Postcard from Chefchaouen
The Moroccan blue pearl – Chefchaouen, a little town in northwestern Morocco, made our trip extremely memorable. Unlike the rest of Morocco, Chefchaouen is very peaceful and unique. We spent two relaxing and wonderful days here and absolutely fell in love with everything.
Chefchaouen’s maze-like Medina is painted in thousand shades of blue and white and it is an absolute pleasure to our eyes. The blue color on the houses is said to have been introduced to the town by Jewish refugees in 1930, who considered blue to symbolize the sky and heaven. The color caught on, and now many also believe that the blue walls serve to repel mosquitoes as well. Add on to it the beautiful souks and delicately woven carpets displayed all around, gorgeous doors and the architecture – it was a sight which you won’t forget in a lifetime.
Reaching Moroccan blue pearl – Chefchaouen
We traveled to Chefchaouen from Marrakech. The best possible way to do so is via night trains. There is a night train that leaves Marrakech at night and reaches Tangier early morning. From Tangier, you can get on a direct bus to Chefchaouen or change a bus at Tetouan. The frequency of direct buses to Chefchaouen is less, but there are plenty of buses that ply till Tetouan and then to Chefchaouen. Try to travel by government buses – CTM – and don’t fall for locals who say that they will help you get on a bus. Check out their website for frequency. You won’t be able to make an online booking unless you have a Moroccan credit/debit card. You can however buy a ticket at the train station a day or two in advance and be assured that you will definitely get a seat.
Just one more point here. The buses out of Chefchaouen can get filled quite quickly. We would advise booking a return ticket as soon as you reach to avoid any delays / last-minute changes in plans.
Where to stay in Moroccan blue pearl – Chefchaouen
We stayed in a Dar in the heart of the Medina that we found on Airbnb. I am not linking it here as we really didn’t like the room. The photos that were advertised on the website and the actual room were quite different and we never got any hot water for a bath. But I am sure there are loads of places where you can stay. Just make sure that you choose the one with a nice rooftop view.
Things to Do in Moroccan blue pearl – Chefchaouen
- Breakfast on the rooftop. Morocco has aced the rooftop game and the morning views from the rooftops are beautiful.
- Go mad taking photos. Every corner is picturesque and worthy of getting captured in your camera.
- We had the yummiest cookies and biscuits from a small home-based bakery inside the Medina. We had to go back and get some more the next day!
- Venture out of Medina for some good food, as the tagine and couscous will get boring after a while.
- Walk out of the Medina towards to mountain for a nice view of the city. It’s really beautiful from Rif Mountain
- We started following men wearing the traditional djellaba just so that we could get a good shot of them walking in the blue Arabic background. People in Morocco don’t like getting clicked, so we were sensitive to that fact and only tried capturing them from behind. We managed to take some super cool photos with some ancient feel. It was so much fun as well!
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- Postcard from Marrakech
- Tenerife – the charm of Canary Islands
- Lisbon, the hilly capital of Portugal
- Postcard from Istanbul
- Postcard from Madrid
- 3 amazing days in Interlaken, Switzerland
I will leave you with some more photos from our stay in Chefchaouen.
Check out our detailed itinerary on Tripoto.
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24 Comments
Stewie Overseas
That’s too bad about your Airbnb. Morocco looks like such a lovely place to visit, I’m sure it more than made up for it.
SendingPostcardsHome
Morocco was nice in parts and pieces, but Chefchouen was just out of ordinary.. We loved our stay there and it definitely made up for the bad Airbnb experience.. Thank you for reading the blog. 🙂
teacakesand
OMG amazing! It looks just like Jodhpur’s Blue City in India! How stunning!
SendingPostcardsHome
It does in some ways but the architecture is quite different.. You won’t believe, I live in Jodhpur for a couple of months but never visited the part of the city that’s prominently painted in blue.. Just saw the city shine in blue from Mehrangarh fort..
teacakesand
Ah really?? I suppose when you live in a place you might be less likely to go out and see the tourist areas? (I’m like this for sure in London, I still need to go to to the London Dungeons!)
SendingPostcardsHome
That’s really true.. you think – oh it’s just here. I can cover it anytime. But with Jodhpur I did all other touristy things.. I guess it never occurred to me that I can check out the part of the city that’s painted in blue..
Pramod
Raga and Nandita, my compliments to you both for a crisp write up and lovely photographs.
SendingPostcardsHome
Thanks Papa. 🙂 Chefchaouen was the best part of our Morocco trip!
ourhoppytravels
Gorgeous pictures!!!
SendingPostcardsHome
Thank you Smitha! 🙂
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Sudipto
Very nice post! Chaouen is one of my favorite places as well.. sorry to hear u had a bad AirBnb experience, usually they are spot on. Did u hike up to the old mosque for sunset views?
SendingPostcardsHome
Thank you! We loved our time in Chefchaouen and probably the only place we really enjoyed in Morocco. Like I mentioned earlier, I remember going through your blog before planning our tip to Morocco last year! We did hike up but not for sunset. Just for the views in the morning.
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