Berkane Oranges

The Berkane plain sits between the Beni Snassen mountains and the Mediterranean, sheltered from the south and watered from the Moulouya, and the combination of that shelter, the heat and the irrigation makes it Morocco's citrus centre - clementines above all, which carry a protected designation of origin as Clémentine de Berkane, along with oranges, lemons and grapefruit. The clementine itself has a specific history: it is generally credited to Father Clément Rodier, a missionary in Algeria, from the early twentieth century, and it spread across North Africa and the Mediterranean from there. Harvest runs through winter and the roads fill with lorries and roadside stalls selling by the crate. A festival in the spring marks the season. The other thing the plain produces is olive oil, and the Zegzel gorge running up into the mountains behind is terraced with both.

What you actually see

• A protected designation - Clémentine de Berkane, tied to this plain.
• A sheltered irrigated plain - the Beni Snassen behind and the Moulouya supplying water.
• Winter harvest - roads full of lorries and roadside stalls selling by the crate.
• Olive alongside - the same terraces carrying oil production up the Zegzel gorge.

When to go

November to February for the harvest; spring for the festival. A day.

Honest expectations

It is an agricultural region, not a visitor attraction - the interest is stalls and landscape. Summer heat is severe and there is no fruit then. Water use for citrus in a drying region is a live issue. Berkane itself is a working town.

Nearby

The Zegzel gorge runs into the mountains behind; Saidia is on the coast.