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- Morocco – Everything You Need To Know Before You Go
- Essaouira- Morocco’s Surf and Art Town
- 16 Things to Do and See in Fes – Morocco’s Ancient City
- Akchour Waterfall – Morocco’s Lost Paradise
- Volubilis – Morocco’s Ancient Roman City
- A Trip to the Sahara Desert in Morocco
- Morocco 2.0 – Sometimes a Place Deserves a Second Chance
- Chefchaouen – Morocco’s Blue Pearl
- My Experience in Fes – The “Real” Morocco
- 20 Things to Do and See in Marrakesh
- 16 Fun Things to Do in Tangier
- Bungee Jumping at Victoria Falls
- Top Things to See in Botswana on a Budget
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- Top Things to Do at Victoria Falls – Africa’s Adventure Capital
- Top Things to See and Do in Namibia
- Southern and East Africa – Everything You Need To Know Before You Go
*Updated after revisiting in October 2018. I just had to see this beautiful waterfall again!
Some backpackers and I organized a day trip to Akchour waterfalls in the Rif Mountains from Chefchaouen for a day of hiking and swimming. We took a grand taxi to take us there and back. I pictured the “grand taxi” as a small van, but it was just a regular sized car. I suppose I should’ve known since “petit taxis” are minuscule cars. There were 7 of us, including the driver, in the 5 seat car, for the 45 minute drive to Akchour.
It’s all about the experience.
THE HIKE
Once you arrive at the hydro-electrical dam, near the beginning of the trail, the road will split into two directions- take the trail on the left to go to Akchour waterfall. The trail on the right leads to a rock formation called God’s Bridge, which takes about 45 minutes one-way. We didn’t hike there as we didn’t have enough time, but you can visit both the waterfall and God’s Bridge, if you start early enough. The locals are very friendly and will help point you in the right direction.
Without any real elevation gain, the hike was more of a long 5.5km trek each way for about 1.5-2 hours through beautiful landscape.
I hadn’t even heard of Akchour until I arrived in Morocco the day before and met a very kind and helpful Moroccan employee at the bus station, who helped me and excitedly insisted I must go to Akchour while in Chefchaouen. All I knew was that it was a hike that had a place to swim at the end. I had no idea there would be a jaw-dropping and stunning-beyond-words waterfall oasis of aqua green and turquoise water waiting at the end of the hike. Pictures don’t do it justice. The waterfalls are so high, you have to take a panoramic shot from the ground up to fit it all in.
I couldn’t wait to jump in the water after the hot and sweaty hike. I was warned that it was cold, but I figured it would be similar to lake water in Canada. Wrong. It was shockingly cold ice water. I jumped in and could not get out fast enough. I didn’t understand how the locals were swimming in it, especially when they’re used to such a hot climate. The same locals who hiked there in tracksuits and jeans on such a hot day.
When we finished our hike, we took another grand taxi back to Chefchaouen.
On the way back to Chefchaouen, we stopped by some marijuana fields. Marijuana fields are aplenty there because this part of Morocco is responsible for 42% of the world’s hash.
WHAT TO BRING
- Hiking shoes or sturdy sneakers.
- During the warmer months, bring your swimsuit.
- Toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
- Water and snacks. There are plenty of little stores along the way that serve tajines, water, snacks and Moroccan mint tea, so also bring some cash.
NEED TO KNOW
- The hike is 11km in total
- The trail map is on Maps.me – and offline map app that is a must for travel.
- Take a shared grand taxi from Chefchaouen there and back. The cost is 25D ($4.50) each way.
- Check the weather and temperature before you go. I visited Akchour twice- once in October 2014 when it was 30C+, and in October 2018 when it was around 20C.
- There are two waterfalls on the trail to Akchour. Make sure you go all the way to the end to see the “Grande Cascade” (the big waterfall), or you’ll be underwhelmed.
MORE INFORMATION ON TRAVELING MOROCCO
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO TO MOROCCO
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO TO NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
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well.. thıs place seemed to mıss me completely 🙁 soooo gutted I mıssed thıs. Looks so fun-ıncredıble. Ive trıed to contact you (fınd a contact) to thank you for checkıng my artıcles… apprecıate ıt.. also wanted to chat a lıttle to you… so ıf you feel lıke sendıng me your emaıl -or better yet postıng ıt here- woudl be great… 🙂 Incredıble spot.
Thanks! Yeah this spot pretty much ruined me for all future waterfalls. I don’t think anything will ever compare…
lcmertin@gmail.com
hi I plan to go soon in a few months to this place. I would like to request if you could please give some sort of a bullet point description of how to get to the waterfalls via a scenic route so we can go ourselves rather having to hire a guide or go our selves and get lost. Any sort of direction would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks
Great, you’ll love it! Everyone in the town of Chefchaouen will know how to get there because that’s the jump off point. You could hire your own car and the drive is very scenic. But be warned- this waterfall with forever ruin you for all future waterfalls. It’s so beautiful.
Welcome gascat Morocco