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.