1 Day Trip from Marrakech to the Ouzoud Waterfalls
At 110 metres, the Ouzoud falls are the highest in North Africa: a series of cascades tumbling into a red-rock gorge lined with olive trees, where wild Barbary macaques play along the paths. This private day trip from Marrakech gives you time to walk down to the foot of the falls, take a small boat to the spray and enjoy a long lunch with a view.
- Duration: 1 day (about 10 hours)
- Starts and ends: your riad or hotel in Marrakech
- Distance: about 150 km each way, roughly 2 hours 30 minutes' drive
- Walking: about 2 hours on paths and steps
- Price: on request, depends on group size
Highlights
- Viewpoints over the full height of the falls from the top of the gorge
- A guided walk down through olive groves and old water mills
- A ride on a colourful raft boat to the base of the cascade
- Wild Barbary macaques in the trees around the falls
- Lunch on a terrace overlooking the water
- The Middle Atlas foothills and Berber villages on the drive
Day by Day
Day 1: Marrakech → Ouzoud Waterfalls → Marrakech
Your driver collects you at 8:30. The road crosses the Haouz plain and climbs into the foothills of the Middle Atlas near Azilal, with a stop for mint tea along the way. You reach Ouzoud at about 11:00 and meet a local guide, who leads you along the rim of the gorge to the best viewpoints, then down a winding path past olive presses and small shops to the bottom of the falls.
At the pool beneath the cascade you can take a short ride on a flat-bottomed boat into the spray. After lunch on one of the terraces facing the falls, you walk back up the other side of the gorge, where the macaques are often most curious. You leave around 15:30 and are back in Marrakech in the early evening.
Included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
- Pick-up and drop-off at your riad or hotel in Marrakech
- Local guide at the waterfalls
- Fuel, tolls and bottled water
Not included: lunch, the boat ride (a few euros per person), tips.
Good to Know
- Best time: spring, after the winter rains, when the falls are at their fullest. In late summer the flow is lower but swimming in the pools is possible.
- Shoes: wear trainers; the steps can be slippery near the water.
- The monkeys: please don't feed them; it harms their health.
- More day trips: see our Ourika Valley day trip, Atlas Mountains and Imlil day trip and Essaouira day trip.