Things to Do in Morocco: 20 Experiences Worth Your Time

In the cities

• Walk the Fez medina with a licensed guide: the Bou Inania and Al Attarine madrasas, the Nejjarine fountain and the area around Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859.
• Watch the Chouara tannery from a terrace in the morning, when the light is best. Read about the tanneries and medina scams.
• Visit artisans at work: potters, weavers, brass engravers and zellige cutters. See Fez artisan workshops.
• Spend an evening in Jemaa el Fna in Marrakech, when the food stalls open.
• See the Bahia Palace, the Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech.
• Stand under the arches of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, one of the few mosques in Morocco open to non Muslim visitors on a guided tour.

In the desert and mountains

• Ride a camel into the dunes of Erg Chebbi at sunset and sleep in a desert camp.
• Get up for sunrise on the dunes. It is cold, quiet and worth it.
• Walk the Todra Gorge and drive the Dades Valley road.
• Explore Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified village used in many films.
• Walk between Amazigh villages in the High Atlas around Imlil.
• See the cedar forest and Barbary macaques near Azrou. See the Middle Atlas day trip.

Food and daily life

• Take a cooking class in a riad, starting at the market. See cooking classes in Fez.
• Bring your dough to a neighbourhood bread oven, as families still do.
• Try bissara soup for breakfast, msemen pancakes and a slow cooked tangia.
• Learn the mint tea ritual and why the tea is poured from high.
• Go to a hammam, either a local one or a spa. Read hammam etiquette.

On the coast

• Essaouira: ramparts, the blue fishing port and grilled fish on the harbour, with a sea breeze all year.
• Asilah: a white town on the Atlantic with murals painted every summer.
• El Jadida: the Portuguese Cistern and fortified city, a UNESCO site since 2004.
• Taghazout and Imsouane: surf schools for beginners and experienced surfers.

Nature and adventure

• Climb Jebel Toubkal, at 4,167 metres the highest peak in North Africa, in two or three days from Imlil.
• Walk to the Ouzoud waterfalls, about 110 metres high, with olive groves and Barbary macaques.
• Fly over the Marrakech palm grove and the Atlas at sunrise in a hot air balloon.
• Spend a night in the Agafay stone desert, less than an hour from Marrakech.
• Walk the Akchour waterfalls near Chefchaouen.

Off the usual route

• Visit Bhalil, my home village, with its cave houses and silk button makers.
• Go to the Sefrou Cherry Festival in June. See the Sefrou Cherry Festival.
• Look for birds at Merja Zerga or the Tagdilt track. See birdwatching in Morocco.

Most of these can be added to any trip. Browse our Unique Experiences or ask me to build them into a private tour.