What to do in Morocco. Best plans

If you are planning a trip to Morocco you will be interested to know what are those plans that will make your trip an unforgettable experience. Here we tell you unique experiences, things to do in Morocco for all tastes that will remain in your memory forever.

1- Spend a night in the Sahara desert

Probably one of the unique experiences you can live in Morocco is to spend a night in the desert. One of the things you should not miss if you visit Morocco. Generally it is an excursion that begins in the afternoon. An hour or two before nightfall all the people who go to sleep at the jaimas camp meet to ride the dromedaries that will take them there. If the idea of ​​the dromedary is not for you, it also offers you the possibility of arriving in 4 × 4.

What to do in Morocco: sahara desert

Once arrived at the camp where the dromedaries are allowed to rest in the “dromedary parking”. The Berbers of the camp welcome you with Moroccan tea and pastries and install you in your jaima. Before dinner there is free time to enjoy the magic of the desert. In the middle of the dunes, time stops and the senses become more acute, it is a sensation that can only be experienced in places like this. The desert offers a multitude of possibilities and everyone can enjoy it in their own way.

Dinner is served in a large jaima restaurant. These are typical dishes of Moroccan cuisine. After dinner a bonfire will be lit around which we will sit and listen to traditional Berber songs live. In Berber culture, both men and women practice percussion naturally from childhood. Those interested can learn to play some rhythms. Before going to sleep, anyone who wants to can climb one of the dunes that surround the camp to admire the thousands of stars that can be seen desert. The image is recorded in the memory of all those who visit the Sahara.

The next morning, visitors who want to see the sunrise will be called early. In this case it is worth the effort to get up. Depending on the camp you book breakfast is served before returning to town with the dromedaries or once in the hotel to which the camp belongs. You can find more information about this experience here.

In addition to this experience, the desert offers many more things to do. For the more adventurous there is the possibility to book some activity in the desert like driving quads, buggies or a walk through the dunes in 4 × 4. You can also hire yoga or meditation classes and in summer sand baths that relieve muscle aches and eliminate toxins.

2- Enjoy a hammam

Among the best things to do in Morocco this is probably the most relaxing plan if you need to relieve everyday stress. Hammams are part of the daily life of many Moroccans. Similar to a Turkish bath, a public hammam is a steam room where people go to bathe and relax. This is usually a weekly ritual and is considered a social activity in towns and cities, in which men, women and children participate. The bathrooms are separated by gender and many people spend hours here chatting with friends. While in Islamic culture women are usually covered from head to toe in public, they are completely naked in hammams.

morocco-hammam

There are two types of hammams, those attended by locals and prepared for tourists. Those who use the premises generally have really low prices and to access them it is better to be accompanied by a local. The rest, in general more luxurious and often part of a hotel have higher prices but also usually include more services. In general, when you enter the hammam spa, you will get a bucket, a reclining mat, some black soap and exfoliating gloves. You can also hire someone to exfoliate you or even a massage.

If you plan to try this experience in Morocco, bring a change of underwear and clothes, a hairbrush, a bathrobe or towel and flip flops. Each spa is different, but it is better

3- WHAT TO DO IN MOROCCO: DISCOVER THE MOROCCO GASTRONOMY

Many tourists tend to look for food from their home country wherever they go. Maybe for fear of getting sick or just out of habit. If you travel to Morocco, one of the best things to do is enjoy the tasty and varied cuisine of this country. Moroccan food is spicy and sometimes somewhat spicy but if you are one of those who do not like spicy you can always order without it. Each dish fills our palate with a multitude of exotic and familiar flavors, making each of our meals a true travel experience.

The best advice is to try everything that catches your eye, but we recommend the following typical dishes:

what to do in morocco couscous

Couscous (wheat semolina seed) cooked and accompanied by vegetables, lamb, beef or chicken, is one of the most traditional dishes, which are usually prepared at home on Fridays.

Tajine:  is another of the dishes that you will find everywhere. Like couscous, you can eat it at a fairly cheap price in any restaurant, and the amount is usually important, so it can be shared between two.

This delight owes its name to the container in which it is prepared, a clay casserole with a conical lid, and there are different varieties among which the Lamb Tajine with legumes, almonds and plums, seasoned with cinnamon or saffron, and Chicken Tajine, with lemon, olives and a spicy tomato sauce very spicy.

The Pastilla or Pastry: is a very elaborate dish, with an almost aphrodisiac taste with layers of puff pastry filled with slices of chicken or dove meat, interspersed with almond paste, all baked and seasoned with cinnamon and icing sugar.

Bissara It is a simple bean puree with a generous jet of olive oil that you can see that they serve in a multitude of places during breakfast or as an accompaniment to other dishes. To dip with bread!

Harira. This very strong soup is highly appreciated by Moroccans. It consists of lamb or veal, legumes, tomatoes and some pasta, seasoned with black pepper, coriander and ginger. Highly recommended for dinner.

Kefta: Meatballs with tomatoes and eggs. The Kefta could well remind the meatballs with a more spicy flavor: minced meat seasoned with pine nuts, onion, garlic, parsley, hot pepper, cumin and olive oil, which is served in different ways and is a real pleasure for the palate .

4- Go shopping for souks

The souks are a very important part of Moroccan life. Not only for shopping but because they become an essential element of social life. Depending on the place the souks can be permanent, that is, every day they work or only one or several days a week. Without any doubt one of the essential things to do in Morocco is to go to a souk. You don’t have to buy anything but at least walk through it. In these markets, you can find handmade products, food and virtually anything that comes to mind. If you feel like buying something, don’t forget that in Morocco it is essential to haggle to get a good price. In this article you can find an infallible technique to achieve it. It is something that should not stress you or make you angry, take it as something not so serious since you are not playing a good sum, joke with the seller and enjoy the experience.

Jma el fna souk

5- WHAT TO DO IN MOROCCO (SPORTS): Learn or enjoy surfing in Morocco

For those who love sports and water sports, surfing, wind-surfing or quite-surfing are two good activities to do in Morocco. Whether you are experienced or for newbies you will find good beaches that lend themselves to it with not very high prices for classes and material. If you are looking for good waves in Morocco, along its 1835 kilometers of Atlantic coast, there are Many places that lend themselves to it. Without doubt, the best surfers in Morocco are in the south, between Essaouira and Agadir.

6- WHAT TO DO IN MOROCCO (WOMEN): Get a henna tattoo

One of the things that most women like to do in Morocco is a henna tattoo. When you return home it will still take you a few days keeping alive the illusion of your trip through Morocco. These tattoos are nothing expensive and you can get a Moroccan woman to make you one in many places. We recommend that your guide or your hotel inform you of where to do it or what is the maximum price you should pay for one.

Henna is a paste that is prepared by spraying the leaves and branches of a small bush. In Morocco women usually prepare tea and with this they make pasta. Tea enhances the color of henna. Keep in mind that the color that remains with natural henna depends on where it is applied. There is a big difference between the palm of the hand and the inner face of the arm compared to the outside.

henna tatto

After henna has been applied, the paste dries in 5 or 10 minutes. Once all areas of the design have dried and dried henna begins to crack it is recommended to moisten it with a mixture of lemon juice, tea and sugar. This process can be repeated 2 or 3 times before the paste is removed and helps the color to be fixed on the skin.

The tattoo is temporary and will gradually lose color. If it is natural henna between 7 to 14 days after its application there will be no trace of this

The art of applying temporary henna tattoos on the hands and feet has been traditionally used for celebrations and rites of passage: marriage engagements, weddings, births, religious holidays and festivals.

Moroccans believe in black magic and the evil eye. In general, traditionally the symbols are to protect you from the evil eye. It has always been considered to have positive powers, and is applied to obtain luck, as well as joy and beauty and protect yourself from disease. Many women usually get tattooed but it is at weddings when they all do it. It is a social act, usually the first day of the wedding, when women get together they get tattoos between them. Many times they are the youngest who tattoo the rest.