Morocco
A hidden waterfall in an argan forest where beekeepers harvest from wild cliff hives.
The honey is the draw — produced by bees working the thyme and lavender of the Atlas foothills, sold in glass jars at roadside stalls and celebrated in an annual festival each August. The cascades that give the town its fame tumble through a palm-filled gorge, their flow dependent on the season — thundering in spring, reduced to a trickle by late summer. The drive up from Agadir passes through argan forests where goats perch in the branches.
Imouzzer Ida Outanane is a Berber hill town in the western High Atlas, roughly 60 kilometres northeast of Agadir, known for its waterfalls and honey production. The cascades flow through a gorge below the town, at their most impressive between February and April after winter rains. The annual Honey Festival in August celebrates the region's beekeeping tradition — thyme and lavender honey from the surrounding hillsides is considered among Morocco's finest. The drive from Agadir passes through the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, where argan trees grow in their native habitat and goats famously climb the branches to eat the nuts.
Solo
The drive from Agadir through argan forests is an experience in itself. The honey festival in August adds a cultural dimension for visitors who time it right.
Couple
Waterfalls, honey tastings, and goats in argan trees — a half-day trip from Agadir that delivers a disproportionate amount of charm for the distance.
Wild honey tasting at the annual honey festival — dozens of varieties from thyme to euphorbia.
Tagine of chicken with argan oil and almonds at valley-floor guesthouses.

Pedra de Lume
Cape Verde
Float in a salt lake inside an extinct volcano, crater walls rising on every side.

Vale do Paúl
Cape Verde
Sugarcane terraces spill down a volcanic crater into the greenest valley in the archipelago.

Monastery of St. Anthony
Egypt
Earth's oldest inhabited monastery, wedged into a Red Sea mountain canyon since the fourth century.

Hoang Su Phi
Vietnam
Rice terraces so vertiginous they look like topographical maps carved directly into the sky.

Chefchaouen
Morocco
Blue-washed walls dripping with bougainvillea in a mountain medina where cats outnumber cars.

Fes el-Bali
Morocco
Nine thousand alleys where the smell of cedar, leather, and centuries of spice never fades.

Essaouira
Morocco
Atlantic gales rattle shutters on a fortified port where Hendrix once jammed with Gnawa musicians.

Erg Chebbi
Morocco
Saharan dunes taller than apartment blocks turning from gold to crimson as the sun drops.