Heart Of The Ourika

Marrakesh from the mountaintops

Stand atop the walls of Marrakesh, balanced on the parapet, and scan the horizon: the city is surrounded by the Atlas Mountains. Their perpetually snow-capped peaks cut jagged silhouettes across the skyline. Something magical emerges from these landscapes – an invitation to discovery that makes you yearn for an adventure!

Toubkal National Park unfolds between the N’Fiss and Ourika valleys. It is only a few dozen miles away, but once you reach the park, the sense of escape is absolute. Here you are right in the center of the Atlas Mountains, amidst 94,000 acres of protected land. Juniper trees stand here and there and oaks shade you with their foliage as eagles soar and screech overhead.

Hire a guide to lead you on a climb of Jbel Toubkal. The effort takes two days, but your work is well rewarded once you land atop one of the most beautiful summits in Morocco, if not all of Africa. Throughout your adventure you will spot plants and wildlife, including jackals, weasels, foxes and even a Barbary macaque in some gorges. Your eyes will feast on a verdant variety of trees, such as thuya, dwarf palms and prickly pear.

Just a few miles from Marrakesh, you’ll forget the pink city as you immerse yourself in the greenery and revel in nature’s solitude.