Things You Need To Experience In Morocco
I know I’ve been banging on about my trip to Morocco ever since I came back but it truly is a great place to visit. I was lucky and managed to travel around quite a lot within the week we were there and see lots of amazing parts of the country so I thought I’d let you know some of the things you should experience if you visit Morocco.
A traditional tagine
Everywhere you go a tagine will be different, you may get lamb, or beef, or chicken, or meatballs, or just vegetables. A tagine is just a description of the bowl that it is cooked/ presented to you in, but despite the variety in the dish you can’t go to Morocco and not try at least one or two. We had little option in the earlier part of our trip and ended up eating so much tagine that by the time we were in Marrakech we were relieved to see other options on the menu.
The souks of Marrakech
You can’t go to Marrakech and not experience the souks, or markets in other words. They’re magical like an Aladdin’s cave of treasures selling pretty much anything you may want: clothing, food, ornaments, scarves, pottery, jewellery, cosmetics and more. There are unwritten rules when going into the markets though so be careful. Don’t be afraid to say no if someone tries to sell you something, and whatever they say it costs make sure you offer something at least 75% lower because they know they’ll have to bargain for a sale. If you’re not looking to buy try to avoid spending too long looking at things or pointing things out because people will come over and pester you to buy. I would also recommend not walking around on your own, but enjoy and get some bargains.
Visit the cinema capital of Morocco
Ouarzazte sits about three hours south of Marrakech, or about 50 minutes on a plane from Casablanca which is how we got there. The city is nicknamed the door to the desert as it is very close to the edge of the Sahara Desert and it is for this reason (along with it’s proximity to mountains on the other side) that it is the cinema capital of Morocco. There are more than four film studios in the city alone and films including The Mummy, Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and some of the scenes with Khaleesi (including some of the dragon scenes) from Game of Thrones were all filmed here. The village of Ait Benhaddou is west of the city and is classed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the where a lot of these famous scenes were constructed.
Visit a Kasbah
A Kasbah is a particular type of building which has high walls, little windows and forms it’s own little village inside, Kasbah’s are rarely used to live in now but old ruins are scattered all around cities and towns in Morocco. They’re sometimes thought of as fortress’ as royalty and people with a lot of money tended to build them and live there, and they’re truly representative of Islamic cities. Your trip to Morocco is not complete without a visit to at least one.
A camel ride into the Sahara
Camel rides are pretty easy to come by in Morocco, we did ours in the desert quite far south in Morocco, but you can get camel treks in the desert much closer to major cities. I watched The Travel Man with Richard Ayoade and when he went to Marrakech they managed to do a camel trek only an hour or so away from the city. Riding a camel is one of those things you kind of have to experience for yourself as it’s hard to explain but he prepared for a very sore bum (and inner thighs) and be prepared to hold on tight when ever they get up and down.
A mountain climb in the Atlas
There are various aspects and parts of the Atlas Mountains from the Mid Atlas right up to the High Atlas Mountains and they separate North and South Morocco. Most of the cities that you will have heard of like Fes, Marakkech and Casablanca sit on the North and both sides of the country are very different in beliefs and the way that they live their lives. The Atlas Mountains offer some beautiful trails to walk up, or you can invent your own like our tour guide did, and the views are truly spectacular. In the winter the tops you can see are generally snow covered but sadly due to a 2 year drought in the country the snow had melted, if only we could donate some rain from the UK.
Have you been to Morocco? Is there anything else you would recommend?
28 responses to “Things You Need To Experience In Morocco”
Leave a Reply
All About Me
Rhian Westbury
Travels and Destinations
Nothing currently planned
Looks like you had a great time! Definitely on my bucket list 🙂
I really did thanks x
Ahhh! I'm hopefully going to Morocco this summer and this post has made me SO excited!! Looks amazing! x
There's so much to do you'll have a great time x
Morocco looks amazing, it's on my bucket list that's for sure! Love the photos in your post by the way – glad you had a good time!Lottie xx
Sometimes I think travelling doesn't cross places off your list it just adds more to it! x
Stunning photos! Morocco sounds amazing – I'd definitely have to try a camel ride if I went. 🙂
Thanks. It is one of those things which you just have to do x
I've always wanted to go to Morocco, it looks amazing!
It really is and quite quick/ easy to get to x
Book a tour and go on your own! That's what I did x
Yeah Marrakech was probably my least favourite part of the trip as it was just too overwhelming. But it's one of those things you kind of have to do. I had just over a day there and that was enough x
A lovely post. I remember I sat on a camel while on honeymoon in Tunisia, but wouldn't let the handler stand him up. I was so scared. My husband on the other hand LOVED it 🙂
It is quite scary when they get up esp as I wasn't expecting it when it happened. I think coming down is worse, but in all honesty I was happy to get off! x
Any sort of shopping is my idea of heaven so I know I would love the souks.
They can be good for grabbing some awesome bargains x
I have never been to Morocco, but it looks a lovely place to go to with lots to do and great food to eat! xx
There is definitely lots to do x
I love visiting the markets and play "money games" with locals. The difference in asking price and what you actually can buy product for is amazing!
Yes it really is. I managed to get everything I wanted for decent prices which was good x
Now I need to have tangine for dinner.
Haha, I still can't even look at cous cous! x
I've never been to Morocco but I would love to go and looks like you had an amazing time x
I did thanks x
Morocco looks amazing. Never been there but would love to one day.
The good thing is it's super easy to get to from the UK x
Morocco looks absolutely incredible! Its been on my bucket list for years but money always gets in the way. One day though, one day….
Morocco is on my to do list! I love the sounds of the cultural history! H x