Climb the hillside south of central Rabat and you arrive at a walled enclosure that compresses a thousand years of the city's past into a single quiet site. Chellah holds the ruins of Sala Colonia — the southernmost Roman port of the Mauretania Tingitana province, founded in the 1st century CE — and, layered on top, the tombs, minaret and gardens of a 14th-century Merinid royal necropolis. The two cities sit on the same soil, separated by a thousand years and reached in one walk.

Pass through the monumental Merinid gate flanked by its two octagonal towers and the site opens into a sloping mix of archaeological park and overgrown garden. White storks nest on every tower, frogs sound from the sacred pool, and the visit moves between a ruined mosque and minaret, the foundations of a small madrasa, the white-domed tomb of the Black Sultan Abu al-Hassan, and Roman paving stones still visible underfoot. Wildflowers spill out of the masonry in spring; in summer the storks dominate the soundtrack.

The whole enclosure was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2012 as part of the historic ensemble of Rabat. Entry is around 70 MAD, with the ticket office at the main gate; bring cash, as cards are not accepted. The site closes at 18:00 in summer, earlier in winter — late afternoon, an hour before closing, is when the light is warmest and the storks return to their nests.