What can you do in Chefchaouen in two days?

Chefchaouen is so photogenic it almost feels unreal, and the secret to enjoying it is timing. On day one I get you into the blue medina at first light — say 7am — before the day-trippers arrive from Tangier and Fes. For an hour or two you have those famous indigo lanes, staircases and doorways almost to yourself, and the soft early light is what makes the photographs sing. After breakfast the medina fills, so I shift you to slow browsing: the wool blankets, woven goods and the local artisan shops are genuinely good here, not just tourist tat.

Lunch is in the Place Outa el Hammam, the main square below the kasbah, where Chaouen's mountain food shines — fresh goat cheese, honey, local olives, hearty tagines. Spend the afternoon in the small Kasbah museum and its garden, then make the gentle uphill walk to the Spanish Mosque just outside town. It's an abandoned mosque on a hill, and at sunset the whole blue city glows beneath you while the call to prayer drifts up the valley. It's the best free experience in town and my favourite Chaouen moment.

Day two I take you into the Rif mountains the town sits in, because Chefchaouen is a trailhead as much as a destination. The most popular hike is to the Akchour waterfalls about 40 minutes away by car — a beautiful river walk through the Talassemtane national park to a series of cascades and pools, with the option to push on to the dramatic 'God's Bridge' rock arch. It's a proper half-day of walking, so wear real shoes and bring water.

Two days is ideal: one for the blue town itself and one for the mountains, which most rushed visitors miss entirely. Chefchaouen is remote — about two hours from Tangier or four from Fes — so I always counsel staying overnight rather than day-tripping. The town at dawn and dusk, once the crowds have gone, is a completely different and far more magical place.