Top Experiences in Boumalne Dades

Enjoy a day trip to the Berber communities of the Atlas Mountains, passing through El Kelaa Mgouna, the capital of Morocco's famed Rose Valley, along the way. Here the intensely cultivated plots of farmland are bordered by rose bushes, which are used in the cosmetic industry to make rose water and rose oil. In May, a Rose Festival takes place, celebrating the year’s production.You can make a quick stop at a rose collective to see the process of converting the petals into water and oil and sample some of the products.  Then continue to the Atlas Mountains to immerse yourself in the region's unique culture, where you'll enjoy an easy walking tour while interacting with local Berber families. The foothills of the mountains offer a green oasis of vegetation, perfect for quaint towns to thrive. These authentic Berber villages offer a wealth of knowledge about the regional culture, traditions, and way of life. A guide will lead you through the area on an easy walk. Along the way, you'll stop in a few villages to meet with locals. Admire the unique architecture, listen to stories about regional history, partake in fun activities, observe traditional farming techniques, enjoy live entertainment, and more. You'll receive a complete lesson on the Berber people and their lifestyles. At lunchtime, join a local family in their traditional house. While enjoying Berber and Moroccan cuisine, learn more about the history of this unique culture and enjoy an authentic tea ceremony.Discover...

Immerse yourself in the unique culture of the Atlas Mountains, where you'll enjoy an easy hike while interacting with local Berber families. The foothills of the mountains offer a green oasis of vegetation, perfect for quaint towns to thrive. These authentic Berber villages offer a wealth of knowledge about the regional culture, traditions, and way of life. Mohammed, your local guide, will lead you through the area on an easy 2-3 hour walk. Along the way, you'll stop in a few villages to meet with locals. Admire the unique architecture, listen to stories about regional history, partake in fun activities, observe traditional farming techniques, enjoy live entertainment, and more. You'll receive a complete lesson on the Berber people and their lifestyles. At lunchtime, you'll join Mohamed in his traditional house along with his family. While enjoying Berber and Moroccan cuisine, learn more about his relatives, the Berber food, and the history of this unique land. End your meal with an authentic tea ceremony, followed by a mule ride through the fields.Read more about unique and interesting active experiences in Morocco.

Explore the historic and scenic desert community of Boumalne Dades. "Boumalene" comes from Bou l’Male, which means "a place of business and trade." The area has a history of trading cattle, using the Dades River to grow grass, fruits, and vegetables. Start by wandering through the Kasbah (old town). Although Boumalne Dades is known for its natural surroundings, there's still much to experience in and around the city itself. The Tiylit Castle is a great way to learn about the area's Jewish history, or you can simply wander through the kasbah! You'll find endless adobe-style housing made with raw materials that keep homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Next, explore the Dades Gorge. The Dades cuts through the area's famed red-orange rock, creating a picturesque gorge. Several drives take you up and into the gorge, or you can join a trekking, camel, or jeep excursion. Discover desert dunes, lush palm groves, interesting rock formations, panoramic vistas, mountain peaks, and more.Or, if you'd rather take it easy, visit a rose collective. The Valley of the Roses is quite literal, as the entire surrounding region is carpeted in blooming rose bushes come springtime! You can visit a local rose cooperative to learn how artisans cultivate the plant and convert its petals into rose water and oil used in the cosmetic industry. Watch the methods in action and take home a local souvenir. Continue your exploration of the local culture by meeting with the Berber community that...

Visit the local open-air market in Boumalne Dades and observe how the locals shop. Once every week on Wednesdays, locals descend on the market to buy vegetables, fruit, and other products, which they then take home to make traditional couscous dishes. It's standard to stock up on everything one needs for the entire week at this market: veggies, meat, and even livestock. Vendors also sell parts of electronics, shoes, clothes, and all sorts of household items, including second-hand goods. What's most interesting about the market is that it travels, setting up in a different town each day of the week, with Wednesdays reserved for Boumalne Dades. Visiting the market is quite a unique experience, as it's non-touristic and quirky, with lots of locals going about their daily life.Discover more unique experiences in Boumalne Dades.

In the summer, you can visit nomadic families that live in temporary troglodyte cave homes in the mountains surrounding Boumalne Dades. There are still many nomads living in Morocco, and in the summer, they move up into the hills. In the winter, they mostly stay in the desert. The nomadic families opt for the mountains in the summer because they can live in troglodyte caves built right into the cliffside, where it's cooler. The hills also support their animals with better vegetation. It's not easy to visit the residents of the cave homes, as they are quite private. However, your host has built a special relationship with one family in particular, and they will happily welcome you into their home. Sit down to sip tea with the family as they tell you a bit about what it's like to live in the mountains as nomads. They'll also introduce you to their animals, which will most likely consist of sheep, goats, donkeys, and, sometimes, dogs.Discover more unique experiences in Boumalne Dades.

If you're traveling to Morocco in the spring, you can visit the famous Rose Valley near Boumalne Dades for two cultural experiences: a traditional ftour (second breakfast) in the rose fields and a rosewater workshop. Enjoy picking the flowers and observing the process of creating the rose water at a local rose distillery.You'll start the day with a second breakfast in the rose field, consisting of tea, bread, olives, cheese, and other local goodies. After your meal, collect rose petals with some local women, then make your way to a cooperative for a demonstration and workshop. You can observe the process of workers distilling the flowers, which takes a long time and requires a lot of petals that first need to be dried before distillation. So, although you'll walk away with your own bottle of rose water, it won't be from the exact petals you picked. This activity is only available for a couple of weeks each year, typically from the end of April to the beginning of May. This period is when the roses bloom, and the distilleries make rose oil, of which rosewater is a byproduct. Rose oil and rosewater from this region have been sold to perfumeries around the world for centuries.Discover other activities in and around Boumalne Dades.

The Berber community of Morocco is known for many things, including skilled dagger-making. You'll visit the local dagger-making tribe, which has been crafting these goods for centuries. Enjoy a demonstration of how the tribe members make the weapons, which include intricate designs all done by hand.This local tribe lives near Boumalne Dades and learns how to make daggers when they are children. They use various materials, including silver, camel bones, and many other elements. People used these small swords for protection in the past, but now they wear them with traditional costumes for ceremonies and weddings. In Berber culture, men wear daggers and scarves as symbols of honor. As the culture doesn't put people in jail (because freedom is too precious to them), anyone who commits a crime is no longer allowed to wear scarves and daggers as a sign of being dishonored. The tribe is Morocco's hub for dagger making, as they supply daggers to all the other tribes throughout the country. Each tribe has a different style, and this one can do it all! Making daggers is the tribe's livelihood and has been for a long time, but the members are also skilled in metalwork and produce goods such as bracelets, earrings, and other jewelry. You'll enjoy a demonstration of how the tribe makes the daggers using specialized equipment, and you can purchase one if you'd like for a price much cheaper than in the souks of Marrakech.Discover more unique experiences in and around Boumalne Dades.