Chefchaouen sits at around 600 metres in the Rif mountains and is painted, wall to wall, in every shade of blue. It is small, gentle, and completely unlike the big medinas — which is exactly the point of going.
Why the blue?
Nobody in town agrees. The most commonly repeated explanations are that it was introduced by Jewish residents for whom blue carried religious significance, that it repels mosquitoes, or that it simply keeps houses cooler. Some residents will tell you frankly that it became a tradition because it looked good and visitors liked it.
What is not in dispute is the effect. The light bounces between the walls, so the whole medina glows, and the colour changes noticeably between morning, midday and evening.
When to photograph it
Between seven and nine in the morning. The light is soft, the blue is at its deepest, the shopkeepers are opening rather than selling, and the day-trip buses from Tangier and Fes have not arrived.
By eleven the main lanes are busy and the light is hard. Go back out again after five, when it softens once more and the town belongs to its residents.
Beyond the medina
Climb to the Spanish Mosque on the hill above town for sunset — twenty-five minutes on a clear path, and the whole blue medina laid out below with the Rif behind it.
For a full day, the Akchour waterfalls and the natural rock arch known as God's Bridge are half an hour away by road and a couple of hours of walking. It is a proper hike with river pools at the end, and the best reason to give Chefchaouen two nights rather than one.
How it fits into a trip
Chefchaouen is in the far north, four hours from Fes and two and a half from Tangier. That puts it on a northern route rather than a southern one — it does not combine easily with a desert trip unless you have ten days or more.
The natural itinerary is Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fes, and then either south towards the Sahara or back towards Casablanca.
Ready to see it for yourself?
We can add Chefchaouen to any northern itinerary, or build a private route that takes in Tangier, the Rif and Fes before heading south.
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