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Tours, "you could cut a strip and wear it as a scarf." HEAD FOR THE HILLS Morocco's version of Switzerland happens in the Atlas Mountains, a rugged spine of lofty peaks and burgeoning ecotourism spots dividing the country's bustling coastal towns from its vast desert backdrop. Hardcore climbers can head to 13,671-foot Mount Toubkal to stand atop North Africa's highest summit. More moderate and equally gorgeous trails await trekkers in the lush Ourika Valley, home to fertile gardens, numerous waterfalls and the fi rst of countless Berber villages dotting mountain country. Further off the beaten path, the Dades Valley (aka Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs) is the gateway to Morocco's most dramatic gorges, hidden palm groves and moldering fortress ruins. SEE BLUE IN CHEFCHAOUEN The bluest town you could ever lay eyes or focus your Instagram lens on between here and Pluto is Chefchaouen. Tucked near Tangier in the northern tip of Morocco at the foot of the Rif Mountains, the Blue Pearl of Morocco (founded more than 500 years ago by Spanish refugees) is a dreamscape of azure alleys, cobalt cobblestoned streets and various unresolved theories about the origins of all the predominantly blue buildings lining its seductive hilly blocks. The one certainty: Here is North Africa's coolest color-coded outpost. NOSH ON MORE THAN COUSCOUS, DATES AND MINT TEA By all means, indulge in as many rounds of North Africa's favorite durum wheat-based staple carb (couscous), dates (Morocco produces more than 100 varieties of them) and sweet mint tea (ubiquitous throughout the country) as you wish during your stay. But don't let your appetite stop there. Moroccan cuisine's distinctive fl avors and hybrid ties to Arabic, Spanish and French cooking goes as deep as your palate will venture. A few savory must-try crowd pleasers include: Tagine — a savory slow-cooked stew prepared in the dish's namesake earthenware pot with conical lid; maakouda — deep-fried potato pastry best dipped in fi ery harissa sauce; medfouna — meat and spice-stuffed fl atbread; plus some of the world's fi nest street kebabs, calamari and fresh grilled sardines. Los Angeles-based JORDAN RANE is an award- winning travel writer, whose stories of travel and the outdoors have appeared on CNN Travel, Men's Journal and The Los Angeles Times. He brewed several pots of mint tea while writing about Morocco. 24 | SPRING 2020