Magical Morocco

The magic of Morocco radiates from its bustling souks, historical medinas and fortified kasbahs, to its rugged mountains, rolling deserts and abandoned seashores. This can be a nation of dazzling variety.

Morocco is a rustic that’s been influenced by many various cultures. Its proximity to Spain, its occupation by France and the influences of North Africa and the Center East have all left their mark on the structure, delicacies, apparel, and even the language. The very best issues to do in Morocco are equally as various; sooner or later you may be trekking within the Atlas Mountains and the subsequent you may be strolling by way of the twisting alleyways of Marrakesh, or savouring road meals within the medieval medina of Fez. However until you’re planning on spending months in Morocco, there’s no manner you’ll be capable of see it multi function go to, and also you shouldn’t even strive!

Whereas there’s definitely no scarcity of issues to do, listed below are a few of my favourites.

Fabulous meals in Fez

In Fez, Morocco’s oldest imperial metropolis, time appears to face nonetheless. Courting again to the eighth century, the maze-like high-walled medina is essentially the most full medieval metropolis within the Arab world. Its tangle of greater than 9,500 slender alleyways include a jumble of souks, riads, artisan workshops, leather-based tanneries, mosques, and palaces that date again greater than 1,000 years. Because the oldest of Morocco’s 4 imperial capitals, it ought to come as no shock that the dynamic medina of Fez is a UNESCO World Heritage Website.

Moroccan delicacies is a real melting pot. The Amazigh (Berbers), Arabs, Moors, Ottoman Turks and French have all left their culinary mark. Among the finest methods to expertise Fez is thru its meals and a meals tour right here not solely permits you to munch your manner by way of the delights of Moroccan meals, it additionally provides you an schooling into the historical past of the town. Foodies can pattern all the things from native breads, to tasty tagines, delectable dates, opulent olives, and for the extra adventurous, snail soup or boiled sheep’s head.  End off with that the majority tempting of candy treats, chebakia (deep-fried dough coated in sesame seeds) and wild honey.

After your days within the medina, keep at Palais de Fes Dar Tazi, a resort that dates again to the 14^th century and appears out over the medina. The resort’s rooftop restaurant serves meals that pay homage to the culinary heritage of Morocco, with all the things from fabulous tagines to an unimaginable pigeon pastilla, a delicacy that dates again to the 15^th century, made from filo pastry, full of wealthy, tender pigeon meat, fragrant spices and flippantly scrambled egg and completed with a sprinkling of icing sugar and cinnamon.

Marvel on the medina of Marrakech

Marrakech wants no introduction, it’s most likely the best-known metropolis in all of Morocco. Positioned north of the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, the bustling, purple metropolis of Marrakesh, named for the overwhelmed clay that offers it its deep reddish tinge, is a sensory overload of sights, sounds and smells.

The traditional medina of Marrakesh is a maze of slender streets with the Djemaa El Fna, arguably Africa’s most well-known sq., at its coronary heart. By day, the sq. is only a massive open house, with a handful of snake charmers, monkey wranglers and ‘tooth pullers’, wielding fearsome pliers and providing to pluck out the tooth of any toothache victims. It isn’t till late afternoon that the sq. actually will get going.

Folks come out for an early night promenade, and the sq. regularly fills, till it turns into a circus of storytellers, acrobats, musicians and entertainers. (One be aware of warning – the snakes are sometimes caught from the wild and have their mouths sewn shut and fangs pulled out, and the Barbary macaque monkeys, used as props for vacationers, are sometimes taken from their moms within the wild and hand-reared as a result of they’re simpler to tame that manner. Utilizing wild animals as photograph props is against the law in Morocco, nevertheless it appears to be tolerated within the sq. – I’m not a fan.)

For a respite from the sq., transfer to the rooftop terrace eating places. The improbable Chez L’Amine Hadj Mustapha is a spot synonymous with conventional meals, and even TV chef, Gordon Ramsay, says the meat right here is cooked to perfection. I’ve by no means tasted something corresponding to their chunky, massive mouthfuls of tender Mechoui or Tangia Marrakechia.

Marrakesh will fulfill even essentially the most insatiable shopaholic. The labyrinthine passageways of the souk are crammed with all the things from fragrant spices to leather-based babouches (slippers) and carpets, with artisans weaving, hammering and carving out their wares as they’ve carried out for hundreds of years. The primary thoroughfares, equivalent to Souq Semmarine, are devoted to vacationer trinkets, so wander away the principle path to search out the perfect buying.

For a change of tempo, get soaped, scrubbed, steamed and massaged at a hammam (bathhouse). Whether or not you select a communal public bathtub or a personal expertise in a luxurious riad, this conventional remedy of brisk exfoliation and bathing, utilizing pure cleansers, has promoted bodily and psychological well being for hundreds of years. It’s an unforgettable expertise and also you’ll emerge with the softest pores and skin, for days afterwards.

Marrakesh’s lodging is an attraction in itself. If potential keep in one of many medina’s riads. A riad is a standard Moroccan medina mansion, with a courtyard backyard within the center. Many have been restored and opened as luxurious lodges, with wooden ceilings, tadelakt (polished lime plaster) partitions, conventional zellij (ceramic tile) particulars, and brass swinging lamps. Le Farnatchi is one such place, an amalgam of 9 outdated homes,  normal into one luxurious riad, proper within the coronary heart of the medina, with ten spacious suites, a rooftop terrace, an award-winning hammam and a improbable rooftop restaurant, Le Trou au Mur, in an adjoining property.

Step again in time in Skoura

The Skoura oasis is situated on the southern aspect of the Excessive Atlas Mountains, about 5 hours drive from Marrakech.

The area is dotted with labyrinthine ksar (fortified villages), together with Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Website, in addition to many imposing mud-brick kasbahs, just like the magical ruins of Kasbah Amridil.

Skoura can be a superb base from which to discover the Dades Valley, the Valley of the Roses, and the Draa Valley.

Skoura’s lovely Unesco-protected 4,500 hectare palmeraie (palm grove) has been dubbed ‘Oasis of 1000 Palms’, and beneath the cover of inexperienced, a patchwork of plots is watered by an ingenious, centuries-old khettara (underground irrigation system) of canals, levers and locks. Greater than 100 chicken species flourish right here, in addition to greater than 20 date varieties.

Keep at Dar Ahlam, a Nineteenth-century conventional rammed-earth kasbah within the Skoura palmeraie grove. Dar Ahlam is a haven of manicured lawns and aromatic almond blossoms, and it greater than lives as much as its Arabic translation of the ‘House of Dreams’. With no check-in or check-out instances, superb eating experiences, with meals crafted from native substances, lots of that are grown within the resort’s backyard, and a complete group devoted to creating your each want come true, this desert oasis delivers luxurious with out limits.

Hike the Excessive Atlas Mountains

The Excessive Atlas is a hiker’s paradise, working diagonally throughout the nation for 1,000km, from the Atlantic coast to northern Algeria. Imlil, 67km south of Marrakesh is situated within the foothills of the Excessive Atlas. It’s the jumping-off level for improbable trekking, together with scaling Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak (4,167m).

Alternatively, hike between distant, rural Amazigh (Berber) villages, by way of remoted valleys, on centuries-old trails, and get to know native traditions and historical past. The Excessive Atlas is the proper getaway from the hustle and bustle of city Morocco.

At Imlil keep at Kasbah du Toubkal, the house of a feudal caïd (native baron) reworked right into a haven of welcoming Berber hospitalityThe kasbah additionally has a trekking lodge, a day’s stroll away, for these concerned about multi-day mountaineering.

After spending some days ‘roughing’ it within the mountains, there’s nowhere higher than Olinto, a luxurious retreat within the Ouirgane Valley, to recuperate and calm down. With its backdrop of the Excessive Atlas Mountains and buried deep in an historical grove of twisted olive bushes, Olinto is a retreat like no different. The brainchild of Prince Fabrizio Ruspoli di Poggio Suasa, with solely 9 non-public visitor pavilions, that is the place for ultra-privacy, peace and discreet luxurious. Native flavours and seasonal cooking dominate the menu, with a lot of the produce coming from the resort’s gardens, proper all the way down to the olive oil, pressed from Olinto’s personal bushes.

Tantalising Tangier

Tangier is Morocco’s third largest metropolis, and the souk right here is over 700 years outdated. For a lot of Tangier is the gateway to Morocco, given its location on the northern tip of the nation and its proximity to Europe. Ferry crossings from Tarifa in Spain solely take round 2 hours and flights from the UK are lower than 3 hours.

Tangier is a hustling, bustling mix of cultures that has been influenced by many peoples all through its historical past. Jews, Muslims, and Christians coexisted right here for many years, and Spanish was the frequent tongue. On the assembly level of two seas, in addition to two continents, Tangier’s strategic location has made it a extremely sought-after spot since historical instances. Based by Mediterranean buying and selling nations, dominated by empirical Romans, and squabbled over by European powers, earlier than lastly returning to the Moroccan nation in 1956, it’s maybe no shock that this metropolis is like no different within the nation.

Go to the whitewashed, hillside medina with its higgledy-piggledy maze of slender streets and small squares. Be sure you go to each the Grand Socco and the Petit Socco markets, 9 April 1947 Sq., and the Nice Mosque, and after a day of buying or exploring, what might be higher than the golden sand of Tangier’s seashores?

On the finish of the day Villa Augustine’s plunge pool is a welcome respite, and the rooftop terrace is the proper place to gaze out on the distant shores of Spain. Previously a household dwelling, Villa Augustine is a five-bedroom visitor home within the outdated metropolis, solely a five-minute stroll from the Kasbah and 10 minutes to the Grand Socco. With trendy interiors, created by inside designer and hotelier Willem Smit, Villa Augustine is a mixture of traditional Moroccan decor, inviting trendy furnishings, quirky private touches, and all of the home-from-home comforts you may want for.

The Agafay Desert

Most guests to Morocco know of the Sahara Desert. But when an 8 hour drive from Marrakech is just not an possibility, what do you do for a style of the desert?

Not that many individuals appear to know in regards to the Agafay Desert, simply 30km from Marrakech. Whilst you received’t discover golden, rolling sand dunes right here (it’s a stone desert) you completely can have a secluded desert expertise, full with a shocking view of the Excessive Atlas Mountains. Camel and horse rides, e-biking, and quad-biking, there are many methods to discover the barren, rocky, lunar-like terrain, and after the solar has gone down get pleasure from a scrumptious meal and a spot of star gazing.

Glamping within the Agafay Desert at Inara Camp is an expensive expertise. Terrific ‘tents’ with king-size beds, ensuite loos, air con and panoramic views over the desert. Infinite cups of freshly brewed mint tea, a myriad of actions, and a few unimaginable eating experiences. The chef’s slow-cooked lamb tagine was among the finest we ate in Morocco, the picnic lunch that accompanied our camel trip by way of the desert was scrumptious and decadent, and a personal desert dinner, accompanied by hearth eaters, musicians and hena artists was memorable.

Tucked into the Northwest nook of Africa, Morocco’s geographic, cultural, and gastronomical choices are so extremely numerous you’d want weeks, months and even years to find all of it. Being so huge and various, planning a trip right here can really feel overwhelming, and that is the place WIX Squared involves the rescue. WIX Squared is a bespoke luxurious journey firm, whose founder Ales Wix is constantly named by each Condé Nast Traveller and Robb Report as one in every of their high journey specialists. Alex is at present primarily based in Marrakesh, which provides her that further insider experience for planning the proper Moroccan itinerary.