Lonely Planet Morocco
Page 52
Hotel Villa FloridoHOTEL€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 84 08 47; http://florido.alhoceima.com; Pl du Rif; s/d Dh301/393; W)
This curvaceous art-deco hotel dating from 1920, an island in the Pl du Rif, has some nice period charm. Rooms come in different sizes (the triples are huge) and have bathrooms and satellite TV, and most have a balcony. There’s a smart cafe downstairs (breakfasts Dh40). All rooms face the streets, which can be noisy at night.
Hotel NationalHOTEL€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 98 21 41; 23 Rue Tetouan; s/d Dh288/322)
A decent enough budget option, although some rooms are a little small, with windows facing into an internal courtyard and not getting a lot of light.
Hotel al-HanaHOTEL€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0666 90 32 00; 17 Calle Imzouren; s/d without bathroom Dh100/160)
With rock-bottom prices, this simple hotel is tucked into the tiny streets east of Pl du Rif. All facilities are shared, including the clean squat toilets (hot showers are free). It’s well kept, and the cafe on the ground floor is full of men throwing dice.
Hotel RifHOTEL€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 98 22 68; 13 Calle Sultan Moulay Youssef; s/d without bathroom Dh100/150)
If your budget is really maxed-out, you’ll end up in this long hallway lined with simple rooms. Rooms are basic but reasonable for the price tag. You get a sink but bathrooms are shared (squat toilets).
La PerlaHOTEL€€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 98 45 13; Ave Tariq ibn Zaid; s/d incl breakfast Dh700/850; naW)
This modern mirrored-glass high-rise business hotel has comfortable rooms with satellite TV and large bathrooms. The location on a busy corner makes it quite noisy if you have rooms on the lower levels. There’s a cafe on the ground floor with good breakfasts, and a restaurant upstairs. A little bland and modest for the price tag.
Hotel al-KhouzamaHOTEL€€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; fax 0539 98 56 69; Calle al-Andalous; s/d Dh288/376; W)
Just off Blvd Mohammed V, this two-star hotel is a long-time favourite of business travellers, and is suitably comfortable, with spacious rooms (though those facing away from the street are a bit dark). All come with bathrooms and satellite TV, and the guys at reception are friendly and helpful.
Mercure Quemado ResortHOTEL€€€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.mercure.com; 1 Ave Ibn Tachfine; s/d Dh1515/1640; pWs)
Holiday-business hotel that has been plonked down on Plage Quemado like a cruise ship washed ashore. Rooms are spacious, comfy and well-maintained. There's a restaurant with buffet and à la carte options, and a bar where you can have a drink overlooking the beach.
Suites Hotel Mohammed VHOTEL€€€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 98 22 33; www.hotelsuitesmohammedv.com; Pl Mohammed VI; s/d Dh800/950; paWs)
This hotel is modern but characterless. It occupies a prime position perched above Plage Quemado. Rooms are spacious and comfortable and have balconies giving truly grand views over the bay, but service is a little lackadaisical. There’s a restaurant, a bar and a gym to complete the picture.
5Eating
Cheap restaurants cluster around Pl du Rif, serving up filling tajines, brochettes and a bit of seafood to the bus-station crowd from about Dh25 per head. There are also many snack shops around town.
Many small general food stores are dotted around town, including Épicerie Hassouni ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Blvd Mohammed V) and Supermarché el-Bouayadi ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Abdelkrim Khattabi). For alcohol try Bougamar ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; near cnr of Rue Micra).
oClub NautiqueSEAFOOD€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 98 14 61; Gate 2, Port d’Al-Hoceima; mains from Dh60; hnoon-11pm)
This is the main restaurant at the port, and a good one. After 6pm you can buy your fish fresh off the boat and have them grill it for you (alternatively, order straight from the menu). The 2nd floor overlooks the whole port and is a great place to relax and a have beer in the fresh air.
Café La Belle VueCAFE€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 131 Blvd Mohammed V; breakfast Dh20; h8am-10pm)
This cafe-restaurant gets its name from the terrace at the back overlooking the bay – it really does offer a splendid vista. There are several similar cafes on this stretch of Mohammed V with great views.
Espace MiramarFAST FOOD€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0531 98 42 42; Rue Moulay Ismail; mains from Dh35; h9am-11pm)
It’s hard to go wrong at this 5000-sq-metre complex with a pizzeria, two cafes, a grill and restaurant as well as a children’s playground, all of it perched on the cliffs overlooking the sea, and with occasional live music as well. It's a series of open-air terraces, so be careful not to get lost inside!
La Dolce PizzaFAST FOOD€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0531 98 47 52; Pl du Rif; pizzas Dh37; h11am-10pm)
Also signed as DP, this cute Italian bistro, thrust out into the chaos of Pl du Rif, has just four tables inside and some on the pavement. Service is appallingly slow but the ambience makes it a pleasant place to people-watch and have some pizza, hamburgers or salads.
Boulangerie Patisserie AzirPASTRIES€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0531 17 71 42; 14 Rue Yousef ben Tachfine; pastries from Dh4; h5am-8.30pm)
This patisserie is the town favourite, with great home-baked bread and tons of different sweets.
BasilicINTERNATIONAL€€
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; mains Dh40-130; h8am-11pm)
A classy glass-fronted restaurant on two levels and with quick service. Moroccan standards are all available here, plus plenty of seafood and some decent pasta, pizza and steaks.
6Drinking & Nightlife
Perhaps its the seaside holiday air, but Al-Hoceima has more good options for having a drink than you might otherwise expect for a town of its size, including several places where you can sit outside.
Mercure Quemado ResortBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; hnoon-11pm)
The bar of the Mercure hotel is open to nonguests. It's not the cheapest place to have a drink in Al-Hoceima, but it may be the nicest – sitting out on the decking overlooking the beach.
Club NautiqueBAR
( GOOGLE MAP ; Gate 2, Port d’Al-Hoceima; hnoon-11pm)
An atmospheric option, and the bar here usually attracts quite a crowd. It's a rarity in Morocco – a place where you can drink in the fresh air. Beers are Dh20.
Suites Hotel Mohammed VBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Pl Mohammed VI)
The bar is a bit dingy, but the terrace has excellent views over Plage Quemado.
7Shopping
There is a weekly market on Monday and Tuesday in the souq ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; hclosed Fri).
8Information
Blvd Mohammed V has several banks with ATMs, including branches of BMCE, BMCI and Banque Populaire.
Travel agencies sell ferry tickets from AL-Hoceima to Motil in Spain during the summer, and Nador year-round.
Cyber Bades ( GOOGLE MAP ; Calle al-Amir Moulay Abdallah; per hr Dh5; h8am-9.30pm)
Délégation Provinciale de Tourisme (Tourist Bureau; GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 98 11 85; Zanqat Al Hamra, Cala Bonita; h9am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri) Staff here are on the ball and have lots of information on the town and National Park.
Ketama Voyages ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 98 51 20; www.ktmahu@menara.ma; 146 Blvd Mohammed V; h9am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat)
Pharmacie Nouvelle ( GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Moulay Idriss Alkbar; h8.30am-12.30pm & 3-7.30pm Mon-Thu, 8.30am-noon Fri, 8am-12.30pm Sat)
Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Moulay Idriss Alkbar; h8am-4pm Mon-Fri)
SURVIVAL TARIFIT
Hello/Goodbye msalkhir/baslama
Yes/No wah/alla
Please aafak
Thank you choukrane
Where is…? mani thadja (fem) or mani yadja (masc)
hotel annoutir
camping arihla
Do you have any rooms available? maghak cha akhamane akhwane?
a single room akham
injnabnadam
a double room akham ntnaine nyawdane
How much is it? mchhar tag tha?
What time does the next…leave? marmi ghayoya wanni dyouggane?
boat agharabo
bus toubis
I’d like a… khsagh
one-way ticket thawrikth ichtane waha
return ticket thawrikth waakab
beer berra
sandwich bocadio
8Getting There & Away
Air
Royal Air Maroc flies from Amsterdam and in summer from Brussels to the small local airport located 12km (Dh175 by taxi) from town. Royal Air Maroc offers sporadic services from Paris and various parts of Spain, as well as Casablanca. Otherwise the best option is a flight to Nador, 150km east.
Boat
Armas (www.navieraarmas.com) has summer ferries to Motil in Spain.
Bus
All the bus companies have offices around Pl du Rif, including CTM ( GOOGLE MAP ), but all depart from the bus station ( GOOGLE MAP ) on the southern edge of town. CTM runs the following summer services:
AChefchaouen (Dh90, 5½ hours, three daily)
ANador direct (Dh55, three hours, two daily)
Year-round, CTM has the following departures:
ACasablanca (Dh230, 10 hours, two daily) via Taza (Dh75, four hours)
AFez (Dh125, six hours)
AMeknès (Dh145, seven hours)
ARabat (Dh175, eight hours)
ATetouan (Dh115, seven hours, three daily) via Chefchaouen (Dh90, 5½ hours)
Several small companies also serve the aforementioned destinations. There are at least three buses a day to Tetouan and Tangier (Dh90, 7½ hours), stopping in Chefchaouen. Heading east, there are also a couple of buses a day to Nador (Dh40, 2½ hours) and Oujda (Dh70, five hours).
Taxi
Grands taxis can be found at the bus station. The most popular destinations are Taza (Dh70, 2½ hours) and Nador (Dh60, 2 hours). For Melilla, change at Nador for the border at Beni Ansar.
Al-Hoceima National Park المنتزه الوطني للحسيمة
The undiscovered Al-Hoceima National Park is a hidden jewel of this region. The park extends to 485 sq km (including 190 sq km at sea). The area is dotted with Berber settlements and criss-crossed by dirt roads, making it ideal trekking and mountain-biking territory. Its isolation has helped preserve several at-risk species, from its thuya forests to an important colony of fish eagle. While a 4WD opens up your options, a 2WD will get you through the main tracks. The park offers two regions: the central Rif bordered by the N16 in the south and west, and the coast.
Central Rif Region
Of the 15,000 people living in the park, most are Bokkoya Berbers and live in rural communities centred on fresh water supplies. The women have good knowledge of the medicinal use of local herbs such as the abundant lavender and thyme.
A number of rare trees can be found here, such as wild carob and the endangered thuya, highly prized for its wood. Other plants include wild olive, ilex, pomegranate, ericas, bulbs and orchids. Animals include jackals, wild boar, rabbits and hares.
Coastal Region
This area of the park extends out to sea and is rich in biodiversity. There are 86 species of fish and three types of dolphin. Many species represented here are rare elsewhere in the Mediterranean, such as red coral, various molluscs and algae. Among the birds, there is a considerable population of osprey (Pandion haliaetus).
There are several remote and scenic beaches, of which the highlight is the fantastic sight of El Peñón de Velez de la Gomera, one of the plazas de soberanía.
2Activities
Information brochures including a map are available from the tourist bureau in Al-Hoceima.
Abdellah MassoudiTREKKING
(%0673 22 91 22; per person per day Dh200, minimum Dh500)
French-speaking mountain guide Abdellah Massoudi leads treks of various lengths in the park.
Rif CroisiéresBOATING
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0641 59 98 94; www.rifcroisieres.com; 90min tour Dh150)
Offers boat trips along the coast of the national park, with some great seabird watching, including ospreys if you're lucky. Tours leave from Al-Hoceima port.
8Getting There & Away
The park is best accessed by 4WD. You can also walk to El Peñón de Velez de la Gomera along the coast from Cala Iris in 1½ hours. Without your own transport, you’ll need to hire a grand taxi to get there. In summer there may be enough people to share one, otherwise expect to pay Dh150 one way.
Cala Iris & Torres de Alcala كالاإ رٌ سٌ ونهرالكالا
Cala Iris now lies inside the Al-Hoceima National Park. It has a small fishing port and a beautiful sandy beach that's empty out of season – for now. Construction of a resort was due to start in 2017. There's nowhere to stay here, but there is a rough-looking, nameless restaurant behind the Cooperative des Marins Pecheurs that serves typical Berber food. The port is flanked by attractive beaches: Yellich (to the east) faces an island that you can walk out to; Oued Sahfa lies to the west; and an hour’s hike over the hill lies Mestaza.
There are a couple of very basic shops at Torres de Alcala, 5km east. Three semi-ruined Spanish towers stand sentinel over this scruffy village, set back from a shingle beach caught between two rocky headlands.
Grands taxis to Cala Iris from Al-Hoceima cost Dh25.
East Mediterranean Coast الشاط ءً الشرق للبحر الأبضٌ المتوسط
The east Mediterranean coast takes in Nador, the seaside town of Saïdia and the Spanish enclave of Melilla as well as the inland city of Oujda and the Beni-Snassen Mountains
THE LAST PIECES OF EMPIRE
Some of the most fascinating places in northern Morocco are not Moroccan at all, but Spanish. When Spain recognised Moroccan independence in 1956, it retained a collection of historical oddities that had predated the Spanish protectorate. Known by the euphemism plazas de soberanía (places of sovereignty), they have a population of 145,000, and are divided into two groups.
The plazas mayores (greater places), Ceuta and Melilla, contain virtually all the people. Politically these are ‘autonomous cities’, with governmental powers placing them somewhere between a city and a region of Spain.
The plazas menores (lesser places) are inhabited by a handful of Spanish legionnaires, if that. These include three islands in the Bay of Al-Hoceima: Isla de Mar, Isla de Tierra (both deserted, apart from Spanish flags) and El Peñón de Alhucemas, a striking white fortress that's home to some 60 soldiers. El Peñón de Velez de la Gomera, at the end of a long canyon in the Al-Hoceima National Park, is another ancient rock fortress, connected to the mainland by a narrow spit of sand – and a guardhouse, one of the oddest national borders you’ll ever see. The Islas Chafarinas, 3km from Ras el-Mar, have three small islands: Isla del Congreso, Isla del Rey and Isla Isabel II, the last with a garrison of 190 troops. Spain also owns the tiny Isla Perejil, near Ceuta, which was the cause of one of the world’s smallest conflicts, when Spanish troops evicted a handful of Moroccan soldiers in 2002; and the Isla de Alborán, about 75km north of Melilla, which has a small navy garrison.
While the two fortress peñónes (rocky outcrops) are must-sees, none of the plazas menores can be entered, as they are military sites. Morocco claims them all, making their defence necessary even though their strategic importance is limited.
Recent history has been focused on problems with Spain over immigration and political sovereignty. In 2006 youths set fire to several mosques in Ceuta after a number of local Muslims were arrested on the Spanish mainland in connection with the Madrid bombings. In 2007 the king of Spain visited the city for the first time in 80 years, sparking protests from the Moroccan government. So far none of this has closed a single tapas bar. In late 2010 Moroccan youths rioted in both Ceuta and Melilla over sovereignty of the cities, sparked by a lack of jobs. Tensions continue to simmer.
Melilla مليلية
Pop 84,500
Who would expect to find hundreds of modernist buildings, the second-largest such collection outside Barcelona, in North Africa? Yet here they are, along with one perfectly preserved medieval fortress, several fascinating museums and a wealth of tapas bars. The result is Melilla, a great place to spend the weekend.
Along with Ceuta, Melilla is one of two autonomous Spanish cities on the Moroccan coast. Its economy is rooted in cross-border commerce, and its population nearly equally divided between Spanish Christian and Berber Muslim, giving a strongly multicultural atmosphere. The enclave is tightly fenced and at the forefront of Spain's efforts to prevent sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees from the Syrian and Libyan conflicts entering the European Union.
Melilla is very easy on the traveller, and tourist infrastructure is excellent. While ferry-loads of visitors pour in during summer, in the low season you’ll have plenty of breathing room.
History
Melilla oozes with history, but it is neither as broad nor as deep as you might expect. While the area has been inhabited for more than 2000 years, the old city wasn’t begun until after Spanish conquest in 1496, then built up in four stages. Up until the end of the 19th century, virtually all of Melilla was contained within a single impregnable fortress. Current borders were fixed by several treaties with Morocco between 1859 and 1894, the last following an unsuccessful siege by rebellious Rif Berbers. The method involved shooting a cannonball and seeing how far it went. More fighting with rebel Berbers broke out several times in the ensuing years, until the Spanish protectorate consolidated its grip in 1927. In 1936 Franco flew here from the Canary Islands to launch the Spanish Civil War. Local politics still tip to the right.