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A blue-washed stone stair in the medina, with a tiled doorway and blue door, a blue handrail along a tiled wall, straw hats trimmed with wool pompoms and potted plants hung on the walls
A stair lane in the medina · a blue door in a tiled arch at the top of the steps
Town brief · 35.1694°N 5.2600°W

Chefchaouen

A room inside Chefchaouen's blue medina puts the Spanish Mosque one short climb from your door, so you can watch the sun go down over the town from its hill and walk back down to dinner in the lanes.

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Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Chefchaouen

Akchour
Worth a second nightshared taxis take 40 to 55 minutes
When
Spring or autumnwinter is the wettest stretch of the year
Getting there
Coach or grand taxiCTM runs from Tangier, Tetouan and Fez
Money
Dirhams, in cashavoid paying by card where you bargain
Language
DarijaFrench and Spanish are the usual second languages
Airports
Tetouan TTUor Tangier TNG; coaches leave from each town
Akchour

Is Akchour worth a second night in Chefchaouen?

Yes, for a full day of walking. Akchour lies about 30 km from Chefchaouen on the road to Oued Laou, and two paths leave its dam, one to God's Bridge and one along the river to the falls. One night covers the medina and the evening climb to the Spanish Mosque; the second gives Akchour the day it needs.

When

When is the best time to visit Chefchaouen?

March to May and October to November, Morocco's most comfortable months. Winter brings daytime highs in the low teens Celsius and damp cobbles. Ramadan, expected from about 8 February to 9 March 2027, shortens opening hours.

Getting there

How do you get to Chefchaouen from Tangier?

By CTM coach or grand taxi, since the town has no railway. Four CTM coaches a day leave Tangier, stop in Tetouan and take two and a half to three hours, and grand taxis for Tetouan and Tangier wait beside the main bus station. The five daily CTM coaches from Fez, about four and a quarter hours, are often booked out days ahead.

Money

Do you need cash in Chefchaouen?

Yes. The dirham is the only currency officially accepted in Morocco, and card payments are rare in the medina. A cash machine stands at the south-western end of Outa el Hammam; check that it takes foreign cards before withdrawing.

Language

What language is spoken in Chefchaouen?

Arabic is the first language of almost all residents, spoken as Darija, Morocco's everyday vernacular. Spanish and French are the foreign languages most often heard in town, and French is a second language for many Moroccans.

Airports

Which airport is closest to Chefchaouen?

Tetouan Sania R'mel, TTU, about 6 km from Tetouan. From Tetouan town, CTM coaches reach Chefchaouen in about an hour and a half, and grand taxis also run. Tangier Ibn Battouta, TNG, lies about 13 km from Tangier.

Coaches pull into the CTM station about 15 minutes' walk below the medina, along Avenue Mohamed V, and grand taxis set down at the gates, not at riad doors. Book a riad inside the walls and ask which gate is nearest. Expect stairs with your bags.

Start at Outa el Hammam, the main square, where the red walls of the kasbah face the Grand Mosque. From the square, the blue lanes climb east toward the spring at Ras el-Ma and the path up the hill.

Give the second day to Akchour. Shared grand taxis leave from their own stand in town, so ask your riad where to find it. At the dam, the stairs on the right lead up to the God's Bridge path, and the river path carries on to the falls.

Stone riads hold the winter cold, and heating is often limited. Ask what a room has when you book, and pack a warm layer or a hot-water bottle for the night.

Things to do

9
  1. Chefchaouen Medina

    Chefchaouen Medina

    Old Town · 3 hr

    Take the stairs at your own pace, and ask before you photograph anyone in a doorway or at work in the lanes.

  2. Kasbah of Chefchaouen

    Kasbah of Chefchaouen

    Fortress · 30 min

    Go in by the main door on Outa el Hammam, climb the tower for the view over the square, then sit in the shaded garden.

  3. Akchour Waterfalls

    Waterfall · 5 hr

    Expect each shared taxi to leave only once every seat is filled, so allow for a wait at the stand in both directions.

  4. Casa Hassan

    Hotel

    Set a few steps from Outa el Hammam square, this traditional house hotel arranges its rooms around a covered courtyard of tiled floors and carved wood. A roof terrace looks over the blue lanes toward the mountains. The kasbah is a few minutes' walk away, and luggage arrives by hand through the lanes.

  5. God's Bridge

    Canyon · 5 hr

    A natural rock arch spans the river gorge above Akchour, inside Talassemtane National Park. The path leaves the river past the dam, climbs a little and then drops back to the water, 30 to 60 minutes one way. Rain and the spring melt raise the river, which makes the riverside stretches harder going.

  6. Grand Mosque

    Mosque

    Use the minaret as your compass: it stands over Outa el Hammam, so when the lanes turn you around, head for the tower and you are back at the main square.

  7. Ras el-Ma

    Waterfront · 30 min

    You pass the spring just east of the medina, outside the old walls, on the way up to the Spanish Mosque; stop to cool off by the water, where residents still come to talk and do their laundry.

  8. Spanish Mosque

    Viewpoint · 1.5 hr

    Turn back at the mosque unless you want a longer walk, because a trail carries on uphill from here to a second mosque.

  9. Talassemtane National Park

    Park · 5 hr

    Give the park a full day of its own; Akchour is the usual way in, and the village of El Kalaa also lies inside it.

Basemap Meridian · data © OpenStreetMap
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Sources 1

The official pages this guide was checked against.

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