Atlas, the range that separates Marrakesh and Fez from the Sahara.

What is the Atlas?

The Atlas is the great mountain range of north-west Africa: about 2,400 km of mountains crossing Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. In Morocco, where you travel, there are three almost parallel chains. The High Atlas, in the centre, is the highest, with Toubkal, at 4,167 m, the highest summit in North Africa. To the north, the Middle Atlas, lower and wooded, with its peak at Jbel Bou Naceur, over 3,300 m. To the south, the Anti-Atlas, dry and rocky, which falls towards the Sahara; the volcanic Siroua massif, at 3,304 m, links it with the High Atlas. In Algeria and Tunisia the Saharan Atlas and the Tell Atlas continue, outside what this guide covers.

The range acts as a climatic border. To the north and west lie the Atlantic plains and the imperial cities, Marrakesh, Fez, Meknes; to the south and east the desert begins. Almost any trip from Marrakesh or Fez to the Sahara crosses the Atlas by a pass, and that is why it is both a destination and a passage. A frequent clarification: the mountains of Chefchaouen and Tetouan, in the north, are not the Atlas but the Rif, a different range.

How do you get there and get around?

There are direct flights from Spain to Marrakesh, Fez, Agadir and other Moroccan cities, and Ouarzazate has an airport on the south face. The two natural gateways are Marrakesh, for the High Atlas, and Fez, for the Middle Atlas. From Marrakesh, Imlil is about 65 km away, an hour and a half by car, and Ouarzazate about 190 km via the Tizi n'Tichka pass, at 2,260 m, about four hours. From Fez, Ifrane is about 65 km away, a little over an hour.

Inside the mountains you get around by hire car, with a driver or by grand taxi. The CTM and Supratours buses link the towns on the edge and those on the southern route, but do not go up into the valleys. The roads are good on the main axes and narrow and winding as soon as you leave them; always allow more time than the map shows.

What to see in the Atlas

The High Atlas concentrates almost everything well known. On the north face, Imlil and Toubkal, for walking in a Berber valley or climbing the summit in two days, and the Ourika valley, near Marrakesh. In the province of Azilal, the Ouzoud waterfalls, 110 m, about 150 km from Marrakesh, and the Aït Bouguemez valley, at the foot of the M'Goun. On the south face, the Aït Ben Haddou ksar, a World Heritage site since 1987, and the Todra and Dadès gorges, on the way to the dunes of Merzouga.

The Middle Atlas is a different landscape: plateaus with lakes, huge cedar forests and mountain villages. Ifrane, with European-style stone houses and red roofs, and Azrou, on the slope of a cedar forest where Barbary macaques live, are seen in passing between Fez and the south. The Ifrane National Park occupies the plateau between Ifrane and Khénifra, and near the latter rises the Oum Er-Rbia, Morocco's longest river.

The Anti-Atlas is the least visited: stone villages in valleys of palms and almond trees, with Tafraoute as a base, closer to Agadir than to Marrakesh.

When to go and what changes with the season

Spring and autumn are the best seasons. From March to May the valleys are green, the almond trees flower early and the summits keep their snow; September and October bring mild temperatures and clear skies. In July and August the south face and the low valleys easily exceed 35 °C, while at Imlil, Ifrane or Aït Bouguemez it is fine: it is the time for the high mountains. In winter it snows in the High Atlas and the Middle Atlas, Ifrane and the passes may be cut off for a few hours, and nights drop below zero. In the rainy seasons there is a risk of sudden floods in rivers and ravines, and the Spanish Foreign Ministry singles this out for the Atlas.

How many days and how to divide them

From Marrakesh, a day is enough for Imlil or the Ourika, and three for crossing the High Atlas to the desert, with nights at Aït Ben Haddou and in the gorges. From Fez, the Middle Atlas is seen in a day on the way south: Ifrane, Azrou and the cedars, continuing towards Midelt and the Tafilalet. A full circuit of a week to ten days can enter via Fez, cross the Middle Atlas, pass through Merzouga and the gorges and return to Marrakesh over the Tichka.

What to know before you go

The September 2023 earthquake affected mainly the provinces of Al Haouz and Taroudant, in the western High Atlas, and the Spanish Foreign Ministry advises Spanish travellers against going to them (advice updated on 9 July 2026). It affects Imlil, the Ourika and the Tichka road: check the advice before booking. The Middle Atlas and the south face are outside those provinces. To climb Toubkal you must go with an accredited guide. The currency is the dirham; in mountain villages carry cash, because there is not always a cash machine or card reader.