After visiting the sites of Marrakesh, it’s time to leave the busy city behind and explore other places nearby. You have your choice between the natural beauty of Ouzoud Falls, the beaches of Agadir and the mountain town of Imlil. Any of these will make a great day trip from Marrakesh.
You can find Marrakesh, Ouzoud, Agadir and Imlil in the lower left part of the map below. Click on the image to be directed to an interactive map.
Ouzoud Waterfall
This popular day trip from Marrakesh takes you to a pretty cascade that drops 110 m (330 ft) over tall, red cliffs. As it falls, it navigates a series of tiers to land in a small pool at its base. It is very picturesque, but it is very touristy.
From the top of the falls, you can’t get a full view of it, and at first, we were very disappointed. What you can see though is the picturesque El-Abid River Gorge and the surrounding hills. It’s an interesting landscape with sparsely spaced greenery contrasting the red earth of the hills.
Barbary macaques frequently hang out around the top of the falls, as well as at Monkey Lookout. They are quite docile but keep an eye on your bags and food.
As we hiked from the top of the falls to the Ourika River below, we could start to see the beauty of the area. A rough trail travels beside the water and takes you by a few small waterfalls. The river is chocolate coloured because of the red clay on the hills above. We found it very peaceful at this end of the river and were tempted to stop at one of the rustic cafes to sit and enjoy the view.
If you continue to follow this trail toward the falls you will eventually see it in its entirety where dozens of streams drop down the walls of small red cirque. The pool at the base of the falls is a very busy place because it provides the best view. Boats are waiting there to take tourists under the falls for those who want a closer look.
There’s also a path along the other side of the river, offering another perspective of the falls. It feels like a completely different site on this side of the river. Instead of a rough path and a few rustic stalls, this pathway is paved and lined by juice shacks, restaurants and knickknack shops.
If you can’t walk back to the top, you can hire a donkey and ride up. The poor things were kept very busy with tourists.
The falls are on the edge of Tanaghmelt. There’s not much to do in the town, but it does have a beautiful setting in the red hills. In the distance you can see the traditional clay homes of an Amazigh village.
How to get to Ouzoud Falls
You can easily find a tour in Marrakesh to visit this popular site. Depending on the level of service, expect to pay between €15 and €160. We booked one through our riad which only provided shared transportation, but it worked for us. Be warned though, if you arrive without a guide, touts will pounce on you. Some people in our group went with a guide, but he only took them to shops where he would get a commission and only to two viewpoints of the falls. We just walked away and he left us alone. Some tours will include a guide from Marrakesh, but you really don’t need one.
If you want to take public transportation, it is possible, but it’s a bit complicated. From Marrakesh take a bus to the city of Beni-Mellal and then hire a taxi to the town of Tanaghmeilt.
It is a long, 3 hour drive one-way to reach Tanaghmeilt. If you have a lot of time it’s not a bad day, but if you’re on a tight schedule, it’s probably not worth it. Our drive had a bit of excitement when our driver hit a pedestrian. High school age kids were walking on the side of the highway to school when our driver got a little too close. He hit a kid so hard with the sideview mirror, that it was ripped off from the van. It appeared that the boy’s arm was injured, but thankfully, it didn’t look serious. Our driver was very mad that his van was damaged. He was clearly at fault, but no one in the van said anything to him.
Where to stay at Ouzoud Falls
Most people visit on a day trip which is more than enough time, but there are a few hotels and riads in town, some overlook the falls.
Agadir
If you’re looking for an inexpensive beach vacation, Morocco’s Agadir is a good choice. The long beach in town is clean and has fine sand. You can rent umbrellas and sunbeds or find space on the sand by yourself. It seemed like November would be a great time to visit because it’s warm, but not overly hot, and the beaches aren’t very busy.
The Atlantic Ocean at this city beach is fairly calm and good for swimming. Further south and north, the waves in the Atlantic Ocean are perfect for surfers.
A long promenade follows the edge of Agadir Beach and hosts dozens of tourist restaurants and hotels. The international chain restaurants here made us feel as though we’d left Morocco.
High above the beach is Agadir Oufella Kasbah. The 16th century fortress was built to protect the port city from Portuguese invaders. It was severely damaged in the 1960s earthquake and has been closed since. A gondola (cable car) can take you up to the top for views of the city and the coast. We walked part way up just before sunset for a nice view.
At the end of the beach, a small marina is filled with sailboats. It was pretty quiet on a Friday afternoon in November when we visited, but it is has a very pretty setting.
The souk that provides access to the beach didn’t feel like Morocco either because of its organized shops and clean sidewalks. The original city medina was destroyed in the earthquake and there is a newly built re-creation 5 kilometres from the beach. Since we had seen many old medinas throughout the country, we didn’t visit this artificial one, but it is a fairly popular tourist site.
Another new building in the city is the large Mohamed V Mosque. It was built in the 1960s after Meknes Earthquake destroyed the city. The king ordered that all new buildings, including this mosque, be earthquake-resistant.
What to wear in Agadir
If you are on the beach or the promenade, you can wear almost what ever you want. Bikinis are fine on the beach. Shorts and tank tops are okay on the promenade. If you walk around the downtown area though, you should be respectful and dress modestly.
How to get to Agadir
CTM buses travel between Marrakesh (3 hours) and Agadir, as well as Essaouira (3 hours) or Casablanca (5 hours). Trains currently to not travel to Agadir.
Where to stay in Agadir
If you want to stay longer than a day-trip, there are plenty of locally run resorts, hotels and apartments near the beach. Further north, Imi Ouaddar has a small beach town with a few European-style resorts and is a popular spot for surfers.
Imlil
Imlil (1740 m/5700 ft) is a typical mountain town in an underdeveloped country with outdoor gear shops lining the hilly streets and jeeps parked in front. In fact, this downtown district is purpose-built, exclusively for the mountain tourism industry. The residents live in one of the many Amazigh (Berber) villages that climb the hills around it. Most of whom work in tourism.
This mountain village is often the starting point for treks in the High Atas. We did a three-day hike from here, but many travel to the town for a short hike, or even just to see the High Atlas Mountains. There are two mountain passes on either side of the village that you could hike up to and back in a day.
The High Atlas Mountains slowly reveal themselves to you on the drive to Imlil. You don’t even need to hike to enjoy fantastic mountain views.
How to get to Imlil
You can reach this mountain town by Grand Taxi (share-taxi) from Marrakesh, but the best option would be a private taxi or tour so you can stop and see the views on the way.
Essaouira
Technically you could visit Essaouira on a day trip from Marrakesh, but we think it is too great a city and deserves more time. You can read more about the port and fortress of this fantastic city in our post Exploring The Fortress and Port of Essaouira.
Ait Ben Haddou
The sandcastle-like heritage town of Ait Ben Haddou makes a perfect, although long, day trip from Marrakesh. If the mostly abandoned 11th century town looks familiar, that’s because Ait Ben Haddou was the location for many films and TV shows including; Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth and Game of Thrones. The site is such a great place to visit, that we dedicated a post to it. For more information visit our post Ait Ben Haddou & Ouarzazate – Movie Sets In Morocco.
Click on the link to read our Travel Tips For Morocco.
To read more of our adventures in Morocco, click here.
Coming Next – Two Valleys Trek, Morocco’s High Atlas
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