Breathtaking Ourika Valley: Atlas Mountains Day Escape

Nice natural views and architecture but a little annoying that every beautiful place you can't really stop to enjoy it calmly without being harassed by market traders, street sellers and beggars. A lot of it is staged for tourists. The people in my group were lovely, and we shared a nice meal to end the trip. The driver and our guide to the falls were both great

The first thing I remember isn’t the mountains or the waterfalls — it’s the steam curling out of a small glass of mint tea while the morning chill wrapped around us. We were sitting in the open courtyard of our riad in Marrakech, waiting for our driver, and I remember thinking how quiet the city felt before the shops woke up. That silence didn’t last long. Mohamed, our driver for the day, arrived with a big grin and an even bigger “Namaste, my friend!” as if we’d known each other for years. The van wound its way out of Marrakech, and slowly, the red clay walls gave way to olive groves and the scattered stone homes of Berber families. The road curled like a ribbon through the foothills, sunlight spilling over the peaks ahead. I pressed my forehead to the window, breathing in that mix of anticipation and curiosity you only get before a new place unfolds. Our first stop was an argan oil cooperative run by local Berber women. One of them, Fatima, sat cross-legged, grinding the roasted nuts between two stones, her hands moving with a rhythm that felt older than memory. She laughed as I tried — and failed — to get the paste as smooth as hers. The smell of warm, nutty oil clung to my fingers for the rest of the morning. The hike to the waterfalls was led by Younes, whose easy pace and steady hand made the crossing of a barefoot stream feel less like a challenge and more like a childhood adventure. We stepped over swaying wooden bridges, ducked under shaded cliffs, and passed children splashing in the cool water. At one bend, a monkey darted across our path, stopping just long enough to steal a piece of fruit from a tourist’s bag before disappearing into the trees. The sound of the falls grew louder, echoing off the rock until we stood at their base, cool mist kissing our faces. Lunch was beside the river — a bubbling tajine of chicken with preserved lemon, fresh salad, and warm bread you tear with your hands. The low chairs wobbled on the pebbles, and Mohamed teased, “Careful or you’ll float away with your tajine!” We laughed, and for a moment, time felt unhurried. After lunch, I wandered the small riverside stalls, picking up handwoven bracelets while the water whispered nearby. The drive back was bathed in golden light, music low in the van, everyone pleasantly tired. I leaned back, watching the hills fade into dusk, feeling both full and light at the same time. This Ourika Valley day trip from Marrakech was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. Highly recommend this day trip to Ourika Valley if you want nature, warmth, and soul.

We had an amazing trip in Ourika, we started our excursion with visiting the traditional Moroccan oil making and brought amazing organic products, the staff there were beyond helpful, multi-lingual and just welcomed with kindness. Esmail drove us to our guide who took us through the mountains, showed us local business and restaurants, saw monkeys who were very friendly, we trekked up the mountain, took amazing pictures, learnt so many historical facts and ate some locally sourced snacks, we then reached top of the mountain where the waterfall was located, the water, views and people were just breathtaking. We then made our way down the mountain, brought some goods at their amazing stores, then went all the way back down to the restaurants located right by the free flowing river and ate some amazing traditional Moroccan food, I really recompensed the mint tea and the soup with the bread, very cheap as we were a family of 5. After we ate, we went to see the traditional Berber house and was given a tour in both English and French. The trip itself was very cheap and was given a great discount. Everyone that was involved in executing this trip was beyond wonderful and really recommend using their services and will definitely be back. Esmail was helpful, patient and overall great, I really recommend him as your guide. 10/10 trip!!

It was a very great day with our guid yosf who was very kind and formative also a good driver he shared alot about his culter (berber ) Also we had good food next to the water ourika is great place I recommande it Thank you youssef badr

The driver (Yousef) was super friendly and funny. His driving was really good and he also gave some insights and interesting facts about Morocco and the Atlas region. Would do a tour with him again.

Jusef, the driver, was good, he was super friendly and shared some interesting facts and information about Morocco with us. The tour was good, we made quite a lot of stops in between which were really interesting as we learned about the moroccan cultures. We had a lot od time to look through everything and had good lunch. We even got lucky with the weather :)

Really enjoyed our day trip... Our guide Yousef was incredible, very knowledgeable can't recommend this enough. Good variety to the day

Met the driver at meeting point and he was lovely. Slight issue with seats at back of minibus, very little room, but the driver moved seat for myself as I am limited mobility. This trip was a challenge for myself to see how far I could get, the same for my partner (both mid 50 but arthritis and fibromyalgia)and grandson. We stopped several times at a souk for photograph, very pushy owner (so beware) I did mange to beat him down alot. Then visited our 3rd argon oil cooperative this week. Had a wander and waited for the others. Lovely to see all berber living on way to waterfall. At the meeting point for guide at waterfalls, road is chaos, so be careful. Toilet is to side of resturant (beware worst ones yet) guide was lovely and we started up, across a wooden slat open bridge (my nightmare) across fast moving water. Then the even stoney ground and make shift steps, very steep in places. I managed around 1/3 before my legs gave out and guide sat me at lovely cafe with stunning view at the first souk. Partner and grandson carried on. Partner made it around 2/3 and had to sit and wait, grandson made the top and took photos for us. The way down was much easier and enjoyable. Guide then took us to the resturant he worked for and we sat by the fast running river. 3 course meal 130 dh each, drinks extra and no choice of less courses, but food was good and good price. We made the trip home in one session this time as some other travellers were moaning about no more shopping. The driver was lovely and instead of us having to get a taxi back to out hotel as not on the list, he drove us back (we gave him a nice tip) he was very thankful. So challenge accepted, pleased with how much we managed and was beautiful, despite not reaching the top.

Esmail was our guide for the trip, he picked us up from our hotel and took us to the Ourika valley. Would recommend trainers for the walk up to the waterfall. Was as incredible experience and was topped off by lunch by the river.

We had such a lovely trip, thankyou so much to our driver Mustafa! We felt well looked after, safe, and had plenty of time to visit each stop. The guides were all so welcoming and friendly, and a shout out to our hiking guide Said who was so so lovely too. I would definitely recommend!