Since 2008, the annual festival at Joujouka has taken place in June every summer and offers a unique opportunity to spend three days with the Master Musicians. Unlike any other, ours is a true micro-festival which has received rave coverage from Mojo, The Guardian, Liberation, the BBC, Al Jazeera, France 24 and The Irish Times.
Our concept
The Festival is all about offering a very small group of people the opportunity to live in Joujouka with the Masters as your hosts and experience the music in the village and spectacular landscape in which it belongs. People who speak French, Arabic and English and who have long, strong connections with the village are on hand to answer questions and make you feel as at home as possible. Because of the nature of the Festival, numbers have to be strictly limited to 35 people and this means it’s essential to book early if you want to have this incredible experience.
Flying to Morocco
If you’re only coming to Morocco for the Festival, the easiest thing to do is to fly to Tanger and take the train from Tanger Ville, a short taxi ride from the centre of Tanger. A taxi from Tanger to Joujouka costs 1000-1500 MAD. Should you be travelling in Morocco, Fez and Casablanca are four hours from El Ksar El Kebir, the nearest town to Joujouka, by train. Marrakesh is eight hours. Don’t fly to Agadir – there are no direct train connections.
Getting to Joujouka
We collect you at El Ksar El Kebir train station. The station is around 30 mins from Joujouka. The Moroccan train service is good and very cheap. You can find train times at www.oncf.ma, the website of the national rail network.
How long is the festival?
Due to high demand, we only offer three-day tickets for the full festival but if you really want to experience Joujouka and can only come for a shorter period of time, contact us and we’ll see what we can do.
What the ticket price includes
The Masters play for you and the village every night of the Festival on the stage which was purpose built for them and they spend most of the days playing.
Music is part of the fabric of Joujouka and the essence of your experience.
Your ticket includes transport from the nearest railway station EL Ksar el Kebir, three nights’ accommodation in the Masters’ homes. Breakfast is served in the house you will stay in plus lunch and dinner at the master’s madrassa. Alcohol is strictly prohibited.
All accommodation arrangements will be made for you well before you arrive in Joujouka and, don’t worry, you won’t be sharing a room with strangers.
One of the great treats of the Festival is the opportunity to enjoy home cooked Moroccan food, which is delicious. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, please let us know in advance on the forms provided.
Between meals your hosts will often prepare snacks, which are meals in themselves. This is especially important in the evening as dinner is served late before the nightime ritutal performances.
Transport to the village on 23 May from the nearest city Ksar El Kebir is included in the ticket price.
Drop off is by arrangement and should be before noon on 26th May.
Due to various different requirments of guests over previous years this is now by arrangment and at the expense of ticket holders but we will arrrange and book transport and handle payments if required. Typically that will be 6 euro per person direct to Ksar el Kebir train station in a car with 4-5 people.
Direct to Chefchaouen, Aisilah or Tangiers can be arranged also. Please ask for a quote closer to the festival date or on arrival. Prices quoted locally will typicaly be about 1/3 less than tourist operaters in Tanger or Fez.
For more on the festival see Rolling Stone Suzanne Gerber’s 2015 report:
Inside the Oldest, Most Exclusive Dance Party in the World
The Master Musicians of Joujouka announce dates for 2025 festival booking now
Next summer’s festival in the village will be held from 23-25 May.
The Master Musicians of Joujouka have announced their annual festival in the village will return over the weekend 23-25 May 2025.
The three-day festival sees the Master Musicians welcome a limited capacity of up to 50 guests to their village in the Ahl Srif mountains of Morocco and opportunity to witness their ancient sufi trance music.
Visitors stay as guests in the homes of the Master Musicians throughout their stay and ticket price includes all food and drink, plus transport to and from the nearest train station.
Guests make their own way to Ksar El Kebir, around 1 hour drive from Joujouka, and will be dropped of by midday on Monday, 26th May following the festival.
Performances are held at the Madrassa of the Master Musicians of Joujouka in their village.
Following a successful appearance at Glastonbury festival last year, the Master Musicians host two festivals in their village this summer to meet demand.
“Playing trance-inducing music that has existed for centuries, the Master Musicians invite us to rural Morocco to experience it up close – complete with gods in goat skins” – Read report in the Guardian here
Read reports from the May 2024 edition of the Master Musicians of Joujouka festival here
More information about the festival here
First Issue tickets are SOLD OUT for 23 -25 May 2025
WAITING LIST
To be added to the waiting list for a potential second festival or cancelled places email joujouka@gmail.com with “Festival 25” in the subject line