Marrakech & The High Atlas

Marrakech, nestled at the foot of the High Atlas, will be Morocco’s top destination in 2025, expecting over ten million passengers. Founded by the Almoravids around 1070, its approximately nine-kilometre-long red clay walls still enclose the Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985. Its heart is Jemaa el-Fna Square, surrounded by souks, palaces, and gardens.

The Ourika Valley stretches south of Marrakech into the High Atlas, alongside its namesake river. At the end of the road lies the village of Setti Fatma, above which seven waterfalls cascade over the rocks.

Imlil is located at around 1,800 metres in the High Atlas, approximately 65 kilometres south of Marrakech, and serves as the starting point for climbing Toubkal. At 4,167 metres, it is the highest mountain in North Africa and the centrepiece of the Toubkal National Park, founded in 1942. Around the village, hiking trails lead to Berber villages and to the Sidi Chamharouch shrine, which non-Muslims are not permitted to enter.

The Ksar Aït-Ben-Haddou is a fortified mud-brick settlement in the Ounila Valley on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. Since 1987, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site. The backdrop of mud-brick kasbahs on the hillside above the river served for films like Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator.

The Ouzoud Waterfalls in Azilal Province cascade 110 meters in three tiers into the Oued el-Abid gorge. They are about 150 kilometers northeast of Marrakech. Barbary macaques live in the trees around the falls.