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Rif Mountains
The Rif is the most northerly of Morocco's mountain chains. There are some good hikes to be had in the region from the most popular town for tourists, Chefchaouen, with its pastel blue medina. An alternative base in the Rif is Tetouan, which has some fine Spanish colonial architecture.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Rif Mountains.
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Medina
Winding alleyways, cute doorways and charming plazas all in many shades of blue – this is what has attracted millions to this tiny village in the Rif Mountains, and there's no sign tourism will let up. Despite overcrowding, Chefchaouen's medina is still well worth the visit. The heart of the medina is the shady, cobbled Plaza Uta El Hammam, dominated by the red-hued walls of the kasbah and the adjacent Grande Mosquée.
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Royal Artisan School
Just outside Bab El Okla is the best artisan centre in northern Morocco. This is a fascinating opportunity to see masters teaching apprentices traditional arts, including ornamental woodwork, silk costumes, carved plaster, intricate mosaics and decorative rifles. A fantastic central treasury holds the best of the best – don’t miss the ceiling. Staff will open it upon request. Built in 1928, the building itself is notable, and is set around a large Andalusian-style courtyard, with fine doors upstairs.
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Medina
Tetouan's medina is an authentic time machine, with buildings that have witnessed centuries of history. The medina is also very traveller-friendly, with moped-free lanes, few street hustlers, amiable residents and a general lack of congestion. Luckily for you, it doesn't get the attention it deserves.
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Tetouan Museum of Modern Art
Tetouan boasts one of only two schools of fine arts in Morocco (Casablanca has the other), so it's fitting that this museum should live here. The building itself is worth a visit: a magnificent Spanish-castle-like building that was once the railway station to Ceuta. It has been carefully renovated to protect the artworks and to provide ample light inside. The museum houses contemporary Moroccan art and has visiting exhibitions.
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God's Bridge
About 45 minutes from Akchour (1.5km), a huge reddish-brown stone arch towers 25m above the river Oued Farda. Unbelievably, the bridge wasn't carved by human hand, but rather by the river's flow over countless millennia. As the river carved a path deeper and deeper, it left the bridge high and dry. To get here, go right at the Akchour dam and hug the steep mountainside all the way to the bridge. Alternatively, go down the canyon and follow along beside the river to look up at the bridge. The trip can be challenging either path you take. Don't try to descend to the water from where the bridge meets the mountain – loose rocks have been known to give way. Small cafes along the water and at the bridge sell tea and tajines.
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Akchour Waterfalls
Cascading over smooth jagged rocks, the Akchour waterfall feeds into a turquoise pool. The view is breathtaking, especially when enjoyed with a fresh juice or tea supplied by vendors who make the two-hour trek here every morning. Guides in Akchour will try and sell you a round-trip tour, but the path here is mostly flat and easy to navigate. Simply take a left at the dam and go up the hill along the well-trodden path. You'll pass a smaller waterfall at about 45 minutes. Tajine and beverage vendors are stationed every 10 to 15 minutes along the route.
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Place Hassan II
The broad and empty Place Hassan II, which is mostly roped off for security reasons, links the medina to the Ensanche. It looks like it houses the Wizard of Oz, with guards standing in front of the long flat facade of the Royal Palace, and four somewhat bizarre columns towering all around. These are not minarets, as one might suppose, but art-nouveau light towers designed by Enrique Nieto, a student of modernist Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, who lived in Melilla. The large decorations on the opposite wall are abstract Hands of Fatima, a common symbol used to ward off the evil eye.
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El Peñón de Alhucemas
One of the plazas de soberanía (places of sovereignty), this extraordinary white island fortress can be seen a few hundred metres off Plage Sfiha, along with the uninhabited Isla de Mar and Isla de Tierra, which fly the Spanish flag. Spanish rule dates back to 1559, when the Saadi dynasty gave it to Spain in exchange for military assistance. In 1673 the Spanish military established a garrison there and never left. Today the fort hosts several dozen soldiers and cannot be visited. Spanish sovereignty has been contested by Morocco since independence in 1956.
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Plage Sfiha
A short retreat from the city, wide horseshoe-shaped Plage Sfiha looks out on the Spanish-controlled post-colonial relic, El Peñon de Alhucemas. A couple of other Spanish islands are also visible to the west. The beach is well maintained and lined with umbrella seating and restaurants in summer. Pedalos and jet skis are available for hire. A private cab here should cost about Dh60. Buses to Ajdir, near Plage Sfiha, leave from beside the Mobil petrol station at the south end of Blvd Mohammed V (Dh7).