Kelaat M'Gouna
Kelaat M'Gouna — also written Kalaat Mgouna — sits in the Valley of Roses, a stretch of the upper Dadès where Damascena roses bloom in late April and May. The roses were brought from Damascus — some say by pilgrims returning from Mecca, others say by the French. Either way, the valley now produces thousands of tonnes of rose petals each year, distilled into rosewater and rose oil for the cosmetics industry.
The rose festival — the Moussem des Roses — is held in May. The town fills with visitors, a rose queen is crowned, and the streets smell like perfume. Outside festival season, the rose cooperatives are open to visitors. The distillation process is simple and centuries old.
The town is also the starting point for hikes into the M'Goun Massif — the second-highest peak in Morocco at 4,071 metres. The M'Goun traverse, a multi-day trek through remote Amazigh valleys, begins and ends in the villages around Kelaat M'Gouna.
Places
Culture
Rose Festival Kelaat Mgouna
Every May, when the Damask roses that line the valley walls come into bloom, Kelaat Mgouna holds a three-day festival that draws people from across Morocco. The rose water distilleries run at full capacity. The valley smells of perfume for a month. The Damask rose arrived in the Dades Valley with pilgrims returning from Damascus in the 10th century. It has been growing here ever since.
Craft
Rose Distillery Cooperative
The cooperatives that distill Damask rose water and rose oil in Kelaat Mgouna operate during a six-week window in May and June when the harvest happens. The process is traditional: fresh petals are steam-distilled in copper alembics, producing rose water for cooking and cosmetics and an extraordinarily concentrated rose absolute for the perfume industry. Morocco is one of the world's largest producers.
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