The Mountains
Rural Attractions in Tetouan
M’hammad Benaboud,
Tetouan’s surrounding geographical environment is ideal for rural tourism. Tetouan was built on the edge of Mount Dersa facing Mount Ghorghez from which the range of the Rif Mountains stretch eastwards all the way to the frontiers with Algeria.
The Rif Mountains are not as high as the Atlas Mountains. The highest Mountain in the Rif is Tidighin which is about 2500 meters high, while Mount Toubqal and Mount al-Ayashi in the High Atlas Mountains are more than 4000 meters high. However, the Rif Mountains have the advantage of being green throughout the year because of their proximity to the Mediterranean coast which stretches from Tetouan to Sebta northwards and from Tetouan to Alhoceima, Nador and Saidia eastwards. The vegetation, forests, rivers, streams, waterfalls, springs, natural pools, lakes, natural parks and rough mountains of Northern Morocco make this area an interesting tourist attraction.
The rural culture of Northern Morocco is equally attractive, both in the Jebala or Arabic speaking tribes and the Rif or Berber speaking tribes. The villages in the Jebala region offer a specific local culture and traditions, ranging from local dress such as colorful mendils and Mexican style hats, cuisine, which includes unique local plates like baysar, music which combines female and male voices and rudimentary musical instruments and local architecture. The oral traditions of this region include rich popular tales, especially women’s stories.
The villages in the Jebala region of Tetouan are distributed among numerous tribes such as the Beni Hozmar where the city was built as well as Beni Said, Beni Hassan, Beni Idder, Beni Arous, Wadras and Jbel Habib. The white washed Irish style cottages of this area stand out in the villages of the mountains, plains and Mediterranean coast of the Jebala region.
Tetouan is surrounded by mountains. The Hauz Mountains overlooking the road from Tetouan to Sebta are among the most beautiful in the area. Mount Musa stands near Belyunesh stands high overlooing the Straits of Gibraltar. In the opposite direction, beautiful mountains stretch from Tetouan to Chauen, with Mount Kelti standing proudly with its 1926 meter peak. The Aqshur region is among the most interesting in the region with its streams, rivers, waterfalls and unique sites like God’s Brigdge or Al Kantara Drabbi, which is where the river crosses a mountain.
The mountains continue in different directions, from Chauen to Mount Bouhashem where a national park has been created lately and Mawlay Abdeslam, a sufi saint who is visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all parts of Morocco and from abroad every year. The scenery around the unique historical site of Mawlay Abdeslam’s mausoleum is extraordinary. Besides the forests and natural springs of cristal clear cold rich mineral water in this area, it is possible, on clear days, to sea the Mediterranean coast from a distance of approximately seventy kilometers.
The rural surrounding areas of Tetouan offer a combination of natural geographical ressources, rural cultural traditions and customs and local artistic and architectural elements.
Some of the interesting places to visit in the nearby surrounding area of Tetouan include Kitan with its numerous farms and large variety of fruits, Zarqa, a natural waterfall and pool only seven kilometers from downtown Tetouan or Ain Bu’nan, a natural spring of water overlooking the city from the mountain, where traditional cafes offer their clients tasty mint tea and from which one can start walking straight into the rural areas of Mount Ghorghez in order to take a one or five hour mountain hike.