Marrakech – Demnate – Ouzoud – Marrakech

Enjoy the spectacular beauty amidst the mountains of Middle Atlas, known as Cascades d’Ouzoud, plunging from several streams down several hundred metres. Read more here…

Let’s take a break from the hustle and bustle of the Imperial City of Marrakech, Medina, and let us take you on a drive through the Middle Atlas mountains. The landscape shifts from the red city to rows and rows of olive trees, dotted by the occasional human. Changing hues of red and green calm the eyes.

Before reaching the waterfalls you will pass through Demnate, a small charming walled town with its old Mellah . A few kilometres away, at Imi n’Ifri, the local attraction is a natural bridge over a gorge, the result of a partial collapse of an underground cave system.

A surprising change of scenery, spectacular in its beauty, is Ouzoud. As if to prove the desert and sand wrong, Cascades d’Ouzoud (Ouzoud meaning the act of grinding grain) rises 110m in all its splendour. At the summit of the falls, several small mills still function.   From the summit, you will make your way down shaded path that  allow access to the base of the falls.

 And what a discovery this will be. From the summit where you start, you will be reverted by the many streams (6!) that come together at different points to roar the edge.

Before descending, you can try to see the lip of the falls from the Riad Cascades d’Ouzoud. The over sized caves here used to shelter watermills, grinding wheat into flour as the river is diverted through the wheels before plunging over the edge. A path through a grove of olive trees leads to the pools carved out of the rock at the base of the falls. You might fancy a dip in the pools at the base! Some sports are available, if you are feeling adventurous, you could do a spot of abseiling, kayaking, waterskiing.  

You can stop along the path on your walk down to the base, have a drink to freshen up, or have a traditional Moroccan meal at one of the many local restaurants that dot the path, or you might want to fancy up to a nicer restaurant by the lake.