[Dec. 2025] A trip to the Ourika Valley was included in our itinerary from Marrakesh, Morocco.
The Ourika Valley is a resort area located a little over an hour’s drive south of Marrakech.
It’s a weekend destination for Marrakesh residents to enjoy nature, situated at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains.
During our prior communication with the agency, we were recommended to trek in the Ourika Valley, but we had no intention of trekking, so we asked them to change it to a village tour.
Although they agreed, in the end, we didn’t visit any villages and only went to Setti Fatma, the starting point for trekking.
When I asked our driver, Youssuf, “Aren’t we visiting villages?”, he simply replied, “This is the village,” and that was it.
Furthermore, we had heard that the Atlas Mountains had experienced unusually heavy snowfall for the two days leading up to this point, which had cut off transportation.
So, we fully expected it to be cold and bundled up in all our layers, but it was surprisingly warm.
I even left my jacket in the car and walked.
Those going trekking apparently hike from Setti Fatma towards the waterfalls in the mountains.
Colourful chairs and tables lined both banks of the Ourika River, and it seemed that was an attraction for people to have meals right by the river.
We considered at least crossing the river and took a step forward, but the bridge looked so dangerous that we pulled our foot back.
The weather was beautiful, and it was certainly a picturesque scene.
We were taken to a different restaurant, not by the river, but on the rooftop.
Here, I had lamb kebab, and my husband had rabbit tagine.
For the starter, we had something called “Brik” according to AI, which is chicken sausage wrapped in pastry.
For dessert, as usual, we had biscuits.
It cost 350 dirhams (about 33 euros).
Then we just head back, but feeling regretful, I asked Youssuf to stop at various points along the way so I could take pictures of villages on the mountainside.
I wanted to walk through those nameless villages.
Along the way, there was a man who was taking probably local tourists on camels for a few steps, and he demanded money just for taking a picture of the camel.
We gave him some money, thinking that this must be how he makes a living.
So, in summary, our excursion to the Ourika Valley was somewhat disappointing.
