Top spots

If you've seen The Mummy, Gladiator or Lawrence of Arabia, you might recognise Aït-Benhaddou, a traditional mud brick city in the High Atlas, where the films were partly shot. Visit in the hours before sunset, when the desert sun lights up the red walls of the kasbahs to breathtaking effect.

Morocco’s Mediterranean coastline is largely unspoiled, with sandy beaches and coves and a few resort areas and traditional towns. Although resort areas get busy in summer, visitors can always nip into the neighbouring Rif for scenery and country air.

The Dades Valley or Red Valley, which runs into the Drâa, can be followed by car on roads snaking tightly around the mountainous terrain. The landscapes are spectacular, from lush river valleys to lunar-like rock formations and ruined kasbahs.

Insider tips

“When in Tangier it is worth taking a trip to Chefchaouen, a beautiful laid-back mountain town. Try the local cheeses.”

“In January or February you can ski in Africa’s highest resort, at Oukaimeden not too far from Marrakech. The chairlift takes you up to over 3,000m altitude and the full run back down is 3km long.”

“Go to the Ouzoud waterfalls, a day trip from Marrakech. Chilling out next to the falls with a coffee at sunset was a whole different side to Morocco. The views from both the top and bottom of the falls are great.”

“Visit the Valley of the Roses [in Dades Valley] in May, before the flower harvest - what a fragrance.”

The great outdoors

Slap on the sunscreen and head out into Morocco’s great outdoors. With its vast mountain ranges sandwiched between the Med, the Atlantic and the Sahara, there’s plenty to explore.

The Todra gorge Situated on the eastern end of the High Atlas mountains, the Todra gorge is a spectacular canyon sliced through the rocks by the once-mighty Todra and Dades rivers. At the most impressive points, the track at the bottom is a mere 10m wide, with the canyon sides jutting up 160m on either side – providing a lot of wow factor to both scenery-lovers and hikers.

The Drâa Valley A day or two’s drive along the Drâa, Morocco’s longest river, shows off some of the country’s most stunning scenery. Inhabited since prehistoric times, the Drâa Valley is speckled with kasbahs and ksour (traditional adobe Berber villages – some magnificent), palm groves, oases and canyons carved through colourful rock.

Erg Chebbi One of two Sahara Desert ergs (dune fields) in Morocco, Erg Chebbi is about a 10-hour drive from Marrakech or Fes, making it a feasible add-on adventure to a city break. Covering an area of about 100 square kilometres, the erg has dunes reaching over 150m in height, creating an otherworldly setting for travellers to camp in and explore by camel.

High Atlas Mountains Africa’s highest mountain range, whose top sections are clothed in snow much of the year, is a big draw for hikers, trekkers and rock climbers. In the warmer months, the very intrepid can even take two days out to scale the 4,167 metres of the highest peak, Mount Toubkal, only 65km from Marrakech. Rugged yet often lush – rainfall in some parts is considerable – the craggy folds and ridges are interspersed with lakes, valleys, orchards, national parks, wildlife and tiny mountain villages.

Rif Mountains Less well-travelled than its High Atlas cousins, the Rif Mountains in the north are also lower (rarely more than 2,000m) in a laid-back region with a distinctly Spanish feeling. Hiking routes often start at the charming blue-washed town of Chefchaouen, through rocky mountainside, farmlands and cedar and fir forests before wending down to quiet, sandy beaches on the Med.