Morocco Le Grande Tour Day 7 – Chefchaouen

Well rested and after a mediocre breakfast we meet our local guide, Aman, for a tour of the Blue town. What’s been fantastic about this trip is not only do we have a guide that travels with us the whole time but when we visit new towns / cities we have a local guide to show us around and impart their local knowledge.

We delve into the treasures of Morocco’s ‘blue town’, nestled into the Rif Mountains. With its stacked white and blue houses and narrow, winding lanes, Chefchaouen is a prime example of Andalusia’s influence over Morocco. 

It’s time to gorge ourselves on photography and apologies in advance for the huge over indulgence in blue themed photos that are about to follow. If you’re not a fan of blue look away now.

Chefchaouen is one of Morocco’s prettiest towns. It’s no longer an off the beaten track destination for artists and hippies in search of hashish – now day trippers, Moroccan tourists and Instagrammers jostle for position along its medina alleyways.

But with its one-of-a-kind blue-washed walls and laid-back vibe, the ‘Blue Pearl’ is worth it. Chaouen, as it’s known by locals, was founded in 1471 as a base for Riffian Amazigh tribes to attack the Portuguese in Ceuta. Muslim and Jewish refugees arrived from Granada in the late 15th century and built whitewashed Andalusian style houses. The blue hues came later, but exactly when remains a mystery.
The town remained isolated – and xenophobic, Christians were forbidden entry until it was occupied by Spanish troops in 1920. Thrown out by the Lion of the Rif, Abd el-Krim, who
founded the Republic of the Rif in 1921, the Spanish soon  returned and remained until independence in 1956.

We have a fabulous 3 hours wandering and very fortunately for us as we started early we missed most of the Instagrammers. Although towards the end  of the tour we meet a group of entitled Grammers and have a little bit of a standoff. We agree to differ and move on.

We wander out later before dinner and get ridiculously lost with Google maps sending us round in circles.

It’s an beautiful tow  and the weather has played ball whilst we visit. The colours just dazzle. There’s a very relaxed feel here and the locals are really friendly. We’re on the road again tomorrow so after dinner and some local ice cream we return to pack.