Ouzoud Waterfalls Day Trip from Marrakech: Prices and Timing

The Ouzoud Falls are about 150 km from Marrakech, and a day trip means roughly 3 hours of driving each way for around 11 hours in total. In return you get a 110 m waterfall, a guided hike through the gorge and a boat ride to the base of the falls. Shared tours start around 11 to 14 EUR on the listings we read. Go in spring, leave at 8 am and wear shoes with grip, because the path is steep and wet.

What the Ouzoud Falls are

According to Wikipedia, the falls drop a total of 110 m over 3 steps, in Azilal Province, about 36 km from the town of Azilal and 150 km from Marrakech. They empty into the gorge of the El-Abid River. It is a full-day commitment, not an afternoon add-on.

How the day runs

The shared full-day tour on Headout is a good template, and other operators follow a similar pattern.

• 8:00 am: pickup from your hotel or riad.
• Drive: about 3 hours each way according to that listing.
• Tamellalt village: a 30-minute break on the way.
• Gorge hike: a guided hike of about 1.5 hours through Ouzoud Gorge.
• Boat ride: a boat to the base of the falls, included on that listing.
• Lunch: at a riverside café, included only if you choose the lunch option.
• Back in Marrakech: the listing totals 11 hours.

Here is the arithmetic from those figures. A pickup at 8:00 am plus 3 hours of driving and the 30-minute village break puts you at the falls around 11:30 am. An 11-hour day with a 3-hour drive back means leaving around 4:00 pm and reaching Marrakech around 7:00 pm. That leaves about 4.5 hours on site for the hike, the boat and lunch. This is our calculation, so ask your operator for its real schedule.

What it costs

Tips are not included on the Headout listing, and breakfast and café food cost extra. We did not find a reliable price for the boat ride when booked locally, so check what your tour includes before you assume. With prices this low, the useful questions are the group size and what is included, so ask both before you book.

A worked example for two people, using the prices above: two seats on the Headout tour are about 22 EUR, two seats on the other shared tour about 28.80 EUR plus about 20 EUR for two lunches, and a private tour about 400 EUR. A Moroccan travel guide's 150 to 350 MAD range comes to 300 to 700 MAD for two.

Questions to put to any operator before you pay:

1. How many people travel in the vehicle, and how many follow one guide on the hike?
2. Is the boat ride included, or is it paid at the falls?
3. Is lunch included, and where is it served?
4. What is the pickup point and time, and how is it confirmed?
5. What happens if heavy rain makes the path unsafe?

Tour, private driver or self-drive

• Shared tour: the cheapest option, with a fixed schedule and a fixed amount of time at the falls. Fine if you accept the timetable.
• Private tour: about 200 EUR per adult on the listing we found, in exchange for choosing your own pace and your own departure time.
• Self-drive: nothing in the sources we read gives a driving time other than the tour's 3 hours each way, so use that as your planning figure and leave at dawn. Our guide to getting around Marrakech covers car and taxi options.

When to go

Several operators and travel guides say the falls carry the most water in spring, from snowmelt, and recommend March to June. The falls run all year but the volume varies a lot. Our best time to visit Marrakech guide covers the weather in the city, which is not the same as the weather in the mountains.

The Headout listing asks you to bring swimwear in summer and a rain jacket or waterproof clothing, so pack for both heat and spray.

The hike and the monkeys

Headout describes the hike as moderate walking on steep, uneven terrain with many steps, and warns that some sections are slippery, especially after rain. It says the tour is not recommended for guests with mobility difficulties, and baby strollers are not allowed. Bring:

• comfortable hiking shoes with grip
• a sun hat and sunglasses
• a rain jacket or waterproof layer
• a waterproof cover for your camera or phone
• a water bottle and some cash

Leave large bags and oversized luggage in Marrakech.

Tours also advertise Barbary macaques along the trails and in the olive trees. Treat them as wild animals: keep your distance, do not feed them, and zip your bag and phone away when they are close.

Ouzoud, Ourika or Agafay

If you have one free day, Ouzoud gives the bigger waterfall and costs you 11 hours. If you have half a day, the Ourika Valley is much closer. For an evening instead, read our Agafay desert guide. The three compare like this on the figures in our guides:

For more ideas, see things to do in Marrakech.

What to do when you get back

You are back in the evening and likely tired. Keep the evening simple. Le Jardin is a Medina restaurant with a garden terrace, rated 4.1 from 6,144 Google reviews and open 10 am to 11 pm. Café des Épices is a Medina rooftop rated 4.2 from 6,933 reviews, open 9 am to 11 pm.

The next morning, a hammam works out the hiking: Heritage Spa is rated 4.7 from 844 reviews and opens at 10 am, and Les Bains de Marrakech is rated 4.8 from 5,515 reviews and opens at 9 am.

The short version

Book a shared tour with a clear group size in March to June, leave at 8 am, wear grip shoes and carry a rain layer. Keep the evening easy and book a hammam for the next day from the venue pages above.