Backpack Travel – Marrakech, Morocco

First adventure of 2019: Marrakech, Morocco. A city I've been wanting to visit for years, and I finally realised this little dream of mine. If you are a solo traveller like me, and would like to seek some good advices, or if you simply plan to visit this beautiful north Africa city and are curious to find out more about it, I am going to tell you all my impressions, tips and the itinerary I followed.

Around the Koutoupia (as above)

A cheap, yet beautiful and charming place

Marrakech is not an expensive city at all. If you're planning on a cheap trip, but would like to explore an exotic, charming, and especially warm place, then Marrakech is the one you're looking for. I've been there in March, and temperatures were on the 22-25 degrees, so beautifully warm without being too hot.

Jema el Fna square

As I said, accommodation, food, transport and shopping are absolutely not expensive, so your holiday will make your wallet pretty happy. The currency they use there is the Moroccan Dirham: 10 dirham correspond to 1 euro, to give you an idea of the currency value. You can change money at the airport, and can keep some euros with you if you like, as most places accept both dirham and euros. You can also use debit/credit cards, although, as you can easily imagine, not all places take cards. Hotels and most restaurants do, but the charm of Marrakech lies in its little markets, shops and food stalls, so I recommend you to always keep some cash on.

According to your budget, you can find really expensive hotels, or cheaper ones. The cheaper ones are usually located in the Medina, the true historic heart of Marrakech, rich in riots and small, narrow streets. Now, as charming as they can be, some of them are not even signed on google maps, so be careful when you look for your place. People living there are more than willing to help you out and show you where to go, and well, they might ask for a little tip for the favour they did to you. You can also call the hotel and ask them for direction.

A city you can explore in two days

You can walk through the city, and explore all of it in two days, if you have a good plan. Marrakech is not massive, and its core is concentrated in the historical centre, the Medina, and the surrounding beauties.

The Atlas Mountains

Obviously one of the must see places is the main square, the Jemaa el Fna. Delicious food stalls, story tellers, snake charmers, stands of home made local products (scarves, rugs, leather shoes), you can find a bit of everything in this charming place. Beautiful to explore in daylight, it becomes magical when the sun sets and the lights are switched on.

From there you can walk to the Koutoupia Mosque and its stunning minaret, the oldest of the three great towers built during the 12^th century. From there you can have a relaxing walk in the gardens, see the remains of the old mosque, and if you like, have a ride around the city on a little chariot.

Ait Benhaddou – Yunkai the Yellow City

Explore the little local markets, and have a look at the walls surrounding the city. The ancient doors which gave access to merchants and visitors in the past are still there, and some of them are spectacular, like the Bab Agnau. Close to that are the rests of the marvellous Badi Palace (70 dirham to enter), which used to be the palace of Sultan Ahmed el Mansour. Nearby the Badi Palace is the Mellah, the Jewish quarter.

Don't forget to sop in one of the typical the house and sip their delicious Moroccan Tea (I absolutely loved it!!), which is also a great souvenir to bring home.

The northern part of the city is called “La Ville Nouvelle,” and is less “chaotic” than the central Medina. There are beautiful Mosques to visit, museum and old buildings, like the Ben Youssef Medersa, a school where students learnt the Koran by rote.

Outdoors Trips

The one experience that, in my opinion, was worthy the whole travel, was the two days Desert Trip. You can find two different types of desert trips, one which lasts two days and one night, and another one which lasts three days and two nights. I opted for the first one as I didn't have much time, and I loved it nonetheless.

Ouarzazate

There are plenty of agencies that organise these trips, but you can easily book the tickets in your hotel as well. I paid 55.00 euros for the two days option. It is on the tiring side, as you will need to travel something like 5-6 hours to reach Zagora, the beautiful city on the door of Sahara Desert, on a little van, but believe me, its worthy.

During the trip you will see the High Atlas Mountains, and stop to visit some awesome places, with English (but also French and Spanish) guides showing you around. The city I visited during the first day was called Ait Benhaddou – Yunkai the Yellow City. It is unbelivable to think that this city, entirely built in clay, has remained intact for so many centuries. In this wonderful location scenes from other famous movies, like The Gladiator and Indiana Jones, were filmed.

In the evening the van reaches the desert (not the middle of the desert of course, but the very beginning of it) and the camp with the tents where to spend the night. Locals bring tourists to the camp letting them ride a camel, an experience I loved and will never forget. You can admire the sun setting in the desert dunes, while local people prepare a typical dinner for the visitors; they set a fire in the middle of the camp, lay some rugs on the floor and let people admire the night sky, full of the brightest stars you can imagine. I swear I've never seen so many stars in my life, it was absolutely magical.

In the morning they call you out for breakfast, but also to witness the sun rising and enlightening the soft dunes. Its spectacular, I struggle in finding the words to describe how much I loved it.

The second day will bring you back to Marrakech, but again you will visit some other lovely places, like Ouarzazate, the gateway to the Sahara desert, and also home to a cinema museum and the Kasbah Taourirt movie studio.

I loved my little holiday in this magic city. I ate some delicous, typical food, explored magical places, and fell in love with the starry sky (and the camels!). I hope this little post of mine was helpful if you're planning to visit Marrakech too, and if you have any questions at all feel free to ask, I will be happy to answer. Talk to you very soon, lots of love

M.