Jump Travel Information

Chauen is a city Moroccan located northeast of the country, in the foothills of the mountains of Tesuka and Megu, near Tetuàn, another major city in Morocco. It is 120 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast. It was founded in 1471.

He is also known as Maroc or Chefchauen, and in french as Chaouen.

Chauen means “two horns”, referring to the two mountains visible from the city. Its initial population was formed by exiled from Al-Andalusia (today Andalucía, Spain), Jews and Muslims. For this reason the city has similar to the Andalucía villages, with narrow streets of plot and irregular whitewashed houses, many with blue tones.

He was considered by century’s sacred city, not allowing the entry of foreigners. This has caused that has remained with few alterations to its original architecture.

By having belonged to the Spanish protectorate, many of its inhabitants speak Spanish.

Chauen is divided into two parts: the modern city and the medina. The medina is the heart of the city, to get there to cross one of its 7 doors, the main them is the door of Bab El Ayn.

The plaza Uta To Hamman is considered the viewpoint of the city. There are little cafes where tourists often take tea of mint. The other side of the square is the Kasbah, which was built by Moulay Ismail in the 1600S to defend the city. Within the Kasbah is the museum of ethnology Chauen that contains a collection of folk art in northern Morocco.