Ourika Valley,
Morocco.
High Atlas · Near Marrakech
Riverside restaurants along the Ourika river
- From Marrakech
- 35 kmas the crow flies
- How long
- Day trip from Marrakech
- Nearest airport
- Marrakech Menara (RAK) + 1h
- Best time
- March–June and September–November (snow upstream in winter)
The greenest, gentlest Atlas escape from Marrakech — Berber villages, riverside tables and the Setti Fatma waterfalls, an hour from the medina.
The Ourika is Marrakech's best-loved mountain bolthole, and the one we steer first-timers toward when they want the Atlas without surrendering a whole day to the road. An hour south of the city, a green river valley climbs up into the High Atlas, threaded with Berber villages, terraced saffron and herb gardens, and riverside restaurants whose tables stand right in the running water. At the valley's head, Setti Fatma is the trailhead for the seven-waterfalls walk, and each Monday the Tnine Ourika souk fills with farmers down from the surrounding hills. It's an easy half- or full-day, and slots naturally alongside a cooking workshop in a village home.
Where it sits
Ourika Valley on the map.
Ourika Valley is about 35 km south-east of Marrakech in a straight line; the road is longer. The line on the map is that straight line, not the route your driver takes.
Map: Marrakech to Ourika Valley
- MarrakechView on OpenStreetMap
- Ourika ValleyView on OpenStreetMap
- ImlilView on OpenStreetMap
- Agafay DesertView on OpenStreetMap
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
What to see in Ourika Valley.
The Setti Fatma waterfall Setti Fatma waterfalls
A scramble above the village to a string of seven cascades — the first an easy half-hour, the rest reserved for keener legs.
Café chairs in the Ourika riverbed Lunch in the river
Tables planted in the shallows of the Ourika for tagine and grilled meat, eaten with your feet in the cold running water.
Berber villages & gardens
Terraced saffron and herb plots, a look inside a traditional Berber house, and a stop at an argan-oil or pottery co-op.
The Monday souk
The weekly market at Tnine Ourika — a true working Berber souk, well clear of the tourist circuit.
Trips
2 tours that visit Ourika Valley.
Every itinerary is private and built around your dates, with a proper stop in Ourika Valley. Each one is priced in a written quote within 24 hours.
Plan your Ourika Valley days
- Private your group in its own car
- 24 h a written quote
- Free nothing to pay to ask
Ourika Valley, answered.
Is the Ourika Valley worth visiting?
Can you swim in the Ourika river?
Before you go.
- Getting there
- Around 1h by road south of Marrakech into the High Atlas
- Best for
- An easy mountain day, light walking, families and food
Pair Ourika Valley with.
From the journal.
Have your Ourika Valley days planned by a local.
Tell us your dates, group size and pace. We send a written proposal within 24 hours: private guides, transfers, riads, the lot.