During Ramadan I took a side trip on the weekend and visited Cascades d'Ouzoud which is North of Marrakesh in the desert mountains. The topography was much like the Southern US, Utah, Arizona, Colorado. I felt at home hiking the canyon next to the river. The waterfall is a series of drops about 330 feet.
There is a town at the top of the waterfall that is set up for thousands of tourists. As we were there during Ramadan there was almost no one there. There were dozens of shops, restaurants, hotels, cabs, ice cream stands, camping areas, parking lots, just sitting vacant with owners pleading for you to stop in and look at something. Michelle had been here a few months earlier and it was packed with people coming in cars and masses of buses. The walkway down to the bottom of the falls is about 500 steps with a handicap ramp built along side. All the way down are shops selling everything and places to lay down and relax.
We stopped and had a tajine at one restaurant. The place was almost deserted. The few foreigners were the only ones eating or drinking. There were a few Moroccan families but they were relaxing, not eating or drinking.
Everything is hand carried down or brought by Donkey. You pass lots of donkeys on the trail.
This is a Berber Omelet.
At the bottom of the falls there are pontoon boats that people can ride to where the falls drop into the water, or you can swim over there. The pool of water is cool and deep enough to be very refreshing. Several young people were swimming in the pool. I have found that most Moroccans do not know how to swim. Olive trees abound at the bottom of the falls and provide shade from the hot sun. Campsites proliferate the bottom of the falls. You can find a spot under tarps with a kitchen to cook your meals, a cushion to sleep on and latrines.
We continued walking down the canyon and left the tourist area behind. The further we hiked the more sparse the camping sites became. The river dropped from pool to pool as we continued down the canyon. You could swim in any of the pools and jump from one pool to the next. Partway down the canyon we came across a Rastafarian camp with Jamaican colors, Bob Marley pictures and dreadlocked rastas. We decided to spend the night at this quaint retreat. The only other guests were a family of French people there for 10 days. The pool by the site had a 20-30 foot rock to jump off of. The sound of the waterfall would comfort us in out sleep and food and water/soda was available.
What a relaxing, lovely place. We slept in the hut on the top of the hill.
We stopped and had a tajine at one restaurant. The place was almost deserted. The few foreigners were the only ones eating or drinking. There were a few Moroccan families but they were relaxing, not eating or drinking.
At the bottom of the falls there are pontoon boats that people can ride to where the falls drop into the water, or you can swim over there. The pool of water is cool and deep enough to be very refreshing. Several young people were swimming in the pool. I have found that most Moroccans do not know how to swim. Olive trees abound at the bottom of the falls and provide shade from the hot sun. Campsites proliferate the bottom of the falls. You can find a spot under tarps with a kitchen to cook your meals, a cushion to sleep on and latrines.
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