Oukaïmeden: the complete guide (station, plateau, access from Marrakech)

Just over an hour and a half from Marrakech, the road that goes up the Ourika valley climbs, bend after bend, to a huge plateau suspended at more than 2,600 meters altitude: Oukaïmeden. Here, in winter, you can ski facing snow-capped peaks, in summer you can hike on alpine pastures where herds graze, and you can walk, often without realizing it, amidst one of Morocco's greatest treasures of rock art. Welcome to the roof of the Atlas Mountains.

Where is Oukaïmeden?

Oukaïmeden (sometimes written Oukaïmden or Oukaimeden, Ukayemdan (in Berber) nestles in the High Atlas Mountains, Al Haouz Province, at approximately 75 kilometers south of Marrakech, either 1.5 to 2 hours drive through the valley of the’Ourika. The plateau, dominated by the Jbel Oukaïmeden, which reaches an altitude of approximately 3,260 meters., On a clear day, it offers a magnificent view of the mountain range's ridges and as far as the Toubkal (4,167 m), the highest peak in North Africa.

The contrast is striking: less than two hours from the palm trees and the heat of the red city, you can touch the snow, breathe the crisp mountain air and encounter shepherds and their mules.

Africa's highest ski resort

Oukaïmeden is the highest winter sports resort on the African continent. His estate spans several levels. 2,600 meters to nearly 3,260 meters, hampered by what is often presented as the highest chairlift in Africa. The season, dependent on natural snowfall, generally runs from December to March. Many visitors come up simply to see the snow, take a walk and have lunch overlooking the slopes.

Short story: the resort's first ski lift was installed at the late 1940s by soldiers from the 8th Zouave Regiment, who taught the locals to ski and organized the first festivals in the mountains. This made Oukaïmeden a pioneer of African skiing.

An open-air museum: rock engravings

It's the best-kept secret on the plateau. Oukaïmeden is home to one of the most important collections of rock engravings in Morocco : there are a number of hundreds of sites and nearly a thousand representations engraved in the red sandstone, directly onto the slabs that outcrop between the pastures, particularly around the lake and towards the Tizi n'Tifina pass.

Made for the oldest ones at the Bronze Age Then, enriched over millennia, they tell the story of a vanished world: daggers and halberds comparable to those of protohistoric Europe, ornate round shields, frontal warriors, enigmatic "violin idols", and above all an astonishing a bestiary of elephants, rhinoceroses and felines — evidence of a climate very different from today. Inscriptions Libyan-Berbers, The ancestors of Tifinagh script sometimes overlay the older figures. The site has been protected by the state since 1951.

Oukaïmeden, "meeting place"«

The name is readily translated as «"the place where the winds meet"», An image that perfectly captures this high plateau swept by winds. Beyond the poetry, Oukaïmeden has always been a true meeting place : every summer, the herders of the tribes of Rheraya and Ourika They go up there to graze their flocks on the’Agdal, This communal pasture is governed by centuries-old customary rules. Closed in the spring to allow the grass to grow, it traditionally opens on August 10, under the patronage of the saint Sidi Fars — a great social and festive moment in mountain life.

Fauna, flora and highland landscapes

The plateau is a remarkable reservoir of life. Its emblematic little inhabitant? The’Barbary squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus), a rodent with golden fur striped with white, endemic to Morocco, which lives on the ground among rocks up to very high altitudes — not to be confused with a marmot. Around the Lake Oukaïmeden, Often frozen in winter, there are wet meadows and high-altitude grasslands that attract mountain birds and herds grazing in the high pastures.

What to do in Oukaïmeden?

The plateau lives to the rhythm of the seasons:

Winter — skiing, snowboarding, sledding, or simply the pleasure of walking on the snow a stone's throw from the desert.
Summer — hikes and treks to the Toubkal massif, day trips up Jbel Oukaïmeden, mule rides, and a internationally renowned bouldering with nearly a thousand blocks identified.
The motorized adventure — Ascending the pass by off-road motorcycle, to reach the heights via the tracks: discover our ascent of the Oukaïmeden pass by enduro motorcycle.

When to come?

For the snow and skiing, aim January to March (Snow cover remains variable from year to year). For the hiking, climbing and rock engravings, THE spring and summer are ideal, with mild days at altitude. And if you want to experience the transhumance and the opening of the agdal, it's around the mid-August that everything is at stake.

Practical advice

Only one winding road leads to the plateau: it's best to leave early on weekends and check its condition after heavy snowfall. At over 2,600 meters, the altitude is noticeable: ascend gradually, stay hydrated, and bring appropriate gear. warm clothes even in summer, because mountain weather changes quickly and the nights are cool.

Want to conquer the heights in a different way? Treat yourself to the’ascent of the Oukaïmeden pass by enduro motorcycle, An unforgettable off-road day starting from the Ourika Valley.

Oukaïmeden