Chefchaouen, the blue city of Morocco

Chefchaouen is located in the northwestern part of the country of Morocco. Its whitewashed streets of blue and white irregular layout invite you to discover each of its corners.

To reach the town of Chefchaouen is to know another of the essential places that the traveler must know and visit if he is in Morocco.

Chaouen, which is what it was called when it was founded by the Berbers in the fifteenth century, welcomed the Moors and Jews who were expelled from Spain at that time and who in this half-mountainous enclave created their beautiful and charming medina.

Long ago Chaouen was a sacred city, this means that foreigners were forbidden, this has favored the maintenance of its medieval structure, such as its Kasbah and its medina.

Medina Chefchaouen

The Medina of Chaouen is a meandering medina that goes up and down astonishing the tourist who visits it, in each of its streets there is a magical corner that you will surely want to take a photo to take with you as a souvenir. Its blue and white streets are like this to relieve the suffocating summer heat and scare away mosquitoes.

¿How to get to Chefchaouen?

Chefchaouen, which is its name since the independence of Morocco in 1956, is easy to reach by car crossing Ceuta from Algeciras, or by direct flight from Madrid to Tangier.

In both cases you must pass through the city of Tetouan, whose medina is very worth visiting, and proof of this is that it has been declared a World Heritage Site.

And from Tetouan you will gradually climb up a winding road, in which it will be impossible for you to go to a bus, which will take you to the foot of the mountains where the city of Chefchaouen is located.

¿What to see and do in Chefchaouen?

But, ¿what will you find when you get to Chefchaouen?

Your visit to Chefchaouen should focus on walking and enjoying the charm of its medina, for which I advise you to enter through its main door.

This access is provided with an entrance arch located south of the medina, which you find on the main street that crosses this small Moroccan city from west to east.

Well, indeed, when you arrive in Chefchaouen do not expect to meet a small town, but it is a small city of about 40,000 inhabitants, capital of the province of the same name, in the region of Tangier-Tetouan.

Souk of the medina of Chefchaouen

From the entrance arch of the Chefchaouen medina you must go up the narrow alley that will eventually take you to the nerve center of it, the Uta el-Hamman square.

This alley is a real souk with a succession of souvenir, clothing and handicraft shops, which if you visit Chefchaouen on a bridge or during vacation time, you will find it to overflow with people, to the point that you can feel some overwhelm .

Kasba in Uta el-Hamman square

It is a fortress that has been restored and inside now houses a small ethnographic museum. You will also be struck by the Great Mosque of the 15th century, which shows an octagonal tower that is a very unusual configuration in the mosques of Morocco.

Artisan shops in Chefchaouen

The artisans and local artists will show you their artistic works in the shops that are dotted by this high part of the medina.

Chilabas in Chefchaouen

Precisely one of the most characteristic images of Chefchaouen, and that from my point of view give it greater charm, are the wool chilabas with hood.

It is a garment of a rural character that during the winter season carries practically the entire local population.

Viewpoint of the Wall

If you have time we recommend you climb to the top of the town, where the wall that surrounds the town of Chefchaouen is located. From here it is possible to have a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding mountains.

¿Where to eat in Chefchaouen?

The vast majority of Chefchaouen’s restaurants are concentrated around the Uta el-Hamman square or nearby.

The restaurant advised by local people is Hassan, in the upper part of the square.

Quite large and very touristy, there you find a menu to choose with Moroccan cuisine and good price.

Another recommended restaurant is Casa Aladín, easily recognizable by its covered gazebo and its terrace that rises above the square.

If you want to know more about Chefcaouen you will have to visit it for yourself, a visit that I advance will always remain in your memory.