Bouznika (near Mohammedia, Route Secondaire de Bouznika Plage). Several tour operators offer Moroccan golfing holidays.
Arabs and Berbers
The
Berbers were Morocco’s original inhabitants. The Arabs arrived at the end of the seventh century, after sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East in the name of their revolutionary ideology,
Islam. Eventually, nearly all the Berbers converted to the new religion and were immediately accepted as fellow Muslims by the Arabs. When Muslim armies invaded the Iberian peninsula from Morocco, the bulk of the troops were Berbers, and the two ethnic groups pretty much assimilated.
Today, most Moroccans can claim both Arab and Berber ancestors, though a few (especially Shereefs, who trace their ancestry back to the Prophet Mohammed, and have the title “Moulay”) claim to be “pure” Arabs. In the Rif and Atlas mountains, and in the Souss Valley, though, groups of pure Berbers remain, and retain their ancient languages (Tarfit, spoken by about 1.5m people in the Rif; Tamazight, spoken by over 3m people in the Atlas; and Tashelhaït, spoken by around 4m people in the Souss Valley region).
Recently, there has been a resurgence in Berber pride (often symbolized by the Berber letterЖ); TV programmes are now broadcast in Berber languages, and they are even taught in schools, but the country’s majority language remains Arabic.
Top image: Square in the blue city of Chefchaouen, Morocco © Olena Tur/Shutterstock
