Chefchaouen [Shefshauen] is without a doubt one of the most incredible places I’ve ever traveled to. It’s one truly fascinating place where time has simply stopped. Located in northwest Morocco, it is known for its many different shades of blue and cute narrow streets of its medina (old town). Wandering around the dozens of cute alleyways sure is one of the main things to do in Chefchaouen but for the small place that it actually is, Chefchaouen comes packed with quite a few other fun activities to have a go at.
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Go for a traditional Moroccan hammam
Trying a hammam whilst you’re in Morocco is an absolute must. Whether you’ve experience public baths before or this will be a first time, the experience of trying a traditional Moroccan hammam will stay with you for a good long time. Mine will sure stay with me for ages 😀 . For me personally, this was like nothing I had ever done before. Going for a hammam in a town as tiny as Chefchaouen is particularly special because you are guaranteed to have a truly authentic experience. However, do not make the mistake me and my friend made when we went to Hammam El-Maslouhi.
Hike up to see the views from the Spanish Mosque
Built by the Spanish in 1920’s, the Spanish Mosque can be viewed from literally every point in Chefchaouen. But it’s not the actual mosque that’s exciting. What makes this a must-do are the mesmerizing views that you get to enjoy once you get to the top. Unlike most other places, you don’t even have to hike up for long to get to the top. If you want to have the views just to yourself, go up early in the morning. If you catch the sunrise, even better. Chefchaouen has pretty stunning sunsets as well though so if you don’t mind a little company, you can go just before the sun goes down. We personally went in the morning and absolutely loved it. Seeing the views over the blue town in the company of just my friend and another two locals was a feeling I’ll remember for a long time. I remember standing there, not quite believing how a place so calm and so hospitable could exist. There were barely any tourists around, no chaos or queues of cars polluting the air. In fact, the town looked deep asleep at this early hour and it truly was fascinating.
Have some orange juice overlooking Plaza Uta el-Hammam
Chefchaouen is super famous for its fresh orange juice. In fact it’s believed that in the Chefchaouen province you can find the sweetest, most juicy oranges in the world. Whether that’s actually true or not, I don’t know. But I do know that this was the best orange juice I’ve ever had. So can you miss it? Absolutely not 😀 To make this into an actual experience, order your juice at the terrace of a place called Marisco Restaurant right at the heart of the main square. My personal favorite is to do this in the evening. But time it so that you can see the view both before and after sunset. Chefchaouen at night really is quite special!
Enjoy a cup of traditional mint tea
I know you might think this is nothing special but gosh, do the Moroccans not have the best mint tea ever?! From what I managed to gather, the secret to their absolutely delightful tea is in the fresh mint and the sugar. All mint is hand picked in the mountains by the local women and the sugar is added whilst the tea is still on the stove. So as soon as it reaches its ultimate temperature, it’s ready for you to enjoy. This sure was the best tea I’ve ever had so if anything, at least give it a try.
Explore Chefchaouen outside of the old town
I would have never truly realised how Chefchaouen people live, if I hadn’t gone outside of the medina. I kept wondering where people buy their groceries from, where they all live, are they all craftsmen who make a living from selling their hand made products and what is it that makes them happy. And there it hit me. As we were looking for the bus station, we realised how simple life is in Chefchaouen. We went through what was the daily market, spread on both sides of the town’s main street. To a European like me it all looked like a total mess. But locals seemed to enjoy their daily shopping. Some were selling, others were buying. Those who didn’t sell at the medina, were selling at the market – clothes, food, home essentials. All I could think about as I was walking down the street was how basic everything was. No proper food stalls, or queues, no real order. But this pure simplicity I guess is what makes people happy with the way they live and the place they call home.
Look for the Ras el-Maa waterfall
If you’ve been learning about Chefchaouen only from the stunning pictures on Instagram, you may not know that just a short walk from the heart of the medina, there’s a beautiful waterfall that travels all the way from the mountains to add to the charm of this wonderful fairy town. Surrounded by orange trees and views over the hills from one side and the blue houses from the other, the waterfall is the perfect spot to take a rest. One thing that stunned me and will probably surprise you too is that this waterfall serves one more purpose other than to please the eye of the passers-by. It’s the place where local men and women come to wash their clothes. I learned that most households simply don’t have the luxury of having a washing machine at home. Some don’t even have a bathroom at home to do their hand washing in or to simply take a shower! Like I told you, time here has simply stopped!
Have lunch at Cafe Restaurant La Estrella
Before coming to Chefchaouen most blogs I read recommended a restaurant called Bab Ssour. If everyone suggests it I thought we’d better try it. As we were doing our walk round the blue alleys, we met a local who offered to show us around. After our quick tour, as we were getting ready to say Bye, we asked if he’d recommend Bab Ssour as we were planning on having lunch there. Funny story, it turned out that this same guy was a relative of the owner (What were the chances? :D). He said the place has now turned into a very touristy spot and was now closed for renovation. A few meters down from Bab Ssour though, we found a colorful place called La Estrella. It’s fair to say that I had a lot of couscous in Morocco but the one at this place was 100% the best. Couldn’t have been happier that Bab Ssour was shut!
Don’t leave before you’ve found la Place El Haouta
La Plae El Haouta is a beautiful square in the medina which I must admit we stumbled upon by chance. It’s a great spot to admire the mountain tops or have a drink whilst enjoying the square’s unique architecture. Every bit of Chefchaouen is authentic and calling for attention and this square for sure is no different. So take a moment to look around for it. It might be tricky to find but it’ll be worth it.
Take a photo of the famous flower street
The first question the local I mentioned above asked me was “Did you see the Flower street”? I wasn’t quite sure what he meant so as every friendly local would do, he took us to it. As we were approaching, I saw a bunch of tourists taking turns to take a photo. I instantly knew what street we were headed to. There was only one street that is so popular that people would actually queue to take a picture of. And there it was! The most instagramable place in Chefchaouen was right before my eyes. But I had to ask. What is it so special about this place that so many people seem to go mad about it? Apparently, we all have to thank Daddy Yanke for it 😀 . To my surprise it turned out that Daddy Yanke’s video to the song Boom Boom was shot in Chefchaouen. And this street won over the others and got featured! Believe it or not, have a listen to Boom Boom and you’ll see it 😀 . The Flower street is all over it at the beginning. This is one of the many interesting things you gotta know about Chefchaouen before you visit.
Go to the terrace of Casa Aladin
We had about 30 minutes to spare before we had to leave Chefchaouen. We wanted to hide from the drizzling rain and suddenly,we saw a little terrace looking right towards the center of the medina, it was a restaurant called Casa Aladin. It had to be checked out. After a bit of asking around how to get in (the entrance was a bit hidden), we finally made it in. The place looked super cool as soon as we stepped in. But the real secret was waiting for us on the terrace. We walked outside and we were stunned! What opened up right in front of us was a 360 degrees view of the entire town. I couldn’t believe that we were gonna leave without seeing these views. They were just so different from anything we had seen so far. It sounds odd because we had seen the views from the Spanish mosque at that point but like everything else in Chefchaouen these views were just unique.
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