Morocco is home to one of the most diverse natural landscapes in the world, from Atlantic Ocean waves to the endless golden sands of the Sahara.
The venerable French newspaper Le Figaro released a list of the most captivating natural tourist attractions in Morocco on Sunday, highlighting the Kingdom’s endless variety of natural vistas.
The list takes the reader through a series of captivating sites in Morocco, from mountain gorges to the ever-shifting Saharan dunes.
Here are some of our favorite picks:
Todgha and Dades Gorges
These breathtaking gorges feature a series of limestone river canyons in the High Atlas Mountains, 180 kilometers to the east of Ouarzazate.
The Todgha and Dadès rivers have over millennia carved the 600-meter-high canyon on their final 40 kilometers through the mountains. The canyons are mostly dry, allowing visitors to walk along the massive natural corridors of white limestone.
Previously extremely difficult to reach, the Gorges are now easily accessible via an asphalt road connecting them to nearby hotels and resorts in the towns of Tinghir and Boulmane-Dades.
The Dakhla White Dunes
A must-see for anyone visiting Dakhla city is its White Dune beaches. The contrasting white-colored and fine sand and the nearby beach are unique to Morocco, representing the country’s natural variety, where sand, wind, and water create a spectacular attraction.
Kitesurfers will find the wind and manageable waves of the White Dunes beach perfect for practice. Excursions to the White Dunes are common in the city, with tourist operators providing transportation to the areas for swimmers, kitesurfers, and explorers alike.
Erg Chebbi
The spectacular Erg Chebbi is one of Morocco’s largest ergs, a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand, spanning around 28 kilometers from north to south and around 7 kilometers from east to west.
A five-hour drive from Ouarzazate and 45 minutes from the fossil town of Erfoud, the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi can reach colossal heights, up to 150 meters, illuminated by mesmerizing shades of pink and orange in the sunsetting sky.
God’s Bridge
Seemingly built by humans, a naturally formed rock structure known as God’s Bridge is found in the town of Akchour in the Rif Mountains in the north of Morocco. The Bridge gets its divine name from its uncanny similarity to human-built bridges, but locals have long said it is shaped by divine intervention to allow them to traverse the mountain cliffs.
God’s Bridge and the nearby waterfalls are best explored during spring when the surrounding forest is most lush.
The Akchour waterfalls color the sides of the Rif regions with rainbows as sunrays refract through their crashing water, a mesmerizing experience for anyone with the willpower to hike up the Rif Mountains. Hikers can also take a dip in the many small lakes in Talassemtane National Park leading up to God’s Bridge.