The Roses Festival in Kelaat M’Gouna province

In the small province of Kelaat M’Gouna, wild roses bloom every year between late April and the first week of May, painting the entire valley in pink.  The Valley of Roses is located in the pre-desert region near the Dades Valley. The world-famous festival of roses is celebrated here.

Why roses in particular?

Wild roses have a bright pink color and a very intense fragrance compared to other types of roses. They survive the cold, the drought of winter and then they bloom in spring. Locals use rose petals in many ways: they extract oils and perfumes, use them for garland decorations and for fencing plots of land; their strong scent keeps animals away from crops.

Roses are harvested at the break of dawn, as soon as they hatch, or after sunset. They are then taken to the Kabash, where the best petals are used to make rose essence or used to make rose water instead.

All you need to know

If you stay at the Hotel of Roses, you can witness the entire procedure of rose processing and distillation. This is also the only hotel near the festival village.

The dates of the roses festival vary from year to year, but the month is always May. During the celebration, tourists are entertained by Berber dances and music, parades of floats, and horsemen dressed in traditional clothing. Moreover, it is also elected the“Malika al Ouard”, the rose queen.

The products may seem very expensive, but the number of roses used compared to the product obtained is much higher. Indeed, to achieve one kilogram of distillate, 500 kilograms of roses are needed.

The roses festival is a tradition that every year attracts many tourists in the small province of Kelaat M’Gouna and makes more and more people aware of this beautiful tradition.

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