Agadir Inoumar

Posted on 24/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Many of you may know Morocco’s coastal city Agadir, however, there are many places in Morocco with the name agadir. In general, the name agadir in the Berber language means wall, enclosure, or fortified building. Those usually were used as granaries and storage of another different kind of goods.

About Agadir Inoumar

There are lots of these old buildings all around Morocco, although most of them are almost collapsed and forgotten. One of these buildings, Agadir Inoumar, was our destination during our trip to Morocco.

We were told by people living in Morocco to go to visit Agadir Inoumar. At that time we did not have any idea about where are we going to see. We just got some guidance regarding the route to go. Have to mention that often Google Maps are useless in Morocco; I even contributed by drawing a new route after we returned from this trip, however, for some reason, it was not accepted by Google.

After our visit we got excited about this topic and we found a good article about Berber Granaries of Morocco – it may be worth reading it if you fancy visiting one of them.

Getting there

There is a very good recently built road if you wish to visit Agadir Inoumar, which is located near Afaïane; precise coordinates of Agadir Inoumar are 30.163274, -9.108826. If you drive from Taroudant, there is only one place where driving might be a bit difficult when you have to cross a riverbed near the Ciments du Maroc plant (coordinates: 30.196085, -9.176542). Here is the major part of the route on the map; after you reach the end of the route in Chtouka, simply continue towards the east; although not marked on Google maps, the road is excellent. Similarly, when you arrive from Agadir.

Normally, there is no water in this river, although, after a heavy rain, you may not be able to cross the river here at all as the bridge collapsed some time ago after very heavy rain. Arrival from Agadir via Biougra and Imi Mqourn (R105) must always be completely safe – you would not have to cross the river as you just pass it.

Visiting site

You may park your car near the site and will have to walk about two thousand feet (600 metres) downhill towards the south-west; you will not see it from the parking (parking place coordinates: 30.166697, -9.107983; it is not an official parking, just a place you may leave your car).

A large part of Agadir Inoumar has recently been renovated and well preserved. There is a guide (who does not speak English) who would show you around the place and explain its usage and history (with our very little knowledge of French we got some understanding).

After the visit, you may wish to leave some 50 MAD for the guide’s assistance and entry into the site. There is still a lot to be done and they would welcome your donations (there even was well well-equipped WC on site which came as a real surprise for us). They also have the Agadir Inoumar website where you may find some additional information in English.

Tafraout

Posted on 23/06/2025 by ainarsbl

I am reposting this blog to my new website in 2025. It still may be interesting to read about our Morocco trip in 2020 during COVID lockdown. After visiting Agadir, Paradise Valley and Taroudant, we went to Tafraout to spend the rest, or at least the major remaining part, of our trip in Morocco until we get a chance to travel back home.

Lockdown in Morocco

Although we were in quarantine near Taroudant for two weeks and had a document allowing us to go outside, our arrival was not straight forward at all. Despite all difficulties, we managed to get there and were requested to self-isolate for two weeks again.

During our stay in Tafraout, additional measures were introduced in Morocco, for example, mandatory wearing of face masks. I am not sure if curfew was introduced while we were there or before our arrival; in any case, from 10pm until 6am everybody had to stay inside, and police was patrolling in town every night to enforce the rules.

It was only around Ramadan when curfew was cancelled and later some less essential shops and market shops started opening, though wearing face masks on the streets was the requirement even after we left Morocco in June.

About Tafraout

From the very beginning of planning our trip, Tafraout was our last destination before returning home. Lockdown in Morocco made some changes in our plans, however, with some delay, we managed to get there anyway.

Tafraout is located in a beautiful valley of Anti-Atlas Mountains. It is a small town with around five thousand inhabitants and belongs to Tiznit Province of Souss-Massa region. It is a Berber town; not many Arabs live there, although all people are Muslims as it is common in Morocco.

To get there, we had very exciting road trip. We did choose some narrow and difficult mountain roads to cross the mountain range, although it was really worth it because of amazing landscapes around.

Accommodation

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we had to find a place where we could live independently. That means we wanted to have a kitchen to be able to prepare meals, bedroom, at least some kind of living room and internet connection. At that time, we both started working remotely.

Our employers supported us by all available means and were happy to wait until we return home, however we wanted to do something – the second time of self-isolation was becoming tough.

After those first two weeks we were allowed to go shopping, so we had much more physical activity and were able to see around. Later, as situation improved, we had a chance to spend more time outside and slowly returned to more or less normal life.

So, for more than two months, we enjoyed living in accommodation of private guesthouse Maison de Vacances Tafraout. It is located on the main street of the town, near to souk and all other amenities. In the same time, as the town is in a valley, going for hiking in nearby mountains was as easy as going to a shop – just a few minutes and you are there.

Marrakesh 2023

Posted on 19/06/2025 by ainarsbl

After a a few years, we returned to Morocco again and this time our destination was Marrakesh again.

Flight to Morocco

Marrakech’s location in central Morocco is quite ideal for visiting other places outside the city, but of course staying in the city itself and visiting its market is always exciting. I mentioned the Marrakesh market because we are very keen on using Moroccan spices and take every opportunity to renew our stock with fresh ones.

Although this time we flew from London Gatwick Airport and not from Glasgow as previously, we flew with EasyJet again. The reason is quite practical – the flight times offered by EasyJet are much more convenient than those offered by Ryanair. If you search hard enough and find the best offers, the price differences between airlines are minimal.

Another interesting observation – London Gatwick airport costs are lower, so even when flying from Riga to England, we first look to see if AirBaltic offers competitive prices. Unfortunately EasyJet does not fly to Riga.

Hotel

So we arrived at Marrakech Menara airport around midday and after relatively quickly passing through all the controls, we went to the chosen hotel. It should be noted here that this time we wanted to simply relax, so we had booked a hotel that offers an all-inclusive option. To be honest, the hotel transfer and, as it turned out, some other things (one bar, restaurant and also SPA treatments) were for a separate payment.
But, in the end, it was not a problem, because all what was included in the price was quite enough for lazy holidays (three meals, relatively good Spanish drinks, beer, alcoholic cocktails, pool bars with snacks and drinks, various activities, etc.).

A few more words about the hotel Kenzi Club Agdal Medina. It is located in the south of Marrakech, closer to the airport than the city centre. The buildings and surroundings are very interestingly designed – people thought well when designing. There were, of course, some cons as well.

For example, when we go to Morocco, we always plan to go to the hammam at least once (it’s a kind of Moroccan sauna, where the body is thoroughly soaped, then the old skin is scrubbed off with a scrub, washed and finally the process ends with relaxing tea drinking).

However, the hotel’s SPA complex was obviously much too small compared to the number of visitors. As a result of all this, we could not find free time to visit the hammam during the week – either everything was booked or we had something else planned.

Marrakesh market

As I said, we love Moroccan spices, so a trip to the Marrakech Central Market was a must.
There was a free bus service from the hotel to the Marrakesh city centre (round trip), which we decided to use. To be fair, it must be said that the bus does not take you to the centre itself, you have to walk at least a kilometre or so. This does not cause any problems if you do not mind walking around the city.

We even took a route a little off the tourist trail and found more secluded market squares. It must be said that tourists are everywhere in Marrakech, but there are places where there are more locals.

They call the market “souk” and there are a lot of them in the city (Arabs are traders, so that’s not a big surprise). There are markets like Souk Fekharine (pottery), Souk Attarine (spices), Souk Zrabi (carpets), Souk Dhabia (jewellery) and so on.

Bahia Palace

On the way to the central market (Jemaa el-Fnaa) we decided to visit the Bahia Palace. This palace (built between 1866 and 1867) is one of the best preserved and most interesting historical sites in Marrakech. The castle has a total of around 150 different rooms and some of them also have small exhibitions.

Tourists have different opinions about the price of the entrance fee (it costs about 7 euros per person, which seems to be quite a lot compared to Moroccan prices), but I think you should not be a nerd and go inside to see it if you are interested in the architecture of other cultures.

Visiting the castle doesn’t take much time, about half an hour plus expect at least a 10-minute queue for entrance tickets if you’re there in the morning; the wait time can be longer when everyone is awake and in the mood to enjoy the culture. Remember – everywhere the payment is only in cash – even in such a popular tourist destination!

Well, that’s all this time, I hope you got a little more interested in Marrakech. You can also read other travel notes I have written after visiting and even living for a while in Morocco.

Marrakesh

Posted on 26/11/2023 by ainarsbl

The capital city of Morocco is Rabat, which is located 324 kilometres northeast of Marrakesh. It would take three and a half hours to reach Marrakesh by car from Rabat, it is the fourth largest city in Morocco.

Instead of coming from Morocco’s capital by car, we landed at Menara Airport in June. It was a direct flight from Glasgow by EasyJet. The cost of the return flight per person at that time was about £145 and pre-arranged taxi pick-up from the airport to the city was around £15.

We spent about a week in Morocco at that time. In 2015, Marrakesh was named by TripAdvisor as the No.1 travel destination in the world (winners of the 2015 Travellers’ Choice award for Destinations), leaving such popular destinations as Czech capital Prague at 5th position, UK’s London as No.6 and Rome as No.7 – impressive, isn’t it? The major part of this trip we spent in Marrakesh.

Accommodation in Marrakesh

Marhabbah Murrākuš! It is a norm in Morocco that you would rather find a privately owned guest house ‘Riad’ for your stay than a hotel. We decided to try two of them in Marrakesh; the first one was simple and thus cheaper but the second riad had large rooms and an impressive decorated private pool.

Both were located in Medina (old town) near Bab Doukkala Mosque. One of the most useful things we did during preparation for our visit was to ask a representative of the Riad to meet us after arrival near a mosque. You may ask why? Because even a detailed investigation of Google Maps sometimes would not help to find accommodation just after the first arrival to Marrakesh.

The old town is like a spider net and even taxi drivers may not be able to find the address you are looking for.

Getting around Marrakesh

The area around Marrakesh area has been inhabited since Neolithic times; at that time those were Berber tribes. Marrakesh was founded in 1062.

During the 60s and 70s of the last century, such famous people and groups as Yves Saint Laurent, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Jean-Paul Getty spent significant time in the city, attracting many more tourists to the city. Medina of Marrakesh is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (wow – again, we lived at least a few days in a world heritage site!

Places to visit

There are two major options to travel around the city – either on foot or by taxi. Walking is almost the only way you can move around Medina, although walking bigger distances may also be a nice way of spending time there. If you have gone too far away, you can always catch a taxi to get back home – will not need to spend a fortune on your trip back.

For example, we visited Jardin Majorelle. The Jardin Majorelle is one of the most visited sites in Morocco, open every day at least from 9am till 5pm). We enjoyed walking both ways from and back to Medina – around 4 kilometres altogether.

Sahara desert

Posted on 24/11/2023 by ainarsbl

The Authentic Morocco tour

A couple of days after our arrival in Marrakesh, we went on ‘The Authentic Morocco’ tour to see the highest and most spectacular sand dunes in Morocco and to experience a camel ride in the desert.

We booked the tour with a local travel company well in advance. The duration of the Morocco tour was three days with two overnight stays as all included for a total price of EUR 120 per person (we paid in advance a deposit of EUR 70 per person). This was before pandemic, so prices, most probably, may have gone up since then.

To sum it up, this Morocco tour was very good value for money and we were completely satisfied with this trip. Below, are more details about this trip.

Day one – crossing High Atlas mountains

We met our driver-guide near the hotel at 8 AM and boarded Toyota Land-cruiser where other people were waiting for us to join the trip; there was a driver and six passengers in total, including us – just enough space for such a long trip.

The destination of our first day was Dades Gorge, a small village in the middle of nowhere. We travelled over the impressive Tizi n’Tichka Pass (2260 m), observed the Berber Villages on our way, stopped for lunch and sightseeing at the World Heritage site of Ait Benhaddou, which is famous for being used for filming more than twenty widely watched films. I even do not know how much time we spent there, however, that was enough to have lunch, walk around enjoying stunning scenery and visit the famous village.

Before arriving at the hotel, we went through Ouarzazate, continued towards the Valley of Roses, the Dades Valley, Skoura oasis, the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs and reached the Dades Gorge. The hotel was very quiet, the hosts provided good food and we were able to relax before continuing our trip on the next day.

Day two – camel trip and dinner with nomads

After breakfast at the hotel, we continued our trip and stopped at the Todra Gorge, which is one of the most impressive rocky creations of nature I have seen – a massive fault, rising to 300 m in a narrow valley. After lunch, we continued our trip to the final destination – the great sand dunes of Erg Chebbi; the town is located in the East of Morocco, only about 20 kilometres away from the Algerian border.

After arrival, we had a short break and left our baggage at the hotel. Before sunset we got our camels to continue the trip to Nomadic Berber tents where dinner, campfire, drum party and overnight stay were organised for us. The camel ride took about two hours with a break halfway. It was exciting, although that long ride on camel was a bit exhausting.

The evening party in the desert was amazing. We got a chance to play drums ourselves, although those only looked easy to play. In fact, you should practice a lot to be a proper drummer. Among many other things, dinner was outstanding.

Day three – back from Merzouga to Marrakesh

Early in the morning, we went back to our camels and returned to the hotel in Merzouga. After a short stay there, we started our way back to Marrakesh, stopping for lunch in Ouarzazate.

I believe that was the only occasion during the Morocco tour when we paid for our food, everything else was included in the price. We continued by driving over the High Atlas Mountains and arrived in Marrakesh in the evening.

On our way back, we asked the driver to stop at a local cooperative shop to purchase some Argan oil and other local produce for taking those back home. Our request was kindly accepted. I have to mention that the organisers’ promise to avoid souvenir shops was kept and we did not have to face annoying salesmen during our whole trip.

This adventure happened during our first ever trip to Morocco, you can read many more on this blog as we visited this beautiful country quite a few times afterwards.

Cooking classes near Marrakesh

Posted on 19/11/2023 by ainarsbl

When visiting other countries, we always try to familiarise ourselves with local cuisine, at least as much as possible. For example, on our own we were buying and preparing seafood in Montenegro.

One way of doing this is visiting local restaurants, though it is even more exciting if there is a possibility to prepare food ourselves. It appeared that Morocco offers visitors to enjoy cocking classes; this is both an adventure and getting new useful skills in preparing Moroccan food.

Moroccan food

In Morocco, we booked a cooking class near Marrakesh – FAIM D’EPICES. The price was approx. EUR 50 per person and that included transportation, lessons in Moroccan food preparation, preparation of meals in practice, drinks and spice workshop (pick-up place usually would be arranged near the place you stay in Marrakesh, which is a norm in Morocco).

We learned how to make a complete meal, meaning bread, salad, a tajine and the special Moroccan patties. The main dish on the day we were there was the tajine of lamb with prunes. Be aware that they do not accept credit cards, so cash should be taken with you; we also paid a deposit in advance (half of the price).

Cooking classes

Faim d’Epices operates for a while, the kitchen is large and well-equipped. We also got very useful tips on different topics, for example, how to find out if argan oil is pure or how to make sure that saffron is genuine (these ingredients are expensive and people may try to sell fake stuff).

Argan oil is an oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree and saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus. Saffron has long been the world’s most costly spice by weight.

Both, argan oil and saffron are specific to Morocco. In addition to this, every household prepares its own mix of different spices to be used for everyday cooking; those may include caraway, cumin, saffron, sumac, fennel, mustard and many other ingredients.

You may wish to watch on YouTube my video about the Moroccan town Tafraout which we visited during COVID in 2020 (opens in a new window). In Morocco we also visited such places as Marrakesh, Taroudant, Agadir, Paradise Valley, Sahara desert and more which you can find on this blog.

Travel notes, food and more

Road trips, mountain walks and holidays

Category Archives: Morocco