Travel Tales: Magic in Marrakech

You have heard me mention so much how amazing I think Marrakech is, so I thought I would share my little adventure with you all and give some inspiration for anyone looking to visit.

The hotel was really luxurious and filled with Moroccan Inspiration. Beautiful roses grew all over the grounds and where placed on every table in sight. What really makes the hotel special is the amazing staff who where so incredibly kind, they even started teaching me a bit of arabic! 

Me and my boyfriend went in June 2012, in all honesty it was a little to hot for me, but if you really love high temperatures than it will be the perfect time to go. If not consider going earlier or September/October when the heat is not as crazy. As it was new and strange territory for us my boyfriend insisted on staying in an all inclusive hotel where we would not have to worry about food etc. Since he had already reluctantly agreed to go to exotic Morocco I agreed and we booked the Kenzi Club Agdal Medina, it was such an amazing luxurious place and the staff where so friendly. Best of all it had a shuttle bus that went strait to the Djemaa El-Fna (the city centre) so it was perfect for exploring the area, but great knowing you had such a relaxing place to come back too.

Djemaa El-Fna is such an amazing place, it's so different to any other city I have been too. People stand within the square selling goods, charming snakes and even showing off monkeys, which I personally thought was cruel. On our tour of the shops we visited what seemed like Aladdin's cave, packed full with treasures from silver tea pots to wooden chests. My favourite shop was the pharmacy where we where shown every spice, herb and treatment in Morocco, enjoyed some amazing mint tea and where my obsession with jasmine started!

On one of our first days there we headed straight into Djemaa El-Fna (the main square) to immerse our selves in some Moroccan culture. Being complete tourists we stepped of the bus and instantly looked lost! A lovely man cam over to us he explained he was from the hotel on his way to pick up water, and would take us to the 'best' shops. True to his word he did, and he introduced us to his friend who showed us where the locals lived and told us about life in Marrakech. He took us around some amazing shops where we where free to browse with no hassle. 

The local markets are easy to get lost in and quite scary if your a tourist, live chickens and dead animals hang ready to be bought, and bags of spices piled high ready to season them. Be careful of falling into the 'I am from your hotel' trap, once these guys get you into to their shop, you will find it hard to leave unless you buy. If it does happen, visit the beautiful Majorelle Garden with the memorial of Yves Staint Laurent and the Majorelle blue buildings.

Another day we went back to Djemaa El-Fna as I wanted to visit the Majorelle Garden (the gardens of Yves Staint Laurent). We got lost trying to follow a map and ended up in the the local market which was a real eye opening experience. Of course we ended up being ticked into a shop we where told was the Berber Museum and spent about £80 on a carpet that turned out not to be water proof! It's all in the name of fun I suppose. The Majorelle Garden where beautiful though and well worth the visit though, Majorelle blue has officially become one of my favourite colours!

If you do one thing, take a private day tour to the Ouzoud Waterfalls! Visit Imi N'ifri and let the guides take you up the natural bridge to get close to the birds swarming, then walk through the valley until you see Africa. I have always loved waterfalls and these one are amazing, there are a number of lovely restaurants that will do traditional Moroccan dishes and provide amazing views of the waterfalls!

What made the trip for me was our private tour into the Atlas Mountains. Our driver picked us up in an air-conditioned 4x4 and drove us into the mountains, where he stopped regularly so I could take pictures and told us about the Berber people who lived in the mountains. We stopped at a natural bridge called Imi N'ifri which was so beautiful, and we payed a guide who skilfully got us to free climb the bridge and pointed out some amazing features. We then headed of to Ouzoud Waterfalls where we enjoyed an amazing lunch and beautiful views. After a long day we headed back to the hotel and reflected on what a perfect day it had been.

One day I will go back to Marrakech as I feel there is so much more I have yet to discover there. If you have ever though of going, you must as it is simply amazing! If you would like to see more of my pictures, I will be posting them here on Pinterest!  Follow Kats Beauty Tales's board Travel Tales: Magical Marrakech on Pinterest.