Ourika Valley half day: a private morning tour from Marrakech

By the Ourika Valley team · Updated 18 October 2026

• Private vehicle with driver: 120 EUR for 1 to 7 people, 200 EUR for 8 to 17, 50% deposit online
• 7:00 am departure: cool air and a quiet path to the falls
• Option: breakfast at a table set in the river at Setti Fatma, 20 EUR per person
• Option: local guide for the waterfalls, 40 EUR per group (1 to 7 people), 80 EUR (8 to 17)
• A village and a cooperative on the way back
• Back in Marrakech around noon, afternoon free

The day, stop by stop

1. 7:00 am, pickup in Marrakech

   Your driver is at your hotel or riad at 7:00 am. If you stay inside the medina, where cars cannot enter the lanes, we meet you at the nearest point a vehicle can reach, as close as possible to your door. The evening before, your driver sends you a WhatsApp message so you know who to look for. If you added the breakfast option, have a coffee if you need one but keep your appetite: breakfast is waiting in the valley.

2. The road into the valley

   We leave the city by the road south and cross the Haouz plain towards the mountains. At Tnine Ourika the valley begins, and the road follows the river upstream between earth and stone villages, terraced fields and orchards of walnut, apple and olive trees. At this hour the light is low on the slopes, the air is fresh, and the roadside stalls are only just opening.

3. Setti Fatma and breakfast in the river (option)

   The road ends at Setti Fatma, the last village of the valley, at about 1,500 m. Here the restaurants set their tables on the gravel banks and in the shallow water, reached by small footbridges. You have breakfast at a table in the river if you added the option, with the water running beside you and the mountains all around. After heavy rain, the owners pull the tables back from the water, and we follow their lead.

4. Walk to the waterfalls

   You then walk up the gorge behind the village towards the waterfalls, with your guide if you booked one. There are seven falls in the gorge; on a half day we aim for the first ones, which already make a fine goal. The path is rocky, with a few boulders to scramble over, so good shoes matter more than fitness. Early in the day you often have the path almost to yourself.

5. A village and a cooperative

   On the way back down the valley we stop twice. First in a village, to see how the houses of earth and stone are built and how the irrigation canals, the seguias, carry water to the terraces. Then at a cooperative, where you see the work done by hand and can taste and buy if you wish. Buying is never required, and your driver does not hurry you.

6. Back in Marrakech around noon

   Your driver takes you back across the plain and drops you at your hotel or riad around noon, with the whole afternoon ahead of you: lunch in the medina, a rest by the pool, the souks or a hammam. If you have a flight or another booking later in the day, tell us when you book so we can plan the morning with a comfortable margin.

The Ourika Valley half day is a private morning trip from Marrakech. Departure is at 7:00 am from a hotel or riad (for a riad in the medina, from the nearest point a car can reach), and the return is around noon. The morning covers Setti Fatma, a walk to the first waterfalls, a village visit and a stop at a cooperative. The price is 120 EUR per vehicle for 1 to 7 people and 200 EUR for 8 to 17: private vehicle with fuel, a driver who speaks French, English and Spanish, pickup and drop-off. Two options are chosen at booking: breakfast at a table set in the river, 20 EUR per person, and a local guide for the waterfalls, 40 EUR per group for 1 to 7 people or 80 EUR for 8 to 17. Lunch, tips and purchases are not included. A 50% deposit is paid online with PayPal or by card via PayPal, and the balance is paid to the driver on the day. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the trip.

Not everyone has a full day to give to the mountains. This is the trip we run for guests who fly out in the evening, who have plans in Marrakech in the afternoon, or who simply do not want to walk in the midday heat. We leave early, do the essential things in the right order, and bring you home in time for lunch.

Why leave at 7:00 am?

The hour is the whole idea. At seven the city is still cool and the road south is quiet. When you reach the valley, the sun is only starting to light the slopes and the air smells of wood smoke and bread. By the time most day visitors arrive at Setti Fatma, late in the morning, you have already sat by the river, walked to the falls and started back down.

There are three practical gains. The first is the temperature: in July and August the difference between walking early and walking at noon is enormous. The second is the path, which is narrow in places and far more pleasant when you are not queuing behind other groups on the boulders. The third is the afternoon, which stays yours. In summer there is a fourth: storms sometimes build over the High Atlas in the afternoon, and with this schedule you are out of the valley well before then. Our weather guide explains the seasons in detail.

Sunrise in the valley, month by month

The table gives the astronomical sunrise at Setti Fatma on the 15th of each month, in Morocco standard time (UTC+1), and what it means for a 7:00 am departure from Marrakech. These are calculated values for a flat horizon, so read them as "about".

Two things change what you actually see. Setti Fatma lies at the bottom of a narrow valley, so the sun reaches the valley floor later than the time in the table: the slopes above light up first, and breakfast by the river can still be in the shade, which is welcome in summer and fresh in winter. And Morocco moves its clocks to UTC+0 during Ramadan, so in that month the sunrise falls one hour earlier on the clock. In short, from May to August the 7:00 departure buys you cool air, and from November to February it buys you the first light on the mountains.

Breakfast with the river beside you

The famous tables of Setti Fatma, the ones set on the gravel and in the shallow water, are usually photographed at lunchtime, when every chair is taken. In the morning the same tables are quiet. You cross a footbridge, sit down, and breakfast arrives while the river runs past your chair. It is a simple Moroccan breakfast, the kind the valley eats. It is an option chosen at booking, 20 EUR per person. If you did not add it, you can still sit down and order a drink, paid directly to the restaurant.

One thing worth knowing: the river decides where the tables go. After rain or during the spring snowmelt, the restaurant owners move them back to the bank, and on a cold winter morning you may prefer a table in the sun or under cover. Tell your driver, he knows the places.

The walk to the waterfalls

From the village you climb the gorge towards the waterfalls of Setti Fatma. Seven falls follow one another up the gorge; on a half day we go to the first ones, which is also where most visitors stop on any trip.

The path is short but rocky, with a few places where you use your hands. Trainers with a good sole are enough, sandals and smooth soles are not.

The local guide is an option chosen at booking: 40 EUR per group for 1 to 7 people, 80 EUR for 8 to 17. He is from the valley and knows the path, the river and the weather; he walks at the pace of the slowest person and gives a hand on the awkward steps. We recommend him for families and for anyone unsure on rocks. On your own, we advise stopping at the first falls. Anyone who prefers not to climb can stay at a table by the river with a glass of tea.

A village and a cooperative

On the way down we stop in a village. This is a short visit on foot: houses of pisé (rammed earth) and stone, flat roofs, small terraced fields watered by the seguias, mules still doing the carrying. People live and work here, so we walk quietly and ask before photographing anyone, especially women and children.

The second stop is a cooperative on the valley road, most often the women's argan oil cooperative, where the nuts are cracked between two stones and the kernels ground on a stone mill. A detail few visitors know: argan trees do not grow in the Ourika. They grow in the south-west of Morocco, and the valley cooperatives work with kernels brought from there. Our page on cooperatives and villages explains how to buy fairly if something tempts you.

Half day, full day or private transport?

The three trips do not suit the same travellers, so here is how we explain the choice.

• This half day is private, starts at 7:00 am and ends around noon, from 120 EUR per vehicle for 1 to 7 people. You see the first waterfalls, a village and a cooperative; breakfast by the river and a waterfalls guide are options. No riverside lunch and little room for extra stops.
• The full Ourika Valley day trip is also private, with a morning pickup and a return in the late afternoon. It gives you about two hours for the waterfalls walk, lunch by the river (an option at 20 EUR per person) and optional stops such as a pottery workshop or tea in a Berber house. It costs the same per vehicle, from 120 EUR for 1 to 7 people.
• Private transport is transport only, without a programme: 100 EUR one way from Marrakech, 120 EUR one way from the airport, 120 EUR for a same-day return with the driver waiting, per vehicle for 1 to 7 people, 200 EUR for 8 to 17. You choose your departure and return times and explore on your own.

If your only constraint is the heat, the half day is the better answer. If you want to sit by the water with a tagine and no clock, take the full day.

What should you bring?

• Closed shoes with a good grip for the rocks
• A warm layer: the valley is cooler than Marrakech, and early in the morning it is fresh by the water
• A hat and sun cream for the walk back down
• Some cash in dirhams for tips and anything you buy at the cooperative
• A small bag to keep your phone dry near the falls

How much does it cost for your group?

The table gives the total for typical group sizes, as the booking form calculates it.

Prices in EUR for the whole group, 50% deposit online, balance to the driver on the day. Options, chosen at booking: Breakfast at a table in the river, 20 € per person; Local guide for the waterfalls walk, 40 € / 80 € (1-7 / 8-17) per group.

How do you book the Ourika half day?

The half day costs 120 EUR per vehicle for 1 to 7 people and 200 EUR for 8 to 17 people. You book on our booking page: choose your date, the number of people, your pickup address and your options (breakfast by the river, 20 EUR per person; local guide for the waterfalls, 40 EUR per group for 1 to 7 people, 80 EUR for 8 to 17), then pay a 50% deposit online with PayPal or a bank card via PayPal; the balance is paid to the driver on the day. The confirmation email arrives at once. A couple who adds breakfast and the guide pays 120 + 2 x 20 + 40 = 200 EUR. Online booking goes up to 17 people; above 17, contact us. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the trip, as set out in our terms and conditions.

Looking for something longer or different? Our packages page lists the other private days we run in the valley.