Marrakesh - (Fall 2025) - Day 4
The plan for this day was to take a tour into the Atlas Mountains south of Marrakesh
Headed out early while the medina was still quiet and calm
Argana
It seemed like pretty much all of the Marrakesh tours started in front of this cafe. We decided to have coffee and pastries here since we had to wait for our tour van here anyway. The spot has nice cafe seating in front although the construction in front of it blocked the view a little at that time.
Atlas Mountains Tour
We started the tour driving out of the city to the south and you pretty quickly hit the desert terrain with small villages and goat herds by the roads. The tour guide and driver were Berbers from the mountains. They explained that there has been a drought going on and has affected the olive harvests. They also explained that the recent tourism in the mountains has helped the Berbers a lot in economic terms. Previously all they had was the farming and livestock to make a living.
On the drive towards a Berber village you could see the dry riverbeds due to the drought.
When we arrived at the Berber village we had an opportunity to walk into the community and snap some photos. The guide explained that pretty much all of the people have electrical power now. It was also amazing that I had cell service throughout the entire tour in the mountains. In the more remote villages though like this one, the water was still through wells and the bathrooms were outhouses.
After the visit to the village, we drove out to ride camels.
Per the map on my phone, this was location of the camel ride
I enjoyed this camel ride far more than I was expecting. We drove out to this little shack in the middle of nowhere and they had the camels all lined up and harnessed and sitting down. We then dressed in traditional Berber garbs and mounted the camels. A guy just led the camels in a loop for about a 1/2 hour and it wound up being a lot of fun.
After the camel rides we drove off to our next destination. On the way you could see some remnants of the damage caused by the earthquake a few years prior that originated in the Atlas Mountains. This building was just devastated and you could still see a lot damage during other parts of the trip.
Out next stop was outside the town of Asni
At this stop we had a traditional Berber breakfast snack. There was the traditional round bread and a combination of honey, olive oil, and peanut sauce to dip the bread in. As I walked the alleys in Marrakesh, I would see locals there dining on the same thing in the morning.
After the snack, we saw some women putting on a demonstration of the traditional method of processing argan nuts into oil. After the demo, you are led into a little shop where if you want you can buy some argan oil products.
On the way out we passed through the town of Asni which felt a little more modern.
This was their school and the students were all walking around on a break.
We took a short rest break at this spot below on the drive. There was a river with a bridge and some scenic views. There was a little snack stand. (Maybe we stopped here because the tour guys get a cut if you buy some snacks?)
This was the location of the next stop where we made a hike to see a waterfall
For our next destination, we hiked through a small village to reach a waterfall that was a popular place for photos. On the way you are afforded some great views of the valley and the villages.
Our final destination was a lunch spot that we walked to after the waterfall hike. It was a traditional chicken tagine.
This cat made the rounds to all the tables during lunch
On the ride home, we descended through some switchback roads and went through some towns. As we got closer to Marrakesh, you could see a lot of new construction and homes being built on the outskirts of the city.
Back in Marrakesh, we took in the sights of Jemaa el-Fnaa at nightfall.
Kosybar
We went in search of this bar as they had a nice rooftop seating area for drinks. You have a great view of one of the smaller squares but it was a quiet night down there that evening. Still a great view for a nightcap.