Ourika Valley day trip from Marrakech: a day in the Atlas without your suitcase

Your last day in Marrakech: check-out from the riad at noon, and a train or flight only in the evening. Rather than killing time in a café with your suitcase, you can head up for some Atlas mountain air: the Ourika Valley and the village of Setti Fatma are about an hour's drive away. Here is how to plan that day honestly, with the real opening hours of our drop-off points, the precautions to take against flash floods, and what changes in winter.

The Ourika Valley in a nutshell

The Ourika Valley runs south-east from Marrakech, from the Haouz plain up into the High Atlas mountains, along the Ourika river. The paved road ends at Setti Fatma, at about 1,500 metres, the starting point of the valley's best-known walk: the seven waterfalls. Distances quoted vary between sources, from 60 to 68 km from the city, so think of it as "about 60 km".

• The first waterfall is fairly easy to reach from the village, on a rocky path that crosses the river.
• The higher waterfalls call for proper walking shoes and some scrambling over rocks. A local guide is a good idea if you want to go further up.
• On Mondays, a weekly souk is held at the entrance of the valley, in Tnine Ourika ("tnine" means Monday in Arabic).

How to get there from Marrakech

1. An organised tour. Pick-up at your hotel or riad, back in the late afternoon. The easiest option, but departures are often early in the morning: check the exact pick-up and return times before booking.
2. A private grand taxi for the day. You set the departure and return times, so you can leave after dropping off your bags. Agree on the price, the stops and the return time before you get in.
3. A shared grand taxi. The cheapest option, but it leaves when it is full, and the departure rank in Marrakech has moved several times in recent years: ask your riad where it leaves from today.

Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours each way depending on traffic and stops. Whatever you choose, travel light: a grand taxi has no room for several suitcases, and in Setti Fatma everything is done on foot.

Where to leave your suitcase: two points, two uses

Medersa Ben Youssef: the right choice for a late return

The Bazar Posterre point near the Medersa Ben Youssef is a shop in the north of the medina, about 3 minutes on foot from the Medersa and 10 minutes from Jemaa el-Fna. It is open 11am to 11pm Monday to Thursday and on Saturdays, 11am to 10pm on Fridays, and closed on Sundays. This is the point that suits an excursion with a late-afternoon return, or an evening train. Taxis cannot enter the alleys, so allow a few minutes' walk to the road.

Mind the 11am opening: if your tour picks you up at 8am, the point is not open yet. In that case, a private grand taxi leaving around 11:30am or noon works better. Ourika is easily done as a long half-day.

Bab Aghmat: opens early, but closes at 5pm

The Salon de coiffure Bab Aghmat point, just outside Bab Aghmat in the south-east of the medina, is open every day from 9am to 5pm, Sundays included. To be honest, 5pm is too early for most excursion returns. It only works if you are back before 4:30pm, for example after a short morning in the valley, or on a Sunday when the Ben Youssef point is closed. Follow the directions in your booking to find it.

At drop-off, the partner scans your QR code and takes a timestamped photo of your bags. On your return, you show the same QR code: bags are only handed back against that code.

Flash floods: the rule you must never forget

Ourika in winter

At 1,500 metres, Setti Fatma is noticeably cooler than Marrakech, and the nearby peaks can be snow-capped. Bring a warm layer and a windbreaker, even if the medina felt mild in the morning. Wet rocks near the waterfalls get slippery: real walking shoes beat smooth trainers. Winter days are short and night falls early in the mountains, so plan to head down by mid-afternoon, which brings you back to Marrakech in the early evening, well before the Ben Youssef point closes. Autumn and winter rains also swell the river: the flood rule applies all year round.

Three typical days, three calculations

Noon check-out, evening train

You leave the riad at noon and drop your suitcase near the Medersa Ben Youssef around 12:15pm. Private grand taxi at 12:45pm, Setti Fatma around 2pm, first waterfall, tea by the river, back in Marrakech around 6:30pm. You collect your suitcase around 7pm, a little under 7 hours: beyond 6 hours, book 7 hours, and an hourly booking is capped at the day price: 59 MAD for one bag. With a second bag: 59 + 49 = 108 MAD. Then allow for a petit taxi to the station and check your train time on oncf-voyages.ma.

A short morning, on a Sunday

On Sundays, the Ben Youssef point is closed. Drop your suitcase at Bab Aghmat at 9am, leave early and be back before 4:30pm. Seven and a half hours of storage: 59 MAD for one bag. If you are not sure you will be back in time, do not take the risk: the 5pm closing is not negotiable.

A half-day before a late flight

Drop-off at 1pm near the Medersa Ben Youssef (not on Sundays), back at 6pm: 5 hours, so 45 MAD for one bag. Keep some margin for the trip to the airport.

Prices at a glance

Payment is made online, in dirhams, by card. Prefer the ocean to the mountains? Read our guide Essaouira as a day trip from Marrakech. And if your trip continues elsewhere in Morocco, all our points are on the BoxSpot map.