INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT

If the name Morocco conjures up images of a place with narrow, maze like streets lined with old earth-coloured buildings, you are not alone.

Ifrane, however, is unlike any other town in Morocco. Located at an altitude of 5,460 feet above sea level in the Middle Atlas region, this small hill town has a Swiss alpine feel to it. With neat red-roofed houses, blooming flower beds, lake-studded parks and snowbound winters, this remarkable European styled town is often referred to as ‘Morocco’s Switzerland’.

The lush greenery, cedar forests and pastureland that comes to life in spring and winter is a sharp contrast to the hot and dry climate that surrounds it. Because of its accessibility, Ifrane serves as the winter playground for the wealthy Berbers from drier cites like Fez, Meknes and Marrakech, who flock here to experience European winter.

Ifrane was built by the French in the 1930s, during the protectorate era for their administration. What attracted the French, and now affluent Moroccans, is the cool climate during summer. As Fes and Meknes swelter in heat, Ifrane is pleasant and refreshing. In winter, temperatures frequently drop below freezing and the surrounding mountainside is blanketed in snow. Indeed, the lowest temperature ever recorded in Africa was in Ifrane at -24°C.

Ifrane was to be a ‘hill station’, a cool place where colonial families could spend the hot summer months. After independence from France, Moroccans moved into the city. They enlarged the town, built a mosque, a public market and other amenities were soon added. In 1995, the prestigious Al Akhawayn University was opened and Ifrane emerged as the desirable destination for domestic tourism.

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