Ouzoud Falls
Morocco'S Highest Waterfall, Dropping In Stages Commonly Quoted At Around 100 M Into A Gorge Of The El Abid River; A Resident Troop Of Barbary Macaques Lives In The Oaks Around The Pools · Tanaghmeilt, Beni Mellal-Khenifra
Ouzoud is Morocco's highest waterfall and the one most people actually see, dropping in stages commonly quoted at around 100 m from a lip of red rock into a green gorge of the El Abid river, about 150 km north-east of Marrakesh. Old stone water mills still stand at the top, and the name is usually explained as the act of grinding. A path switchbacks down through olive groves to viewing terraces, cafe platforms built out on the cliff and the pools at the base, where small flat-bottomed boats take people into the spray. Afternoon sun puts a rainbow across it. The other reason to come is the troop of Barbary macaques living in the oaks around the path - the only macaque in Africa, listed as endangered, and for most visitors the one place they will meet a wild primate. Honest caveats: it is a long day trip from Marrakesh, loud and crowded at weekends and in summer with Moroccan families as much as foreign groups, the stalls at the top are intrusive, the path is steep and slippery in spray, and the flow thins badly in late summer.
Falls on the El Abid river at Tanaghmeilt, about 150 km north-east of Marrakesh and 20 km from Azilal, Tanaghmeilt, Beni Mellal-Khenifra, Morocco
There is no gate, no ticket office and no closing time: the site is open ground reached from the village of Tanaghmeilt and you can walk down at any hour, though the cafes, the boats and the stalls work daylight hours only, roughly 9:00 to sunset, and far fewer of them open in winter. The boats at the base run when the water allows and stop altogether in high flow or when the pools are low - do not build the day around them. The falls are busiest from about 11:00 to 16:00, when the Marrakesh day tours arrive, and that is also when the afternoon rainbow appears, so the two trade off. Fridays, weekends and Moroccan school holidays are much busier. Getting there: the drive from Marrakesh takes roughly 2.5 to 3 hours each way via Demnate or Azilal, 20 km away, with grand taxis from Azilal and organised day trips from Marrakesh. There is no public transport to the falls themselves after dark. Confirm all times and the state of the water locally.