What is the best photo spot in Chefchaouen (the Spanish Mosque)?

The signature shot of Chefchaouen — the entire blue town nestled in its mountain bowl — is taken from the Spanish Mosque (Mezquita Bouzafar), a small disused mosque on a hilltop just east of the medina. You reach it on foot: head out through the eastern edge of the old town past the Ras el-Maa waterfall, and a clear, steepish path winds up the hillside for about twenty to thirty minutes. It is not a hard hike but it is uphill, so go in decent shoes and carry water in summer. From the top you get the postcard: the cascade of blue-washed houses below you, framed by the green and ochre Rif mountains.

Timing is everything up there. Sunset is the famous slot — the low golden light hits the town and the mountains glow — but it is also the busiest, so arrive thirty to forty minutes early to claim a good spot on the rocks, and bring a layer because the breeze picks up once the sun drops. Sunrise is the connoisseur's choice: the same view, far fewer people, and a beautiful soft light, though you will be walking up in the dark, so use a torch and your phone. If you only do it once, I lean sunset for the atmosphere and the colour.

Inside the medina the photo opportunities are everywhere, but a few spots stand out. The upper residential lanes climbing toward the eastern gate are the most intensely blue and the least cluttered with shops. There is a much-photographed wide blue staircase trailing with potted plants near Plaza el-Haouta and around the artisan quarter — instantly recognisable from Instagram, and best shot early before the queue of photographers forms. Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the main square with its red-hued kasbah and mosque, gives you a lovely contrast to all the blue. And the Ras el-Maa waterfall, where locals do their washing and cafes spill down the rocks, is a gorgeous, lively frame on the way up to the Spanish Mosque.

Two pieces of advice that lift everyone's photos here. First, go early — the genuinely empty, beautifully lit lanes only exist roughly from dawn to mid-morning before the day-trippers arrive, which is the single biggest reason I push people to stay overnight. Second, remember photography etiquette: Chefchaouen's residents live in these blue streets, so ask before you photograph people, do not block doorways for your shot, and tip if someone or their cat poses for you. The town is endlessly generous to respectful photographers; treat it as a living place, not a film set, and it gives you its best.