We started early from Fes and made our first stop at the archaeological site of Volubilis, which lies about 80 kms from the outskirts of Fes. (The king happened to be visiting Fes during our stay, so we saw police almost the entire stretch of the highway). The Roman ruins of Volubilis, was once a thriving outpost town occupied by the Romans. Today, this area has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site and gained international acclaim when Martin Scorsese made it a feature location for the film The Last Temptation of Christ. The ruins are spread out across several acres and what remains visible today is several fragments of the ancient walls, dilapidated parts of massive columns, the capitol, the basilica, and a triumphal arch. It happened to be a beautiful day, with clear blue skies and a cool wind. The surrounding fields were lush with spring wildflowers in mid-April, which added to the beautiful landscape.

TIP: For the best photographs, try to time your visit for early morning or late afternoon, when soft light gilds the columns of the ancient city with gold. Also, the entire area is in the open and it can get quite hot in the afternoon, so it’s best to avoid that time of the day.

We spent a couple of hours walking through the ruins and enjoying the day. It also helped prepare us for the long car ride to Chefchaouhen, where we arrived by late afternoon. We did not have any specific agenda for Chefchaouhen, other than to wander around in the medina and get those Instagram worthy pics. So, after checking into our Riad and freshening up, we headed out and did just that!

Our final dinner in Morocco was at one of the restaurants at the Chefchaouen Square. We retired early, as we wanted to make an early morning trip to the Spanish Mosque to catch some of the best views over the Chefchaouen’ s sea of blue and white houses. As planned, it was a bright and early start to the next morning and I made my way up the hill to the Spanish mosque. I got there just as the sun was coming up, and over the next couple of hours had a surreal experience watching the whole town below gradually light up. I also happened to meet a young Austrian who was backpacking his way through Morocco and had some very interesting stories to share.

The rest of the day was spent in driving from Chefchaouhen to Casablanca with a quick pit stop in Rabat, to grab some lunch and visit the Rabat Kasbah and the Hasan Tower & Mohammad Mausoleum.           

By the time a trip approaches its end, there is always an element of nostalgia and sadness. We made use of the several hours of wait time at the airport to go through the pictures captured over the last few days and realized what an amazing time we had in this beautiful country, and the many memories that we were taking back with us to relive the good times for many, many years to come. Morocco had lived up to all its expectations!