Asni valley
Let us be honest up front: Asni is not a destination in itself, it is a crossroads. An hour from Marrakech, at the foot of the Atlas, the road forks between the Imlil valley - towards Toubkal - and Ouirgane, to the south. Most visitors only pass through on the way up to Imlil. But Asni is worth a stop in its own right: its big Saturday souk, one of the region's most authentic Berber markets. It exists for the villagers, not for tourists: livestock, high-valley fruit, wool, spices, and the families coming down the mountains on mule. Off Saturday, there is little to 'visit' in the town itself: the market is the heart of the matter. Around it, apple orchards, Richard Branson's Kasbah Tamadot perched above, and the summits closing off the horizon. Come on a Saturday morning, early: that is when Asni gives her best.
Asni is one of those places you cross without always stopping: a town set an hour from Marrakech, at eleven hundred and fifty metres, where the plain gives way to the first mountains of the High Atlas. A crossroads - the road forks towards the Imlil valley and Toubkal on one side, towards Ouirgane and the Tizi n’Test on the other - and, on Saturday, the stage of one of the region’s finest Berber souks, a rural-life market that draws all the surrounding valleys. The rest of the week, Asni gets back its farming-village quiet, between its apple orchards and the summit backdrop. That double nature - crossing point and big weekly gathering - makes it a stop in its own right on the road to the mountains.
On your own or on a tour?
What to expect
About half a day. Times are indicative.
Departure from Marrakech
Hotel pick-up, road via Tahannaout and the first Atlas foothills, sometimes a detour via the Kik plateau.
The Asni souk (Saturday)
The weekly market: fruit and vegetable stalls, livestock, wool and spices, in a real mountain mood. Early morning is when it is most alive.
The valley and its villages
Terraced orchards, stone hamlets, summit views and, above the town, the outline of Kasbah Tamadot.
Berber lunch
Tagine at a local's or in the valley, often included in 'valleys' formats.
Towards Imlil or Ouirgane
Per the format, on to the Imlil valley (foot of Toubkal) or Ouirgane, before the return to Marrakech.
What you see there
The Saturday souk
The big weekly meeting: an authentic mountain market where Berber families come down from the valleys to buy and sell - fruit, livestock, wool, spices, right up to a barber's or a dentist's services. Runs only on Saturday: that is what you come for.
The crossroads of the valleys
Asni is the High Atlas pivot: east, the road climbs to Imlil and Toubkal. South, it runs to Ouirgane and the Tizi n'Test. The mountain threshold - you pass through Asni to reach Imlil and the trek starts, higher up.
The orchards and Kasbah Tamadot
The valley is known for its orchards - apples, cherries in spring, walnut trees - in terraces along the wadi. Above Asni watches Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson's mountain hotel, facing Toubkal.
Moulay Brahim and the Kik plateau
On the road, the perched village of Moulay Brahim, its shrine and its gorges; and the Kik plateau, a limestone balcony covered in flowers in spring, with a fine view over the valleys.
What is included
Good to know
Book your day trip
We do not sell the tickets: booking goes through GetYourGuide. The price is the same as direct, a small commission comes back to this guide.
