Ourika Valley
The Ourika Valley is a working mountain valley, home to Amazigh families who live from small terraced farms, orchards, livestock and tourism. This guide, written by our local team, explains how people make a living, what is hard about mountain life, and how a day visit can put money in the right hands.
- How a terrace, an orchard and a flock keep a family going
- What changed after the 8 September 2023 earthquake
- How a women's cooperative shares its income
- Why we ask you not to give sweets or coins to children
- How to give to a local cause the right way
Most of us grew up in these villages. Our drivers learned the road with their fathers, our guides walked to school along the seguias, and the families who cook for our guests are neighbours and cousins. When visitors ask us how they can travel here "the right way", this is what we tell them: first understand how people live, then spend your money where it counts, and avoid the few gestures that do more harm than good.
How families make a living
The land: terraces, water and orchards
The valley floor and the lower slopes are shaped into narrow terraces held up by dry stone walls. Each family works a few small plots, often scattered along the slope, where they grow barley, maize, vegetables and fodder for the animals. Above and between the fields stand the fruit trees that the valley is known for: walnut, apple, cherry, olive, almond and quince.
None of this would exist without the seguias, the earth and stone canals that take water from the river and carry it along the contour of the slopes. Water is shared by turns between families, following old rules that the community enforces itself. Our page on the people of the valley explains how these turns work.
Most families also keep a few sheep, goats, a cow or a mule. Animals are a savings account on four legs: they give milk, wool and manure, and they are sold when a family needs cash for a wedding, a roof or a hospital bill. In summer, flocks go up to the high pastures of the Oukaïmeden plateau.
Tourism jobs
Farming alone rarely covers a family's needs, so almost every household has a second income, and in the Ourika Valley that second income is very often tourism. Along the road you meet the people who live from visitors:
- Drivers who bring travellers up from Marrakech.
- Valley guides, many from Setti Fatma and the surrounding villages, who lead the walk to the waterfalls.
- Riverside restaurants and cafés, often family businesses, that cook tagines and squeeze fresh orange juice.
- Cooperatives, most of them run by women, such as the argan oil cooperatives.
- Potters working at the roadside workshops, and weavers who make Berber rugs at home.
A lot of this work is seasonal. Spring and autumn are busy, the hottest weeks bring Moroccan families escaping the heat of Marrakech, and winter is quieter. Young men also leave for building sites or hotels in the city for part of the year.
What is hard about life in the mountains
We do not want to paint the valley as poor or sad. It is not. But mountain life has real difficulties, and knowing them helps you understand why your choices as a visitor matter.
Distance to services
The main road follows the river, but many villages sit high above it, reached by tracks or footpaths. Clinics, secondary schools, banks and administrations are in Tnine Ourika or in Marrakech. For a family in a high village, a doctor's visit can mean a long walk, then a shared taxi, then a day lost from work.
School in remote villages
Primary schools exist in or near many villages, but secondary school usually means going down to a town. For girls from remote villages this has long been the moment when schooling stopped. In the valley there is a dar taliba, a boarding house for girls, created so that girls from remote villages of the Ourika can continue their education beyond primary school.
Water, too little and too much
The river gives life to the valley, and it can also take it. On 17 August 1995 a flash flood swept down the valley after a violent summer storm, and every family still remembers that night; our history page tells the story. Summer thunderstorms remain a real risk, which is why guides and restaurant owners watch the sky and the river so closely in July and August. In dry years, the opposite problem arrives: less snow on the peaks means less water in the seguias, and the terraces suffer.
The 2023 earthquake and rebuilding
On the night of 8 September 2023 a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the High Atlas, with its epicentre in Al Haouz province, the province of the Ourika Valley. National authorities reported about 2,950 deaths within a week, most of them in mountain villages where old houses of stone and earth could not resist the shaking. The Ourika Valley was further from the epicentre than the worst-hit areas, but villages in and around it were affected, and many families spent the following winter in tents.
The state announced a five-year reconstruction programme of about 120 billion dirhams for the affected regions, including direct aid to families to rebuild collapsed or damaged homes. Rebuilding in the mountains is slow: materials must be carried up, and families want houses that are both safe and adapted to the cold. Today the valley is open, life has resumed, and visitors are welcome.
Young people leaving
Many young people leave for Marrakech or further, for studies and for work that pays in cash every month. Most keep a strong link with the village and come back for weekends, harvests and weddings. Tourism is one of the few activities that lets some of them earn a living without leaving.
How a visit concretely helps
The good news is simple: the most useful thing you can do is also the most pleasant. Spend your money inside the valley, directly with the people who do the work.
- Local guides. The guide who walks you to the waterfalls lives here and is paid for his day. On our day trip, the valley guide is local, and so are our drivers.
- Riverside restaurants. Lunch by the river is money for a family business and the people who supply it. We take our guests to local riverside restaurants, not to chains.
- Family lunches. On our trek and lunch with a Berber family, the family that cooks for you is paid for the meal. It is a fair exchange, not a favour.
- Women's cooperatives. A cooperative is owned by its members. Under Law 112-12 of 2014, which governs Moroccan cooperatives, part of each year's surplus goes into reserves, and the surplus that is distributed goes to members according to the work they did for the cooperative. Buying at a cooperative gives women an income of their own. Our visits come with no pressure to buy.
- Crafts bought from the maker. A tagine bought from the potter who shaped it, or a rug bought from the family that wove it, puts the full price in the right hands. See our guide to cooperatives and villages.
- A night in the valley. An overnight stay in a local guesthouse spreads your spending over dinner, breakfast, a guide and a morning walk. Our page on where to stay lists the types of places.
How to help without doing harm
Good intentions can go wrong. These are the habits we ask of all our guests.
Do not give money, sweets or pens to children. It feels kind, but it teaches children that asking tourists pays better than school, and some start waiting by the road instead of going to class. Sweets also damage teeth in villages that are far from a dentist. A smile, a greeting (azul) and a few words are welcome. If you want to help children, support education through a registered structure and let parents decide.
Ask before taking photos. People here are hosts, not scenery. Point to your camera, wait for a yes, and accept a no. Many women prefer not to be photographed, and children should never be photographed without their parents' agreement.
Buy fairly. In cooperatives prices are fixed. In souks and small shops, bargaining is part of the game, but keep it friendly and stop when the price is fair. Winning the last ten dirhams is not a victory.
Dress with respect. Cover shoulders and knees in the villages. It is appreciated, and practical against the sun.
Respect prayer times and places. When the call to prayer sounds, lower your voice near the mosque. Village mosques are not open to non-Muslim visitors. During Ramadan, avoid eating, drinking or smoking openly in the streets during the day.
Choose local operators. Ask who the driver, the guide and the restaurant are. A tour run by people from the valley keeps more of your money in the valley.
If you want to donate, do it properly. Choose a registered Moroccan association, check that it is active and what it really does on the ground, and give through its official channels. Do not hand cash or goods to individuals on the roadside.
When you come with us, you will meet the people behind this page: our drivers, our valley guides, the cooks by the river and the women of the cooperatives. Ask them questions, take your time, and leave with a better idea of how the valley lives.
Frequently asked questions
Does tourism really help people in the Ourika Valley?
Yes, when the money is spent inside the valley. Guides, drivers, riverside restaurants, potters, weavers and cooperatives all depend on visitors, often as a second income next to farming. A lunch eaten at a local restaurant or a rug bought from the woman who wove it stays in the valley.
Why shouldn't I give sweets or money to children?
Because it teaches children that asking tourists pays better than school, and some start waiting by the road instead of going to class. Sweets also cause tooth problems in villages far from a dentist. If you want to help children, support a registered school or association, and let parents decide.
Is the Ourika Valley still affected by the 2023 earthquake?
The valley is open and daily life, farming and tourism have resumed. The worst damage was further west near the epicentre, but villages in and around the valley were affected, and rebuilding houses in the mountains takes time. Visiting and spending locally is one of the most direct ways to support recovery.
How do women's cooperatives share their income?
A cooperative is owned by its members. Under Moroccan cooperative law, part of the yearly surplus must go into reserves, and what is distributed goes to members according to the work they did or the business they did with the cooperative. So the more a member works, the more she earns.
Should I bargain in the cooperatives?
Prices in cooperatives are usually fixed and displayed, so there is little to bargain over. With independent sellers in souks and roadside shops, friendly bargaining is normal, but keep it fair: the last few dirhams mean far more to the seller than to you.
How can I donate to a school or association in the valley?
Choose a registered Moroccan association, check that it is active, see what it actually does on the ground and give through its official channels. Avoid handing cash or goods to individuals on the roadside, even with the best intentions.
Is it OK to take photos of people in the villages?
Ask first, with a gesture towards your camera, and accept a no without insisting. Many women, especially older women, prefer not to be photographed. Never photograph children without their parents' agreement. Landscapes, terraces and houses from a distance are always fine.
