Cascade d’Ouzoud in Morocco

A highlight of a trip to Morocco is a trip to Cascade d’Ouzoud, labeled by the Lonely Planet as Morocco’s “best waterfalls”, and it really is a beautiful place!
The Ouzoud Waterfalls (110 m high) are located in the Grand Atlas village of Tanaghmeilt, in the province of Azilal, 150 km north-east of Marrakech, in Morocco. The falls are easily reached by car, you arrive here by passing through the tiny village of Ouzoud, continue pass the souvenir stalls (sometimes you have to move some of the stalls displays to get through) and the small stalls selling food and drinks, and start climbing down the stairs pass the many cafes. Right before starting on the stairs, you will have had your first view over the water falls, continue down and it just gets better and better!
We loved it there, the place had a very laid back feeling to it, and the falls were beautiful, too bad it was a little too cold to swim in the pools underneath the falls – some young Moroccan guys didn’t seem to mind though, and had a good splash around :-)



We stayed in the small and very simple guesthouse, that was right by the tracks to the waterfall. It was inexpensive and a fine place to stay the night.

The Heart of Marrakesh - Jemma El' Fna

Marrakesh I will always remember for its Jemma El’Fna. A grand plaza filled with all sorts of people and just a place of general mayhem! There were snake charmers, who were very happy to suddenly jump out and fling a snake around your neck – for a nice Kodak moment… Persistent henna ladies, fortune and story tellers (in Arabic), men with monkeys that you could hold for a few dirham, and then there was the juice stands, selling the best freshly squeezed orange juice ever. There was even a “dentist," whose quick extraction skills were advertised by a table full of teeth.



And that was just the plaza, beyond the plaza was the souqs. A world of shopping! I came out with a cute little teapot (Moroccan style), a scarf, some tea and my new price possession – a real Moroccan puf (you know, one of those round sets in leather). Everywhere you look goods are haggled for in tiny shops and stalls, often over glass after glass of what might be considered the national drink - hot mint tea as sweet as liquefied chewing gum.



You also have to stop by the “Magic Souk” where you can buy potions for all kinds of illnesses, live lizards, dried blowfish, turtle shells, shark fins and tea that will enhance everything from hair growth to fertility. Kids will also love this place!