Ouzoud Waterfalls by Car from Marrakech: The Perfect Day Trip at Your Own Pace

The Ouzoud waterfalls are one of the most popular day trips from Marrakech. On an organised minibus tour, you leave early, follow the group and head back at a set time. With a rental car, you decide when to leave, where to stop along the way and how long to spend by the water. Here is how to plan the drive.

Photo: Jakub Hałun — CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Published on 28 September 2026

Ouzoud waterfalls (Cascades d'Ouzoud), Morocco: the big waterfall day trip from Marrakech
How long does it take to drive from Marrakech to Ouzoud?
Which car should you rent for Ouzoud?
Where to park and how to get down to the falls
Stops worth making along the way
Getting back to Marrakech before dark

Ouzoud waterfalls (Cascades d'Ouzoud), Morocco: the big waterfall day trip from Marrakech

The Ouzoud waterfalls in Morocco are the country's most famous falls and among its highest: several cascades drop in tiers into a red gorge, surrounded by olive trees. They lie in Azilal province, in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region, below the village of Tanaghmeilt on the edge of the plateau.

Look for a waterfall near Marrakech and you get two answers: Ouzoud, the most spectacular, which takes a full day, and the Setti Fatma falls at the end of the Ourika valley, closer and more modest. With a car, you pick one according to the weather and your mood that morning, with no tour to book.

Ouzoud can also be reached from Beni Mellal, in the same region: a good option if you are crossing Morocco between Marrakech and Fez through the interior, or if you pair the falls with Bin El Ouidane lake, held back by a dam on the Oued El Abid.

How long does it take to drive from Marrakech to Ouzoud?

Allow about 150 kilometres each way, and a good part of the morning behind the wheel, depending on traffic leaving Marrakech and how often you stop. You head out of the city to the north-east towards Beni Mellal, then turn off towards Azilal before reaching the village of Tanaghmeilt, just above the falls.

The road is paved all the way. The last few kilometres wind more as you climb towards the plateau: nothing difficult, but slower than the main road. Leave early to get there ahead of the late-morning minibuses.

Which car should you rent for Ouzoud?

A city car or a compact is enough: there are no dirt tracks or fords on the usual route. Air conditioning matters more than four-wheel drive, especially from May to September, when the heat bears down on the Haouz plain.

If there are four or five of you with picnic bags, a compact SUV gives a little more space and comfort on the bends near the end of the drive. For a large family, a seven-seater saves you from travelling in two cars.

Where to park and how to get down to the falls

There are several attended car parks at the top of the site, in Tanaghmeilt. Attendants will wave you in as soon as you arrive: you pay on the spot and the rate varies from one car park to the next, so ask before you switch off the engine.

From there, steps and paths lead down to the foot of the falls. The way down is short and the climb back steeper: wear decent shoes, as the steps are often wet near the water. At the bottom you can walk along the river, cross by boat and watch the Barbary macaques that live in the olive trees. Don't feed them: they quickly get pushy.

Stops worth making along the way

This is the whole point of having a car: stopping whenever the scenery deserves it. On the way back, the viewpoints over the Oued El Abid gorges, downstream from the falls, show a very different side of the region, wilder and far less visited.

Villages on the plain sell olive oil and seasonal fruit by the roadside. A coffee on a terrace in Azilal, or in Demnate if you make a loop, is a pleasant way to break up the drive.

Getting back to Marrakech before dark

Leave Ouzoud mid-afternoon so you cover most of the drive in daylight. Away from the motorway, driving at night in Morocco takes a lot of concentration: pedestrians, carts and poorly lit two-wheelers all share the road.

Fill up in Marrakech before you leave: petrol stations are further apart once you are on the plateau, and arriving with a comfortable amount in the tank lets you relax and enjoy the day.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit Ouzoud as a day trip from Marrakech?

Yes, and it is the most common way to do it. Leave early in the morning and plan to head back in the late afternoon: that gives you several hours at the falls and keeps most of the return in daylight.

Do you need a 4x4 to reach the Ouzoud waterfalls?

No. The road is paved all the way to the car parks at the site. An air-conditioned city car is enough; an SUV only adds comfort for groups.

What is the best season to see the falls?

Spring, when the flow is strongest after the rains and the snowmelt from the Atlas. In late summer the falls are still beautiful but more modest, and the drive is hotter.

Can you swim at Ouzoud?

People swim in some of the pools downstream from the falls, depending on the water level and local guidance. Check on site and keep away from the foot of the falls, where the current is strong.

Where are the Ouzoud waterfalls in Morocco?

In Azilal province, below the village of Tanaghmeilt, between Marrakech and Beni Mellal. A surfaced road takes you all the way to the car parks at the top; then you walk down to the foot of the falls.

Which waterfall can you visit near Marrakech?

Ouzoud for the most impressive falls, if you give it the whole day; Setti Fatma, at the end of the Ourika valley, for a shorter and cooler outing. Both roads are surfaced and fine in an ordinary rental car.

Is Ouzoud a single cascade, or several waterfalls?

Several. The Cascades d'Ouzoud, as the falls are called in French, drop in tiers into a red gorge below the village of Tanaghmeilt, surrounded by olive trees. From the car parks at the top you see them from above; steps and paths then lead down to the foot of the falls, where you can walk along the river or cross it by boat.

Sources

Visit Morocco — visitmorocco.com

Wikipedia — fr.wikipedia.org

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