Ouzoud Falls

Tuesday was excursion day so we were up early for our trip out to Ouzoud Falls in the Middle Atlas Mountains – the tallest waterfall in North Africa. It was a three hour coach trip from the hotel and we set off just after 7am. It was quite nice to leave the bustle of Marrakesh behind us and drive out into the more rural area outside the city.

There wasn’t a great deal to see on route, other than lots of olive trees although the guide told us the countries recent olive harvests have been very poor. They’ve lost lots of olive trees as a result of the drier climate in recent years, and badly need more rain.

The rural roads were pretty good and very straight, for mile after mile. I couldn’t see very well out of the coach front window but that was probably a good thing. I had the impression that the coach driver was having a few road rage moments with other drivers. After one incident the guide turned on his microphone and said to us “you have to appreciate, that in Morocco, the white lines in the middle of the road are only there for decoration”.

The three hour trip went quickly and we arrived at the small town above the falls at about 10.30am. From there we had to walk down a long series of steps to the foot of the falls, with viewing platforms at several points along the way.

Wild macaque monkeys roam freely in the area around the waterfall. We were warned by our guide that if we did see any monkeys not to let them get close certainly not to let them climb onto us as they can bite. Well, we did see monkeys, on the way down to the falls and, this being Morocco, there was someone with them, looking to use them to hustle a few dirhams from the tourists.

The Moroccan guy with the monkeys had a carrier bag full of peanuts. He was trying to force these into peoples hands or dropping them into peoples shirt pockets, encouraging the monkeys to climb up onto them. Several of our group were quite happy to have the monkeys climbing over them, trying to balance them on their shoulders and heads whilst trying to grab a selfie.

The monkeys may well live wild here but they’re certainly used to people. Having experienced similar monkeys on ‘The Rock of Gibraltar’ and seen some of the antics they get up to I wasn’t going anywhere near these. I kept my distance, made sure my bag was firmly fastened, grabbed a few pics, and moved on.

On the way down to the falls we passed numerous restaurants, all cooking food over charcoal using tagines. More photo opportunities for me with the cooks willing to oblige.

After quite a few steps down we reached the plunge pool area we were offered the opportunity to go out on a raft to get up close to the falls. The price was £4 per person which seemed like good value so we took a raft out to the base of the falls. That was a really nice (if wet) experience and good for a few close up pics.

We didn’t spend too much time at the base of the falls as there isn’t that much there, before tracking back up the steps to find our coach. From the falls we drove to nearby Demnat for a forgettable lunch. We then had a flying visit to a nearby cave, which we couldn’t access because the recent earthquake had collapsed the steps leading to it. From there it was the long trip back to Marrakesh with most of us tired after a long day and falling asleep on the coach.

The trip to the falls was run by our tour operator, TUI. It cost £57 per person and I think it was good value. The guide was very knowledgeable and had a good sense of humour. Rural Morocco looked fascinating. As a photographer I saw photo opportunities everywhere and I could have stopped at every little village and town we passed through. I guess we’ll just have to go again but hire a car to drive ourselves.

All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2025 – All rights reserved.