Rose Festival in Kelaat M’Gouna
Morocco’s “Valley of Roses” is as lush and fragrant as it looks. It is about a six-hour drive southeast of Marrakech. Although Marrakech, Fes, and Casablanca labyrinthine medinas are famous throughout the world, only a few people come here to Ouarzazate province to attend the Rose festival of Morocco. Unless they are movie stars. Ouarzazate is the African Hollywood, the desert setting of countless films such as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Babel, or Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.
Every year, in Morocco and for three days, we celebrate the “Rose Festival” or “Moussem des Roses”. It is on the second weekend of May. Numerous festivities are held to celebrate this centuries-old tradition.
In the heart of the Moroccan Atlas. between the M’Goun and Dades valleys, rose bushes bloom at an altitude of 1,500 m, nestled on the slopes of the Mgoun.
What is the feast of roses?
According to legend, the Berber pilgrims, in love with the beauty of oriental gardens. So, they brought roses to plant them on the slopes of the M’goun. And exactly in the heart of the Moroccan Atlas. This is why, for several centuries, the valley has lived to the rhythm of this spicy-scented rose that the citizens harvest every spring. And for the importance of this plant, each year they celebrate the rose festival in Morocco.
In May, the Mgouna tribes harvest three to four thousand tons of Damascena rose with a deliciously spicy perfume. At the end of the harvests. The inhabitants come down from the mountains in traditional costumes and participate in 3 days of colorful and lively festivities: the *Moussem of Kelaat Mgouna or the rose festival of Morocco.
The rose festival is a time of song and dance, banquets, souk-like markets. And of course, a procession of chariots through a shower of rose petals. There is also a beauty pageant of sorts, in which a Miss Rose is crowned each year.
It is an opportunity for the adventurous traveler to participate in this famous festival. Moreover, it is to allow them to explore the valley of roses on foot, with its magnificent kasbahs surrounded by rose fields.
Are you looking forward to attending the Rose festival of Morocco?
If you are a rose lover and adventurer. You have come to the right place. We have a wide range of tours especially for you. Contact us to get a Morocco tour to attend the rose valley!
