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Top 10 Places to visit in Morocco

Morocco Travel Series The Top Ten places to visit in Morocco Morocco is one of the most diverse countries the world and certainly in the recent years it’s growing out to become the No. 1 tourist destination on its own right. Today’s numerous economical flights, which now fly to over 6 cities in Morocco enable anyone to drop there and spend a great weekend in one of the beautiful cities of the country. No matter if you want to do a cultural exploration of the Islamic – Oriental- Northern African cultural heritages, if you want a culinary tour, or some days of Sun-Sea-Sand, you can now combine all these when in Morocco. In this article I would like to provide you some guidance on what I think are the top 10 things you shouldn’t miss out on trying or doing when in Morocco. Visit the Old District of Fez Fés Medina the world famous leather manufacture     Having the biggest, untouched oriental souk (Medieval market) quarter in the whole world (als

Top 10 Natural Wonders of Morocco - Part 4

Morocco Travel: 

The Top 10 Natural Wonders of Morocco

Part 4

Kelaat M'Gouna: the Valley of Roses


Rose Valley Morocco
Everything is about the roses in Kelaa



Watching the photos of Kelaat M’ Gouna (or El Kelaa as it’s often called by the locals) I first couldn’t believe my eyes, or that such place can really possibly exist! But indeed, this uniquely beautiful place, is the place where there are beautifully pink Damask Roses everywhere for a couple of weeks every year, covering May, when the whole process of harvesting rose-petals is crowned with an alone-standing festival called Festival of the Roses. El Kelaa is the country’s largest manufacturers of the world famous rose- oil and rose-water that’s also a vital part of Moroccan cuisine and it’s also used for religious ceremonies and for weddings.

The home of Moroccan Rose Oil


El Kelaa is literally the home of the Moroccan Rose Oil, which is used in dozens of beauty products in Morocco, can be bought here straight from the manufacturer once you are at El Kelaa. Your eyes are guaranteed to see pink, pink and even pinker and as an addition all products are also pink too! Keep in mind the quantities which are pretty shocking: 3 tons of rose petals are necessary to produce 1 liter of rose water. But before harvesting, when you visit El Kelaa, you will see roses flourishing everywhere. It’s a 4200 km long route where the roses flourish so, just imagine how much a treat it gives the eye.

Historically Kelaat M’Gouna met with roses with the help of the French who brought the culture of rose growing and manufacturing rose oil and rose water in 1938 when it also opened the first distillery in the area. Since then, El Kelaa is the rose-land of Morocco. As for the process of Rose oil making, this is done with the process called steam-distilling and rose water is in fact the by-product of this process.

The Rose festival lasts for 3 days with parade, music and food and it’s a thing of beauty to witness therefore it’s fame  is growing slowly and steadily, with the number of tourists visiting El Kelaa specifically for this festival. This is a Berber celebration during which the Rose Queen is chosen and paraded around the village with lots of music and food present. This festival is getting to be more and more known about and there is a growing number of tourists visiting el Kelaa during May just to take part in this very unique and so really colorful celebration.


El Kelaa is a Berber village that is situated in the Northern Atlas mountains and its part of the Dades Valley region, located very close to the similarly popular Ourzazate which is around 3-4 hours by train or by bus from Marrakech and it’s easy to reach by a local or CTM bus. From Ourzazate it is best to take a taxi, but make sure you be careful with the price, it shouldn’t be more than 2-3 EUR per trip. 

If you would only like a daily visit, sign up for a daily guided tour which explores the Dades Valley generally organized from Marrakech or Agadir, the two nearest large cities to the Dades region (about which I will talk more in detail in the next chapter of my Morocco Top Ten series).

Check out the great article of Telegraph written on the yearly Rose Festival

Check out more photos of Kelaat M'Gouna on my Pinterest by clicking here.

Continue reading to Part 5 by clicking here.


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