Ourika Valley Cycling

We do not run a fixed, scheduled Ourika tour, and this page is not going to pretend otherwise. Ourika appears on our private and custom trips, where we build the route around who is riding, and it is genuinely worth riding — but it is not one of the itineraries you can book off a page.

The reason is that our scheduled riding is concentrated in the Imlil and Azzaden valleys, an hour further west, where the trails suit multi-day trips better. Ourika is closer to the city, gentler and much busier at weekends, which makes it a better fit for a tailored day than for a fixed departure.

If Ourika is specifically what you want, say so when you write to us. Building it is straightforward and usually costs nothing extra.

Ourika is the closest green valley to Marrakech — about an hour south, following a river up into the foothills past terraced fields and roadside cafés built out over the water. There are waterfalls at Setti Fatma at the head of the valley, which is where most visitors go.

The riding is easy to moderate: river-valley trails, village pistes and gentle climbing, rather than the steep mule paths of the Azzaden. It suits people who want a day out in the mountains without a demanding one.

It is also the busiest valley near Marrakech, particularly on Fridays and at weekends when the city comes up to escape the heat. On a custom trip we can time a ride around that; on a fixed weekend departure we could not.

If you want a scheduled day ride from Marrakech, the day mountain bike tour is the one most people take, and it rides the ground around the Kik Plateau and Asni rather than Ourika. It is the better introduction to riding here.

If you want the Ourika valley specifically, or a mix of Ourika and the higher valleys, our private and custom trips are the route to it — that is exactly what they are for.

And if you are still deciding, the article we have written on cycling in the Ourika valley goes through the terrain, the season and the practicalities in more detail than a page like this should.