Marrakech in 5 days
Five days to turn Marrakech into a base camp: two days in town, three for the Atlas, the waterfalls and the desert, no repacking.
Five days is the threshold where Marrakech becomes a base camp. Two days do the medina, the palaces and the gardens. The three that follow open onto what makes the region: the green Atlas of Ourika, the Ouzoud waterfalls, the Agafay plateau. You keep the same riad, come back to sleep every evening, no repacking.
That is this itinerary’s line: star-pattern outings rather than an exhausting grand tour. For those still after the real desert, a variant leads to Zagora and a night in the dunes. It sits at the foot of the page. Every outing books the evening before. Best followed March to May or September to October, when the mountain is green and the desert temperate.
The medina's heart
5 kmFirst day in the medina: you catch the town's pulse before leaving on the next days. All on foot, souks to rooftops.
Jemaa el-Fna square
The square at wake-up, quiet before the crowd. A tea, then up to the souks from the north.
Souks and Ben Youssef Medersa
Dyers, ironworkers, babouches, up to the medersa: marble courtyard, basin, stucco and cedar. Reopened after restoration in 2022, open from 9am. Entry around 50 dirhams (£4).
Lunch at Mouassine
An unsignposted table, salad and tagine, off the main flow.
The Koutoubia, from outside
The Almohad minaret, marker of the whole town. Interior kept for worship. You walk round it via the gardens late in the day.
Rooftop at sundown
Back to the square, a rooftop for the sunset and the first smoke rising from Jemaa el-Fna.
Palaces, tombs and gardens
4 kmThe second day, the great southern monuments in the morning, the gardens and the new town in the afternoon, a hammam to close before the outings.
Palais de la Bahia
At opening, when the courtyard is still empty. Grand courtyard, harem apartments, painted cedar: keep to the strong spaces, the rest is patchier. Entry around 70 dirhams (£6).
Saadian Tombs and El Badi Palace
In the kasbah: the tombs long walled up, and the El Badi ruins where storks nest. Around 100 dirhams (£8) per site.
Lunch in the kasbah
The southern quarter, quieter than the souks, to breathe before the gardens.
Jardin Majorelle and YSL museum
Around fifteen minutes by taxi from the kasbah. The Majorelle blue, the bamboo, the basin. The Yves Saint Laurent museum next door (separate entry). Ticket booked online, per slot. Garden around 170 dirhams (£14).
Hammam
A hammam with gommage, to unknot the day before the road ones.
The Ourika valley
full dayFirst outing out of town: the Ourika valley, an hour and a half south. The Atlas greens, the wadi drops, the air picks up several degrees of cool. A full day, at best in spring. Very busy at weekends.
Departure to Ourika
Riad pick-up, booked the evening before. The plain, then the first foothills and the Amazigh hamlets above the wadi.
Amazigh hamlets and cooperative
Stop in the valley: an Amazigh hamlet, sometimes an argan-oil cooperative, time for a stop and a tea.
Setti-Fatma and its waterfalls
At the end of the road, the Setti-Fatma hamlet and the climb to the waterfalls: a rocky path, fords, cool water at the top. Good shoes essential.
Lunch by the wadi
A stilted table above the water, tagine and tea, feet nearly in the current.
Back to Marrakech
Return in late afternoon, in time for a last drink on a terrace.
The Ouzoud waterfalls
full dayFurther away, but the road earns it: the Ouzoud waterfalls, three hours north-east. A hundred metres of fall in a green gorge, wild macaques, boats at the foot of the water. The day is long. You set out early.
Departure to Ouzoud
Early start. The road crosses the plateaus and the olive groves of the Middle Atlas.
The Ouzoud waterfalls
The fall shows from above, then you drop through the olive groves to the foot, past the macaques. A boat approaches the water curtain and its rainbows when the sun catches.
Lunch facing the fall
An overhanging terrace, grilled meat and orange juice, the water's roar in the background.
Back to Marrakech
Return in the evening. The road is long. Bring snacks.
Downtime, then Agafay at sundown
half dayLast day at slow pace: a morning to breathe in town, then Agafay at sundown for a clean trip's end. No dunes, no Sahara, but the plateau's silence and light.
Free morning: hammam or souks
A last hammam, the shopping you had spotted, or the riad pool: you recover from the road days.
Departure for Agafay
Riad pick-up. Forty-five minutes south-west, the stone plateau begins.
Camel or quad at sundown
The plateau at camel pace, or quad if you prefer noise to quiet. The Atlas closes the horizon, the light drops.
Dinner under the stars
Dinner at the camp, clear sky, then back to Marrakech around 10pm.
Worth knowing
- Walking shoes for Ourika (climb to the waterfalls) and the Ouzoud descent.
- Outings to book the evening before. Ourika and Ouzoud are full days.
- Cash for tips, local guides and roadside stops.
- Jardin Majorelle tickets to book online, per slot.
- Ourika and Ouzoud are packed at weekends: favour the week.
- Prices indicative (2026), to confirm on site or online.
Before you go
Preparing the trip
What to plan for the budget, and how to bend the itinerary to your format.
Budget, per person per day
Per person per day, excluding accommodation, flight and outings (Ourika, Ouzoud, Agafay: £13-£51 each depending on the trip).
| Item | Budget | Mid | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meals (×3) | £10-£15 | £17-£26 | £30-£47 |
| Transport & taxis | £3-£5 | £7-£12 | £14-£24 |
| Visits & entries | £7-£12 | £12-£19 | £19-£32 |
| Tea, breaks, extras | £4 | £7 | £13 |
| Total / day | ~£24-£38 | ~£43-£63 | ~£75-£116 |
How to adapt it
For a real desert night, swap Ourika and Ouzoud (days 3 and 4) for two days to Zagora: crossing the High Atlas via the Tichka pass, the UNESCO-listed Aït Ben Haddou kasbah, the Draa valley and its palm groves, then the first dunes and a night at camp. Return the next day by the same road. This variant leaves the base-camp principle for a night in the dunes. Reckon 6 to 7h of road each way, the price of the Sahara. The Tichka pass can shut in snow in winter, ask before setting out.
Swap Ourika for Imlil: higher, more mineral, at the foot of Toubkal. A walk to a village or a waterfall, a home lunch, and snow-capped summits a good part of the year.
Keep Ourika (reachable waterfalls) over Ouzoud (long road), ease the town days, and close on Agafay by camel.
Ourika and Ouzoud give water and shade when the town heats up. Do the monuments early morning, and keep Agafay for the sundown.
Frequently asked questions
Everything we get asked before locking the dates.
Five days in Marrakech, is that too many?
Day outings or a night in the desert?
Ourika or Ouzoud, if I only do one nature outing?
When to follow this itinerary?
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