Chefchaouen
From Wikitravel
Chefchaouen (شفشاون) is a city in Morocco.
[edit] Understand
It's no wonder that tourists flock to Chefchaouen: this humble town is the embodiment of almost every Moroccan cliché. The picturesque medina, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rif Mountains, is filled with white-washed homes with distinctive, powder-blue accents. Xaouen was under Spanish influence so a dialect of Spanish is widely spoken.
[edit] Get in
The main bus station is a fifteen minute walk from the medina. There are usually a couple of petit taxis waiting for a customer at the entry. Don't pay more than Dh 10 to get to the medina. If it is hot, or, as is very likely, you have just endured a long coach drive to the town, you should seriously consider climbing into one of these taxis. With a heavy backpack, the walk up to the hotels of the town can be fairly strenuous!
[edit] Get around
There are plenty of petit taxis to ferry you around town (they are not metered, agree on a price before you start your trip), but most of the town, and certainly the medina are easily traversed by foot. A petit taxi shouldn't cost more than 15 Dh to the bus station from the medina.
Chaouen Rural organizes really interesting trips to the rural part of the Chaouen province. You can tell them what are your interests and they'll create an affordable plan for you. If you're interested in food they may send you to El Bellouta where you'll have a few meals with a local family.
[edit][add listing] See
- The medina is the focal point of interest for most visitors to Chefchaouen.
- Walking around the town with its whitewashed walls, originally decorated in this style by Jewish immigrants, can be a nice change to the hustle and bustle of the cities of Marrakech, Rabat, and Fez.
- The waterfall to the east of the medina is a meeting point for local residents who come to cool off, chat and do their laundry. The café nearby is rather expensive, however.
- The ruins of an old mosque, on a hill behind the waterfall, overlook the medina and its crumbling tower offers great views of the town.
A strenuous hike up Jebel al-Kalaa (the peak immediately overlooking the town) is fun, but can take up to 9 hours round trip and goes by (and if you're unlucky, through) big marijuana plantations. The route is not well marked (with white and yellow), and you might have to trail blaze for parts of it if you lose the trail. Start by following the road up the southeastern valley, from where you'll get a good view of town, and look for the markings up the mountain.
[edit][add listing] Do
- Take a hike through the fantastic Rif Mountains. There is a pathway leading up into the mountains just behind the waterfall frequented by backpackers. Don't mind the vast marijuana plantations; the farmers and goat herders that work them are used to tourists and will at worst try to sell you hash.
[edit][add listing] Buy
They have lots of hippie type clothes and knitwear, and it's a friendly place to bargain. But you can also buy local typical clothes like jellabas, sarwal, leather articles... Chaouen has the usual Moroccan tourist stuff: carpets, leather wares, spices, metal articles, etc. You can probably negotiate better prices in Fes or Marrakech, if your heading there, since theyre bigger towns.
[edit] Leather
Xaouen is particularly renowned for leather artisans, and there are 4 or 5 workshops dotted through the town, whose goods you can find at many of the local stores and in the larger northern cities. Many of the leather craftsmen in Fez & Tetouan served their apprenticeships here. The choice in local stores is often limited to bags and purses, though, so in order to avoid store prices and get exactly what you want (i.e. items made to order, tweaking a standard design or coming up with something entirely your own), seek out the workshops. They will be able to make pretty much anything you could think of, from guitar straps and tobacco pouches, to handbags and jackets. They also work with all manner of skins other than leather, such as snake, crocodile, lizard, etc.
The only word of warning is that it can take a couple of days to make the more complex designs, so make sure the workshop is either your first port of call if you're in town for a few days (and be sure to let them know when you will be back to pick up and pay for the items), or be prepared to pay an additional £6 or so for shipping (within Europe).
- Hassan's Workshop (In the eastern medina, between the old olive tree and the waterfall), ☎ +212 065 00717. 9-6ish. Variable prices. edit
One good workshop is run by a tremendously approachable man called Hassan. His workshop can be found towards the Eastern end of the Medina, between the old olive tree and the waterfall. Once you're in the vicinity, just ask for "El Taller de Hassan" and you'll be pointed in the right direction. Failing that, give him a ring on +212 065 00717. He speaks fluent Spanish and good English & French, and is totally amenable to any peculiarities or requests you might have. He doesn't look for sales out of his workshop, as he makes good trade through the various local stores and a few overseas bulk buyers, but he enjoys making one-off's, which makes for wonderful craftsmanship, great prices and no hassle.
[edit][add listing] Eat
The local specialty is baissara, but you can have all variety of Moroccan food in chaouen: tajines (sheep meat or goat meat), fish tagras,..
The region is well known also for olives, olive oil.
- Granada (2 blocks up from the main square). Great fish tajine, great couscous (~25dh)
- Chez Chouen opposite to Granada, also, great fish tajine (super! hot and tasty) and shrimp tajine (tastes more Spaniard than Moroccan, but it's great)
[edit][add listing] Drink
Alcohol is illegal. Mint tea is prevalent.
[edit][add listing] Sleep
Accommodation can be tight in the peak periods (mid-July to September) so its advisable arrive early or book ahead in these periods. A stroll through the medina will reveal dozens of cheap hotels, starting from Dh 40 per night for a single. Many of these hotels have roof terraces. Pension Castellana (singles from Dh 50) has a lovely roof terrace and is popular with backpackers. On arriving in Chefchaouen, you may be met by touts at the bus station. These will probably try to take you to Pension Castellana - but it is advisable to find the place by yourself, because if you arrive with touts, you'll be charged extra so they can get their commission.
- Casa Hassan. 700 DH+ (Singles). edit
- Auberge Dardara. Outside of town. 490 DH+ (Singles). edit
- Dar Echchaouen. Near the Medina and Ras El Ma. 490 DH+ (Singles). edit
- Hostal Gernika. Inside the medina, dificult to find, very clean, luminous rooms. Has shared showers, with lots of hot water. Spanish spoken. 150 DH/200 DH (With bathroom/Without bathroom). edit
- Casa Perleta, BAB SOUK at 100m from the entrance, ☎ 00212-39988979, [2]. Inside the medina (Bab Souk entrance), freshly renovated respecting local architecture. All rooms have en suite bathrooms. Run by native Spanish speakers.Price includes breakfast. 550DH double room. edit
- Hostal Aline Av Sidi Ahmed el Uafi, 2 (on the eastern side of the medina, a bit away from the central square). About 40Dh per night per person, breakfast of a loaf of french bread and jam included. A nice, clean place; catch it during low season and you'll likely end up with a room to yourself. Big terrass with a hammock. Laundry available. Kitchen and hot water available 24hr. People who work there speak mostly Arabic, French, and Spanish.
[edit] Stay safe
As Chefchaouen is located on the edge of Morocco's marijuana growing region, touts desperate to extract money from travelers can be a serious problem. Declining to accept a polite refusal, they can become threatening in their efforts to sell you hashish or act as unofficial guides. Their slogan seems to be, "You have the paranoia" if you try to get away from them. While many travelers partake in or even come here specifically for the abundance of marijuana, understand that it is definitely illegal and heavily punishable.
Travelers hiking in the Rif Mountain area close to the town have had stones thrown at them by armed men to scare them away from areas of marijuana production.
[edit] Get out
If you go with car, you can park at Parador Hotel open-air parking (10 Dhm / day). Very easy to find it. Pay always when you leave to avoid pay twice.
Regular buses depart from the long distance bus station (see 'Get Around') to destinations around Morocco:
- Tetouan - hourly buses until 18:00; Dh 15, 90 minutes.
- Tangier - two buses daily; Dh 27, 3 hours.
- Rabat - four buses daily, the last at 13:00; Dh 50, 4 hours.
- Casablanca - three morning buses, the last at 9:00; Dh 60, 5.5 hours.
- Meknes - three buses, the last at 15:30; Dh 45, 4 hours.
- Fez - four buses, the last at 13:30; Dh 50, 4 hours.
- Berbered and Ketama - daily buses at 08:00; Dh 20, 3 hours.
Grand taxis to Tetouan and Tangier depart from a street just off Plaza Mohammed V. Get to Septa (Spanish Ceuta) by taking the bus through Tetouan to Fnidek and then taking a cab to the border. Ignore touts trying to sell you documents at the border, since they are free at the passport window. No CTM buses go to Septa, so youll have to rely on regional. Dont pay more than 5Dh for a piece of luggage, and dont hand anybody big bills: they'll just walk away with them.
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