The short answer
Choose Ourika if you are short on time or want an easy mountain day: it is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Marrakech, with riverside cafés and the smaller Setti Fatma cascades. Choose Ouzoud if you want one big waterfall, about 110 metres, with boats and wild monkeys, and do not mind two and a half to three hours each way.
In more detail
They suit different days. Ourika is close enough to be a half day and fits neatly around a busy city stay. Ouzoud takes the whole day, so it makes most sense once you have seen the medina and have three or more days.
Ouzoud is Morocco's tallest waterfall, falling in tiers down a red-rock gorge. You walk down through olive groves, take a small boat near the base, and watch for Barbary macaques in the trees. Ourika is about the valley: villages, terraces, a river and a rocky walk to the first fall.
If your stay allows, do both on separate days. If you want the mountains and a waterfall in one, the Three Valleys day covers more of the Atlas than Ourika alone.
Good to know
- Spring is best for both: full rivers and green terraces.
- Ourika gets busy at weekends; Ouzoud gets busy from late morning.
- Do not feed the macaques at Ouzoud.