The Ouzoud waterfalls are the most-visited natural site in central Morocco, and from Afourar they are an easy day trip: 77 kilometres, about an hour and forty minutes each way. Here is how to make a day of it without ending up in the worst of the crowds.
The route
Take the N25/R304 south-east out of Afourar, past the Bin El Ouidane dam and on to Azilal (56 km), then follow signs west for Ouzoud — another 21 kilometres on smaller roads through olive country. The whole drive is paved.
It is not a fast road. The mountain sections are narrow with blind bends, and you will lose time behind lorries. Leave early: you want to arrive before the coach parties from Marrakech, which generally means being at the falls by nine.
Without a car, this is a harder trip: grand taxis will get you to Azilal and on towards Ouzoud with changes, but the timing is unreliable for a return the same day. Hiring a taxi for the day from Afourar or Beni Mellal, agreed in advance with waiting time included, is the usual solution.
The falls themselves
Ouzoud drops roughly 110 metres in a series of tiers into a red-rock gorge on the El Abid — the same river dammed at Bin El Ouidane. The flow is at its most spectacular in spring, after the winter rains; by late summer it is much reduced, though the gorge remains striking.
The name is usually glossed as relating to the olive trees that cover the slopes around it, and there are still small water-driven olive mills beside the river.
The walk down and back
From the car park, a stepped path descends through olive groves and terraced café terraces to the pool at the base. It takes twenty to thirty minutes down at a gentle pace; coming back up is a real climb in heat, so leave something in reserve and carry water.
The path is uneven, with worn stone steps and no handrail in places. Wear proper shoes. It is not suitable for wheelchairs or for pushchairs, and small children need holding on the upper sections.
At the bottom, small boats take visitors close to the base of the falls for a modest fee — you will get wet, which in June is the point. Swimming in the pool is possible, though the water is cold and the current near the falls is stronger than it looks.
The macaques
Ouzoud has a well-known population of Barbary macaques, which live in the olive groves along the path. They are wild animals in an endangered species, habituated to people and entirely capable of biting.
- Do not feed them. Feeding is the reason they crowd the path, and human food makes them ill.
- Keep bags closed and phones held firmly.
- Do not touch, and do not pose with one placed on your shoulder by somebody expecting payment.
- Watch from a few metres away and you will see far more interesting behaviour anyway.
Guides, parking and money
Parking is paid, informally attended, and cheap. Guides offer their services at the top — unnecessary for the main path, genuinely useful if you want the longer walk downstream through the gorge towards the “Mexican village”. Agree a price and a duration before you start.
The terraces at the bottom serve tagine, salads and mint tea with a view of the water; prices are tourist prices by local standards and still modest. Everything is cash.
The best time to go
March to May is the best combination of full flow and tolerable temperature; the gorge is green and the volume of water is at its peak after the wettest month of the year. October and November are quieter and still warm, with lower flow.
July and August are hot and crowded, and the climb back up is genuinely tiring in 40-degree heat — go at first light or not at all. Weekends and Moroccan public holidays are busy year-round.
A workable day plan
- 07:00 — leave Afourar, fuel already in the tank.
- 07:45 — ten minutes at the Bin El Ouidane viewpoints.
- 09:00 — park at Ouzoud and walk down before the coaches arrive.
- 11:30 — boat to the base of the falls, then early lunch on a terrace.
- 13:30 — climb back up in the shade of the olive groves.
- 14:30 — drive back via Azilal, stopping at the lake in the afternoon light.
- 17:00 — back in Afourar.