Ras El Maa spring
Cascades and washhouses.
Rick McCharles from Calgary, Canada — CC BY 2.0 · Ben Bender — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Yobennane — CC BY-SA 4.0 · YoTuT from United States — CC BY 2.0 · Robert Prazeres — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Emilien Lebourgeois — Public domain · YoTuT from United States — CC BY 2.0 · William John Gauthier from Denmark — CC BY-SA 2.0
At the eastern edge of the old town, outside Bab el-Ansar, the Ras El Maa spring rises from the mountainside, the source that has fed the town since its founding, its clear, cold water tumbling in small cascades between the rocks. On its bank are covered traditional washhouses where women wash clothes as they have for a long time, and simple cafés where visitors sit by the water. From Ras El Maa a path climbs the hill facing the town, twenty to thirty minutes on foot, to the Spanish Mosque, a small white mosque with a minaret built during the Spanish Protectorate and long left unused, also known as the Bouzafer Mosque. Visitors come to the Spanish Mosque for what is considered the finest view of Chefchaouen, the whole Blue City spread across the mountainside, turning orange and pink at sunset, when people gather here every evening. The visit is free. The path is steep and earthy, so wear proper shoes, bring water, set out about an hour before sunset to arrive in time, and head back before dark.
Cascades and washhouses.
A short climb.
From the Spanish Mosque.
Eastern edge of the old medina and the facing hill, Chefchaouen
About twenty to thirty minutes from Ras El Maa at an easy pace; the path is steep in places but suits most visitors.
