Unforgettable Ourika Valley: Atlas Mountains Day Trip from Marrakech

Elious and Halid were great guides. Very attentive and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the day.

Ayoub was the best and we highly recommend this excursion. Lots to see and do - very interesting. The walk to the waterfalls was a little hair raising but we were helped by the guide and again lots of fun. The lunch by the water was better than expected, very tasty :) fun packed day with the host😎

A thrilling but exhausting day started with a 9am pick up near our Riad before being driven out of Marrakesh in a luxury people carrier (we were 5 adults) to our first stop at a viewpoint in the mountains - very pretty and I am sure the others visitors thought the same. Second stop, a traditional Berber commune for women where we were given an introduction to the benefits of argon oil and its manufacture before being offered the opportunity to buy some of the products - not overly expensive when compared to shopping in Marrakesh. Then off to our final destination, the Ourika Valley and the waterfall where we met our guide who led us up the mountain to the actual waterfalls. This was, in places, steep and rugged but our guide was attentive throughout, no rushing, a helpful hand here and there etc, my heart rate topping out at 129 bpm (60 m with a slight walking defect). The journey down was slightly easier although walking down slopes for me is actually more difficult but all in all very glad I went. We were then taken past all the attractive looking restaurants along the river to a restaurant that, in comparison was underwhelming however the food was delicious. I did ask why we, and many other guided tours didn’t stop at the nicer looking restaurants and was told that the food in those was not as good. We did ask our drive to take us back up the hill so we could have a coffee and sitting at one of these nicer looking restaurants we quickly saw why they took us elsewhere, the food did not look great! As we had a private tour we were able to make alterations including going for a coffee which made the day better for us and having seen some of the group tours sitting cramped in some of the coaches we were glad we did. We booked our tour through Marrakesh Taxis (Marrakesh taxi.com) the day before and I cannot recommend them highly enough, our cost compared to the group tours didn’t stop costs were almost the same even when we added the cost of lunch to our bill

Good communication from company and driver about pick-up time, location and outline of the day. Ayoub shared his knowledge about the country during drive into mountains and gave regular stops to experience views, a local souk, a women’s argan oil cooperative and a traditional Berber house. Prices for argan oil products were much higher than in city but we felt pressured to buy. Hike up to the waterfall is certainly not for the faint- hearted,however, and we do feel this should be made clearer. It was raining heavily and our local guide set off up a steep rocky path at a blistering pace. We had to step across a narrow wooden bridge over a raging swollen river where everyone needed help to cross safely Then the path became even steeper and challenging. Many people and young children needed help climbing up and down safely. If anyone had fallen they would have gone tumbling down the mountainside. Local guide was very good helping and holding our hands but the experience was positively dangerous in the rain. View of waterfall was ok but not that impressive. Once safely down we were led to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Service was appallingly slow and they got our orders mixed up adding to the delay. Unpleasant experience sitting in wet clothes by cold raging river for so long☹️Interesting to get out of city and see a different aspect of Morocco but be prepared for the tough hike with total lack of health and safety adherence!

The whole experience was incredible, we really enjoyed the tea, bread & dips and the information given about all the oils. All the tour guides were amazing very friendly (i can only remember Fatima's name, sorry !) but everyone made it special. The waterfall tour was also great it is out of my comfort zone as i'm not entirely comfortable hiking in rocky heights but between holding my friends hand, the guide took over and made sure i got to each bit safely. Can't recommend this tour enough. If for health reasons you can't do the hike they do allow you to wait in the nearby restaurant which is also beautiful and everyone meets there at the end.

Yassin our guide is fantastic! and the driver Zacarias, very good driver. The Ourika Valle is a beautiful place, peacefull.

Today we had a wonderful trip to the mountains and valleys with Hamza as our driver. He was extremely polite, helpful, and truly made our day special. My kids especially enjoyed the hiking and the beautiful waterfalls it was the highlight of their day! Everything was perfect from start to finish. Hamza went above and beyond, and we highly recommend him to anyone looking for a great experience.

Everything was perfect except for the fact that our driver Bader drove above the speed limit, overtaking on blind corners all while texting on his phone! It was the most dangerous driving I've ever seen and someone will be killed if he continues to drive this way. As I said, the rest of the trip was absolutely incredible hence why this still gets four stars, minus one for irresponsible driving!

Yassine was very helpful. Arrived on time and collected family. Plans for stops on the route worked very well. Foot tour to go up the mountains and waterfall was well arranged and looked after.

Really informative Argan Oil Cooperative. Highly recommend trainers for the hike up to the Waterfall. Take a rucksack, with a towel if you plan to paddle or swim and water too. Lunch was delicious.