Day Hikes from Fez
The Waterfalls of Oum er-Rbia
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY
GRADE ONE - WALKING MOSTLY ON PATHS AT LOWER LEVELS, SOMETIMES ROCKY, SELDOM FLAT, FOR ABOUT 6 HOURS EACH DAY. GOOD TRAINERS WOULD DO, BUT TAKE BOOTS IF YOU ARE USED TO THEM. FOR ANYONE WHO LEADS A REASONABLY ACTIVE LIFE. HIKING ALWAYS INVOLVES SOME EFFORT.
ITCTFES04 - departures: daily (3 hours hike)
Departure from Fes at around 8.30 in the morning for an exciting 2hours' drive towards the south and the foothills of the Middle Atlas Ranges After some 30 minutes, we arrive at the small 1920s French-built hill station of Immouzer du Kandar (1220m). Here we'll pause for ten minutes by the kasbah for a look at the little medina and take in the pleasant Saiss Plateau and distant Fes, before continuing on to Ifrane, where we shall stop for a short visit of this squeaky-clean Moroccan pseudo-Swiss town of Ifrane (1650m), with its slanted, russet-tiled roofs hidden amidst a forest of cedar, which cannot grow below 1600m. Ifrane is mainly a winter ski resort - and a summer hideaway for rich Moroccans wishing to escape the hustle and heat of the large cities.
We shall then drive up alongside the Cedar Forest to the first real town in the Middle Atlas - Azrou - which in the local Tamazight Berber dialect means "rock," for, next to the mosque, is the massive outcrop of rock from which this town takes its name. Azrou was for a long time a strategic settlement established to effect some form of control of the independent mountain Berber peoples. On Tuesdays there is a souq to where the Beni M'Guild tribes come to trade. From this traditional Amazigh Berber green-tiled roofed market square village we shall drive for about an hour through the Triangle Of Cedars with its troops of Barbary Apes and, subject to the season, myriads of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. To our right we shall see the empty plateau, empty, that is, except for the black felt tents of the semi-nomadic Beni M'Guild Berber peoples, with their herds of sheep, goats and dromedaries.
We'll continue to a visit of Lake Afenourrir, with its seasonal variety of resident and migratory birds, amongst which can be counted the avocet, heron, stork, grebe, egret and sandpiper; duck, wagtail, sand martin and swallow, bluetit, jay and kite. From here we shall continue south to the volcanic crater lake of Ouiouan which affords us a magnificent panorama of the cedar-topped Sidi M'Guild range (2400m) of the Central Atlas Mountains. Onwards we go to the area of the gorge which produces the 40 springs making up the Oum er-Rbia waterfall. Here we cross the "border" between the Berber tribes of the Beni M'Guild and the Zayan M'Guild, to notice almost immediately a difference in architectural styles. The Beni M'Guild winter homes are built of clay, their summer homes are their black felt tents, whereas the more permanent homes of the Zayan are of cedar wood and slanted zinc roofs.
We now start our 2 to 3hour circular hike from the Berber village of Oum er-Rbia, passing by freshwater and mineral springs boiling out from between grey-green boulders, to picnic in the shade of beautiful trees, accompanied by the tinkling waters of a nearby stream and the hammering of the pied and red great woodpeckers. This tree-lined area is a fine spot for some birdwatching, with the seasonal teal, grebe, coot; woodland finches and titmice; wagtail and warblers and the hovering hawks, ravens, red kites, kestrels and the occasional booted eagle. Refreshed, we set out to visit the wonderful waterfalls, thence to swing along the left bank of the stream to cross a little bridge and walk through a park where we shall rejoin our vehicle to take us back to the oldest of all the Imperial Cities.
Costs per person:
(minimum 2 persons) |
£125 |
(4 persons) |
£83 pp |
Our price includes:
Experienced, licensed, bi-lingual mountain guide throughout. Round trip transportation Fez - Oum er-Rbia - Fez. Light picnic lunch.
Picnic lunch - fresh Moroccan salad, cheese, tinned tuna fish*, bread, fruit, mint tea.
* If vegetarian or vegan, please pre-advise.
Our prices do not include:
Personal medical or accident insurance. Any expenditure of a personal nature. Bottled or gaseous water, nor anything not specifically mentioned in the itinerary. Gratuity to guide.
It is recommended that you bring:
Good trainers or walking boots. Hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, nibbles, filled water bottle, binoculars, hygienic 'wipes'.
NB: 48 hours' notice is required when booking for 3 or more persons, given the scarcity of minibuses in Fes.
Tel: (08707) 406 306
OR EMAIL US BY CLICKING HERE:
Back to Trekking home page