7 reasons why everyone should visit Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen is a small city in Northern Morocco. Chefchaouen is commonly known as being The Blue Pearl of Morocco because of its’ vibrant blue hue. I have fantasized about going to Chefchaouen ever since I heard about this incredible city. Blue is my favorite color and just the idea of surrounding myself in the sea of blue was only something I could ever dream of. I could not believe that I was actually going to be able to visit. I first heard about Chefchaouen last April when I was deciding where to go on this scholarship, my French teacher said that Chefchaouen was a photographers dream. I hadn’t paid that much attention to my itinerary, so I had no idea that Chefchaouen even existed. I looked at some images on google and I was obsessed. There were many reasons to why I chose Morocco, but Chefchaouen was one of the biggest. I loved my visit to Chefchaouen, it was one of the better parts of my trip to Morocco, and I believe that if you are someone who likes to travel, Morocco should be on your list, but especially Chefchaouen. Here are 7 reasons why everyone should visit Chefchaouen at some point in their lifetime.

1. Because it is Blue

There are many cities known for colors, Toulouse in the south of France is known for its pink hue, Cinque Terre, Italy for its rainbow city, Jaipur, India, the pink city, Marrakech, Morocco the red city, and of course Chefchaouen, the blue pearl. Almost every building is a shade of blue (One of our scavenger hunt items was to take a picture of a not blue building, I found two, one brown and one brown and green.) The shade is mostly a bright turquoise ish blue, but they all range in shades. Even down to the streets and alleys are blue. It really is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Although, no one should ever let me move to Chefchaouen, I will be that one person that buys a house in the middle of town and paints it a completely contrasting color and calls myself “the transplant.” With my crazy ideas aside, the blue color of Chefchaouen is something worth seeing at least once in your life.

2. The Spanish Mosque

This isn’t as much of a reason why you should visit Chefchaouen as much of something you should do while in Chefchaouen, but the result is a reason to visit Chefchaouen. Chefchaouen is nestled on the side of a hill, and just across the valley at the top of another hill is a mosque. If you are going to the mosque from the médina (old town), it can be a little bit of a hike, about 30 minutes, but it is so worth it. From the top you overlook all of the beautiful city of Chefchaouen. It is absolutely breathtaking to see. The night we went up to the Spanish Mosque was our final night in Morocco, and we were in the city that I had been looking forward to the most, this hike was by far the perfect way to end the perfect trip.

3. Only four and a half hours from Spain

This isn’t quite as relevant to my trip to Morocco, but it is definitely something worth considering. Chefchaouen is only about four and a half hours from Gibraltar, the southernmost tip of Spain, including the ferry, and drive time. If you are spending time down by Gibraltar, and can add an extra day or two to your trip, make the trip into Chefchaouen. You won’t be disappointed. Yeah, four hours may be long, but it is evenly divided up, two hours on the ferry, two hours driving, and I am sure that there are numerous bus tours that take you from Tangier (the city in Morocco just on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar) to Chefchaouen if you are worried about driving. Yeah, it is a lot of travel, but if you go to Chefchaouen, you can also add another country to your list, add another continent, and you can experience another culture that is completely contrasting to European and Spanish culture.

4. The entire city is a Souq

It might not be quite like the souqs (markets) of Marrakech, but in my personal opinion, the souq of Chefchaouen is better. You still have the unique moroccan souq feel, but all without the sensory overload of Jemaa el Fna (the world famous souq in Marrakech). There are no motorcycles whizzing by, no donkeys, and not as many people. The souqs in Marrakech were difficult for me to handle, I loved it and I am glad I got to have that experience, but if you are looking to actually shop, Chefchaouen is better. There is almost the exact same selection of souvenirs, it's much easier to navigate, and you can focus more on shopping.

5. There are cats everywhere

For some people this might not be as cool, but it was definitely one way that Chefchaouen was heaven for me. There were so many cats there. Now, I wasn't allowed to touch any animals while I was there, which makes sense. They could carry diseases, and they have a different level of cleanliness than they do here, so it is just not a great idea to, and I agree with the rule, but that doesn't mean that I couldn't help but smile at them. We did have to shoo them away from our area at lunch, but besides that they stayed away from humans and made for some interesting photography subjects.

6. Unique

Chefchaouen is one of the most interesting and unique places I have ever been to. How often is it that you come across a city that is almost entirely one color. It truly is one of the most surreal places I have ever visited. The entire time I was there I felt like I was on another planet. It was seriously one of the most fascinating places I have ever been to.

7. One of the best places to have a scavenger hunt

One of the things our group did while we were in Chefchaouen was a big scavenger hunt. There are a lot of famous sites all around the médina, such as the kasbah, the christmas tree, waterfall, the gardens, the city walls, community ovens, the famous arch, and the mosque. We were given a budget of 210dh ($21 USD) to also buy a few things like scarves, the quintessential hats, dates, shoes, fruit, and coffee. We also had to get some silly photos like a kung fu fight, jumping picture, a space we didn't think we would all fit in, and a photo with some locals. We were split up into groups of three for this activity, and my group won. The scavenger hunt was definitely one of the highlights of my entire trip.

Here concludes my 7 reasons why I love Chefchaouen and why everyone should visit. It is one of my favorite places I have ever been to if not the best place I've ever been to. If I am going to be perfectly honest, I think I like it more than I like Paris, but Paris will always have a special place in my heart.