The Fez region is home to many treasures. Fez itself is Morocco’s oldest and most awe-inspiring medieval centre, and within an hour and a half lie the interesting and surprising Middle Atlas Mountains, the former capital city Meknes, and the southernmost ruins of the Roman empire at Volubilis. In the region you find vineyards, mountain lakes, Barbary apes and hundreds of years of crumbling and fascinating history.  

The terrain to the south of Fez is somewhat surprising, and not what many would expect of Morocco. The towns of Ifrane and Azrou lie on the doorstep of the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas Mountains. This low altitude, sparsely-populated range of mountains has a lonely mystique to it and makes an interesting day trip from Fez. The forests are home to families of Barbary apes – which are very commonly-sighted – and the towns of Sefrou and Immouzer have an old-world charm, with a proliferation of pitched-roof dwellings that hark back to the French Protectorate period.