Where can I find peace and quiet in Morocco?

The honest truth is that Morocco’s big medinas — Marrakech and Fes especially — are gloriously loud, and people who arrive expecting a tranquil retreat there are sometimes overwhelmed. But the country has some of the most profound silence I have ever experienced; you just have to know where to point yourself. My number one is the deep Sahara. At Erg Chigaga, a four-wheel-drive ride beyond M’Hamid, there is nothing but dunes to the horizon. At night the silence is so complete it almost rings in your ears, and the stars are overwhelming.

In the mountains, the Ait Bougmez valley — the “Happy Valley” in the central High Atlas — is my secret for peace: terraced fields, mud-brick villages, walnut trees and a pace of life that has barely changed. The Toubkal foothills around Imlil and Ouirgane are similar, with gites where you wake to birdsong and the smell of woodsmoke. A few nights here resets your nervous system. The Todra and Dades gorges in the south-east are dramatic and far quieter than the headline sights.

On the coast, Taghazout north of Agadir is a laid-back surf village where the rhythm is sunrise yoga, long beach walks and sundowners. Further south, Sidi Ifni and the Legzira beach area feel like the edge of the world — wide Atlantic skies, almost no crowds. And for a calm base with culture, the small sacred town of Moulay Idriss near Volubilis, or Taroudant (often called “little Marrakech” without the chaos), let you experience a Moroccan town that breathes slowly.

My practical tip: even in busy cities, the right riad is a sanctuary — thick walls, a central courtyard fountain and a rooftop deliberately shut the noise out. So you can have your atmospheric medina by day and genuine quiet by night. If true stillness is the priority for your trip, I’d weight your itinerary toward the desert, the Atlas and the slow coast, and keep big-city stops short.