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Introducing Morocco
Travel Alert: Travel to the Western Sahara region of Morocco is not advised due to the presence of landmines. Check Safe Travel for current government warnings.
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Morocco has always been a crossroads between Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and nowhere evokes this sense more than Tangier, that faded poster boy for Europe’s often decadent but sometimes creative presence on Moroccan shores. From Tangier, turn south along Morocco’s Atlantic Coast and you’ll be accompanied by a sea breeze that massages the ramparts of wonderful cities whose names – Essaouira, Casablanca, Asilah, Rabat – and atmosphere carry a whiff of African magic. Travel east along the Mediterranean coast and you’ll be bidden into enchanting towns and the mountains of the Rif.
Morocco is sensory overload at its most intoxicating, from the scents and sounds that permeate the medinas of Fès and Marrakesh to the astonishing sights of the landscape.
If it’s mountains you love, Morocco has them in abundance, rising from the Rif into the Middle Atlas and on into the extraordinary contours of the High Atlas. This is land custom-built for trekking as you follow quiet mountain trails amid Berber villages and fields of flowers.
Then, suddenly, everything changes. The mountains fissure into precipitous gorges the colour of the earth, mud-brick kasbahs turn blood-red with the setting sun and the sense that one has stumbled into a fairytale takes hold. From rocky fortresses such as these, the Sahara announces its presence in Morocco with perfectly sculpted seas of sand.
At journey’s end, the solitude of the Sahara is ideal for contemplating why it is that Morocco has such cachet. The answer is simple: there is no place on earth quite like it.
Last updated: Jul 7, 2009
Tips & articles
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Staff favourites
26 February 2010
This week the staff of Lonely Planet have been writing unashamed love letters to their favourite destinations...
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Staff favourites: Jenny’s Morocco
22 February 2010
It’s no secret that here at Lonely Planet we love to travel. We all develop soft spots for particular...
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Greatest historical journeys: part one
16 February 2010
In the first of three instalments taken from Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences, we look...
Morocco
Our Top Picks For Morocco
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1 Fès
Immerse yourself in the colours and smells of the medieval medina, North Africa’s finest
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2 Marrakesh
Prepare for sensory overload in this city of souqs and storytellers
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3 Essaouira
Catch a sea breeze amid the ramparts and artistic ambience of this alluring Atlantic port
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4 Volubilis
Marvel at the ingenuity of the ancients in Morocco’s best-preserved Roman ruins
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5 Tangier
Dive into one of Morocco’s most clamorous cities with its echoes of artistic decadence
Fast Facts about Morocco
- Borders
Algeria closed; Mauritania open but no public transport
- Time
GMT/UTC
- Telephone
Country code 212; international access code 00
- Money
Dirham (Dh); US$1 = Dh8.5
- Visas
90-day visas issued on entry for most nationalities
- Seasons
Hot (June to August), cold (November to February)
- Area
446, 550 sq km (710, 000 sq km if you include Western Sahara)
- Population
33.2 million
- ATMs
Throughout the country except in small villages
- Capital
- Languages
Arabic, French, Berber
Related Groups
Our favourite Morocco Blogs (beta)
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Art Exhibition in Fez
Blog: The View from Fez - 10 March 2010
Belgian architect Mathy Engelen is in Fez this week to draw, paint and mount his new exhibition at Cafe Clock. The View from Fez takes a look.
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Wet wet wet in Fez
Blog: The View from Fez - 9 March 2010
No, not the Scottish boy band from the 80s, but rain, and a lot of it.a wet medina street
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Yacht marina planned for Tangier
Blog: The View from Fez - 9 March 2010
In December, The View from Fez team visited Tangier and found a city well worth visiting, one that has left its somewhat sleazy past behind and is now a great place to spend a few days (see the story here). A new yachting marina is planned for the 'white city', with construction starting next year.
