Akchour, the Moroccan city built for lovers

Hey lovelies, how are you doing?. I started the first draft of this newsletter on my way to Lagos on Friday because work has been intense and since Air Peace delayed the flight I was left with no choice than to write this letter instead of counting airport ceiling.

As funny as it sounds, I am afraid of flying and I only feel comfortable flying Ibom Air locally. Ibom Air ticket was sold out and I had to book Air Peace. Air Peace need to change their name to “Air Peace Delay Limited” because how did 6:05pm flight become 8pm flight. Also, why do Nigerian airport announcers speak in muffled voices?. Aunty are you eating agbado and announcing flight at the same time?

Someone is reading this and probably wondering when I will get straight to the point because wetin concern you concern Air Peace, don’t worry, just stay with me. lol

Anyways, did anyone notice that most travel companies are now quoting in USD, I saw the price of one tour package and screamed “eli eli, isala ahu na abania” (Please ask your igbo friends to translate). My brain automatically thought it was expensive at first glance.

A word of advice, if you are a travel company reading this, Nigerians are put off by prices in USD, no matter how affordable it is, you are better off increasing your prices in Naira than quoting in USD. Oya, let me get right to the chase before you guys unsubscribe. Last week I wrote about Tangier, please read it here.

Location

This week, I will be writing about Akchour. Akchour is a small town with a single street and a natural wonder, located in the village of Talembote, 45minutes away from Chefchaouen and 2hours away from Tangier. This city with no internet for data is a beauty to behold. Apparently, Orange SIM card doesn’t work for data there just for voice calls.

Akchour is a city known for its well-preserved natural landscapes. The panoramic view of the city is composed of green mountains, combined with deep gorges of flowing springs and crystal-clear rivers. In a nutshell, Akchour is the ideal destination for people looking to escape the meandering of the city.

Getting to Akchour and getting around

L'Ermitage d'Akchour which is the eco-lodge we stayed in Akchour offer chauffeur services. They charged us 70USD to pick us up from Tangier which is 2hours away. The car takes 4 people so you can split if you are travelling with friends. Once you get to the city of Akchour, only certain taxi drivers have access to cross the gate to L'Ermitage d'Akchour and our taxi guy Youssef did. If you take another taxi without access, they will drop you at the gate and you will have to pay extra 6USD to L'Ermitage d'Akchour to send another taxi to you. I didn’t know this earlier until we stepped out without Youssef to ChefChaoun. This is story for next week.

Hotel

The real reason for visiting Akchour was because of L'Ermitage d'Akchour. I discovered this beauty one night while scrolling aimlessly on “Visit Morocco” page on Instagram, check it out here. One way to discover hidden gems in a country is to search on the social media or tourism page of that country. You can check out L'Ermitage d'Akchour on Instagram here

L'Ermitage d'Akchour.

L'Ermitage d'Akchour is a perfect place for couples to further light the fire in their relationship. There is no internet or any form of distraction from work. Just you and your beloved spending quality time with each other away from “Please find attached”

This beautiful eco-lodge is surrounded by breathtaking views, with its own waterfall and beautiful mountains overlooking the chalet and suites. We stayed in both the chalet and suite. The chalet cost 162USD while the suite cost 246USD per night

The suite at L'Ermitage d'Akchour

Waterfall at L'Ermitage d'Akchour

Prices might change due to exchange rate fluctuation. I will advise you to stay in the chalet if you are not more than two travelling. The chalet has two beds, one bed upstairs and the other downstairs. The suite has about three compartments and will be cost effective if you are travelling as a group of four or more. You can book for a stay at L'Ermitage d'Akchour here

L'Ermitage d'Akchour is a perfect place for the ladies to ask their usual questions “If I was a chicken, will you still love me”. *dodges Oraimo cord* (Why do women ask this kind of trick questions by the way, smh).

I will definitely recommend this eco-lodge. There is something connecting and intimate about being several kilometers away from the city with the one you love. You care less about fuel scarcity in Ajah or that Naira is almost 900. This is a perfect valentine getaway for couples.

L'Ermitage d'Akchour

Mountain view at L'Ermitage d'Akchour.

The view from our room

There is no internet or room service or telephone in L'Ermitage d'Akchour. The whole idea is for you to commune with nature and connect with your beloved. However, there is wifi at the restaurant if you are looking to check up on your family back at home.

Activities

The popular Akchour waterfalls and Bridge of God is located 2hours away by foot. You will need a tour guide and we got one called Mohammed. Mohammed was the absolute best, for some reason he kept calling Obinna “Captain America” because he was climbing the mountains effortlessly unlike me who wanted to go back to the eco-lodge after few minutes. I am an only child please.

Mohammed kept referring to me as “Mama Africa” only God knows what he meant by that, lol. If you are ever at this ecolodge, please ask for Mohammed. I also took his number in case you need it. He speaks mostly french and his English wasn’t too fluent. However, we were able to communicate with our little knowledge of French. We paid Mohammed 20USD for the 2hours tour to the waterfall and Bridge of God.

Headed to the Waterfall

Headed to the Waterfall

At the Bridge of God, we met this super cute couple who came in from Australia, which is about 27hours flight time to Morocco. The Australian couple stayed at Chefchaoun, which is 45mins drive from Akchour. This is also another option, you can stay at a nearby city if you are not open to staying at Akchour. Akchour has many cinematic views. We met a popular Moroccan music star who was familiar with most Nigerian artistes. They were shooting his music video at the Bridge of God.

With Sam and Kayla from Australia

With the Moroccan Pop artiste

Restaurants

The restaurant at the eco-lodge didn’t have loads of variety. Food is more expensive at this lodge than in the city. The most popular Moroccan dish is called tangine. You can try it out.

The lady at the reception was the only staff that spoke fluent English and French, so she was helpful in explaining the menu as it was written in French. Everyone at L'Ermitage d'Akchour spoke French but we made it work somehow, like I said, there is nothing a smile and “Bonjour, coma sava” cannot solve.

A view of the restaurant

L'Ermitage d'Akchour is super beautiful, pictures don’t do it justice. The service was super amazing as well, I finally got the royal treatment that Royal Tulip hotel refused to give me. lol.

I am finishing up this newsletter at 12am Nigerian time, which means I might have left loads of details out. Please reach to me if you have any specific question and I will be happy to help.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. A friend of mine said she posted my newsletter in her church group when someone indicated they that might be going to Morocco for holiday. Please shareeeeeeeeee *in Pastor Jerry’s voice* in all the groups you are in. Let’s get Travelletters to 10k subscribers by year end.

Until next week

Love

Muna