7. Drive to the Dadès Gorge
Highly dramatic and stunningly beautiful, the deep, verdant valleys sandwiched between the rust-colored walls of the Dadès Gorge are prime walking territory, with excellent day hiking available, as well as longer overnight treks between the Dadès Gorge and Todra Gorge.
About 309 kilometers from Marrakesh, the valley here is home to pretty villages and fertile fruit orchards, as well as weird and wacky rock formations hewn into their shape by a millennia of wind action.
The mighty mud-brick-walled Kasbah of Ait Youl, built by the Glaoui dynasty, with a lofty position overlooking the mountains, is only a few kilometers into the gorge area and is definitely worth a stop before you venture farther into the gorge for more sightseeing.
The fantastic, and mildly terrifying, twisty-turny switchback road you have to traverse to enter the valley is one of the highlights of a visit here.
8. Ski at Oukaimeden
For Moroccan ski fans, Oukaimeden is the main winter haunt. This is the country’s prime ski resort, set within stunning alpine scenery about 78 kilometers south of Marrakesh.
The ski season lasts from around December to February, but even when it’s not snowing, a road trip here is worthwhile.
The route to Oukaimeden takes you past hills scythed into a tumble of terraced fields and snoozy villages hugged by the foothills as you traverse up into the barren, rippling mountains.
Oukaimeden’s accommodation scene is pretty bleak and overpriced, which makes it even more worthwhile to treat a skiing (or in summer, sightseeing-trip here) as a day trip from Marrakesh.
