March is when spring starts to reach the Rif, and Chefchaouen begins to soften out of winter. Daytime highs climb toward 17°C, the hillsides turn green and stud with wildflowers, and the bright days outnumber the wet ones more often than in midwinter. Nights are still cool, so a jacket stays useful after dark, but the medina feels alive again — the blues bright, the rooftop cafés reopening fully, and the town shaking off the deepest quiet without yet drawing spring's crowds.
It is a fine month to start exploring beyond the medina. As the trails dry and the rivers settle from their winter peak, the Akchour Waterfalls and Talassemtane National Park become walkable again on clear days, the mountain air fresh and pine-scented. In the town, the classic blue-city circuit — Rue Targa and the photogenic alleys early, the Kasbah Museum and Ras El Ma by day, the Spanish Mosque at sunset — is comfortable and rewarding, with the snowy higher peaks still framing the view.
March rewards travellers who want spring freshness and green Rif scenery at gentler prices than the coming peak. Rain is still a real feature — keep a light waterproof and grippy shoes — but it sits between increasingly warm, bright spells. For photographers and walkers who want the blue medina lively but not crowded, with the surrounding mountains at their greenest, March is a strong, comfortable choice.
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