Cycling Northern Morocco: Chefchaouen & Tetouan

This is the second of two parts detailing an eight day cycling tour around Northern Morocco in May 2025. Here is the link to Part One.

I had slightly mixed feelings when I arrived in Chefchaouen. It is undoubtedly a very beautiful town, with the famous blue and white medina contrasting dramatically with the surrounding mountains. However, it was also very touristy. I had been mostly in rural Morocco so far, somewhat off the beaten track, and it was slightly jarring to find myself in a busy tourist hub.

However, I soon got used to it, and ended up really liking the town. I spent two nights there, exploring the spectacular medina and sampling delicious local food.

I also did a very nice short hike into the mountains, which I have embeded below. It began by walking through the medina and climbing a partly stepped path to Bouzafar Mosque. From here I continued into the mountains on a very nice trail, before looping back into Chefchaouen and visiting the Kasbah. It was only around 7km, but had some fantastic views and took in some of the most impressive monuments in the town.





I am a big fan of castles and fortress, but found the Kasbah to be slightly disappointing. Entry was expensive by Moroccan standards, so I was expected a large site to explore and some interesting exhibits. However, there was limited information and it was only really possible to climb a couple of the towers. It was still pretty cool and offered some good views, but I felt that more could have been made from it. After finishing this trip, I visited the Alcazaba (the Spanish word for Kasbah) in Malaga, which was infinitely more impressive!

Rif Mountains & Tetouan

A challenging ride awaited me from Chefchaouen to Tetouan, with nearly 2,500m of climbing. I was really looking forward to it, particularly the first climb out of Chefchaouen and the rolling route above the Oued Laou River. This route had more gravel roads and tracks than the other rides I did in Morocco, but the majority was still on paved roads.

The climbing started almost immediately as I left my hotel next to the Kasbah. It was quite tough in places, but (apart from one rubbish dump) had fantastic views. From the top of the climb I descended steeply towards Akchour, which is famous for its waterfalls and hiking routes. I was limited for time on this trip so wasn't able to spend a night or two here, but I would certainly like to return because the scenery was breathtaking.





Instead of turning right towards the higher mountains, I took a left and descended to the village of Al Oued. Here I turned right onto the P4105 and followed the road as it climbed and descended gently through a spectacular gorge above the Oued Laou River.

After 7km on the P4105 I turned off onto a trail which was a kind of balcony road above the river. This had some more incredible views of the valley below, but it was quite rough in places, where the rocks had eroded it into a bumpy singletrack. It was mostly rideable, but I had to walk a couple of short sections - with wider tyres it would have been fine. I would recommend going this way if you have plenty of time, because the scenery is fantatic, but it is also very pleasant if you stay on the paved (and quiet) P4105.




Eventually the trail returned to the P4105. I had to lift my bike over a six foot high ditch where the trail had been completely washed away, but otherwise it was without difficulties. I was in two minds about which way to go from here. The more straightforward option was to take the P-4105 to the coast and then follow the N16 into Tetouan. This is well paved and has rolling hills with some pleasant coastal views. It would have been the busier option, but in my experience, sharing the road with a few trucks and cars is not too bad in Northern Morocco.

The alternative was the challenging option, heading more into the unknown. This option turned left onto the P4708 and climbed steeply on dirt roads through villages, before a long rolling descent on quiet roads and trails continued into Tetouan.

I was still caught in two minds by the time I arrived at the junction, but decided to take the latter, more remote option. I was a little concerned that my 40mm tyres might struggle on the unpaved sections, but the days are long in May, so I had time on my side!





In the end, I both do and don't regret the choice I made. First of all, the route I took was very scenic and very hard. It was basically a series of very, very steep climbs, some unpaved and some not, followed by steep descents with only short flatter sections to recover. The profile just doesn't really do justice as to how difficult it was to ride this section. Fortunately, the gradient was the only real difficulty; the unpaved surfaces were excellent smooth and in good condition. Even on my narrow tyres with quite high pressure, I always felt in complete control.

The route passes through a few villages, but they are not touristy at all, and there were barely any basic shops, let alone a cafe or a restaurant. It was easy enough to get water though from taps, as the area is well irrigated and has a mains supply in all the villages.

I enjoyed the adventurous aspect of the route, and the scenery was unsurprisingly beautiful. The coastal route would certainly have been easier, but I'm still not sure which would be more enjoyable - I guess it depends how much you like a challenge! One word of note is that it's not possible to take the main N2 road from Chefchaouen to Tetouan. Cyclists are no longer allowed on the road.

Tetouan

After ascending 2,500m in a little over 80km, I was quite pleased when Tetouan came into view. I crossed a nice bridge over the Martil River and climbed gently through the town to my Riad (Las Mil y una Noches), situated inside the Medina.

My first impressions of Tetouan were very positive. It seemed like quite a well-to-do town and was lively and charming, but significantly less touristy than Tangier or Chefchaouen. The Medina still existed mostly for locals, which made it a lot of fun to explore. As with all Medinas, it's quite easy to get lost inside, but that was part of the fun in Tetouan. Around different corners there are vendors selling the usual fruits, spices and clothes, but also furniture shops, hardware stores and all different kinds of artisans. It is an authentic Medina where locals go to purchase their everyday products.

Tetouan is an old Roman city and the archaeological museum, situated in the center, is only small but is worth a visit. It has some fantastic mosaics, and explains a bit about the history of the town. The city was later refounded in the 15th Century when it was populated by Muslim and Jewish exiles from Spain, following the fall of the Kingdom of Granada. There is a clear Spanish (or better to say Andalusi) influence in the town, and Spanish seemed to be spoken more than French here as the main foreign language.

I also enjoyed some excellent food in the city, including a delicious anchovy tagine and huge seafood salad (at Restinga restaurant, which seemed quite posh but affordable). There are also many great patisseries, perhaps a legacy of the French influence, which provide some very welcome calories after a hard ride! I can recommend Ben Mfedal, but I'm sure there are many others.

I spent two days exploring Tetouan and left liking it even more than my positive first impression. It is perhaps not as visually striking as Chefchaouen, but the city has a real cosmopolitan atmosphere, reflecting its diverse historic influences. I feel that some of the tourist towns in Morocco can be a bit superficial, but Tetouan became more intruiging and charming as I scratched the surface.






My final ride took me from Tetouan back to the ferry terminal in the center of Tangier. I had planned a cross country route to avoid main roads and to tackle a couple of nice climbs before descending to the coast. The route was 95% on paved roads, so I was hoping to make good time and take the early afternoon ferry back to Spain.

The day began with a steepish paved climb out of Tetouan via Nakatha Park. This by-passed the busy N2 road leaving the city and had some very picturesque views, particularly on the descent to Bounezal.

There I joined the P4701 through the valley, which was pretty flat with only light traffic. In Khemiss Anjra I turned left and some more testing climbs began. There was a series of shortish ascents, with gradients sometimes exceeding 20%, but it was a pleasure to ride. The surfaces were excellent, the roads were very quiet and there were some fantastic views as I crested the tops of hills and zipped down through charming small villages.

Regrettably, I didn't take many photos on this section, since I was a in a bit of rush to ensure I made the ferry. However, the views of the coast and the rolling hills was actually one of the cycling highlights of the trip.




A couple of kilometres south of Mellousa, a long descent finished at a roundabout close to the A5 motorway. I continued straight ahead here and descended down towards a large Renault car factory. Just before the factory entrance, I took a gravel trail passing by some shepherds and their flocks. I was supposed to cross a railway line here, cutting across on the gravel trail to join the N2 on the edge of Tangier.

Unfortunately my plan was foiled. There was an extremely long train parked where the gravel trail crossed the railway line. It was loaded with Dacia cars and stretched all the way into the nearby Renault factory. There was no way to safely pass around it, so I waited for about 15 minutes to see if it would move, but there was not sign of it shifting.

I was running out of time to make my ferry in Tangier, so I decided I couldn't wait any longer. I retraced my route back to the roundabout and turned right onto the P4613. This was a nice rolling road, but I was a little bit apprehensive because I knew that it would soon feed into the busy N2.

I joined the N2 around 20km from Tangier and followed it for most of the way into the city. It is a busy four lane road, but it had a pretty good hard shoulder and so wasn't too bad for riding at all. Consistent with my previous experiences in Northern Morocco, the drivers were very courteous, with nearly every car and truck pulling well over into the overtaking lane before going past - even when I was riding off the road on the shoulder.

The route was mostly downhill and I quite enjoyed it, arriving quickly into Tangier. Here, I took a slight diversion so that I could finish my tour on the promenade alongside the beach!