Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains: Two Sides of Morocco in One Trip

One of the reasons we keep recommending Morocco is the contrast it offers. In just a few days, you can experience the energy, culture and food scene of Marrakech before escaping to the Atlas Mountains, where the pace slows completely and the focus shifts to nature, space and spectacular scenery.

For travellers with limited time, it's one of the best ways to experience two very different sides of the country without spending hours travelling between them.

Why Combine Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains?

Many first-time visitors assume Morocco is all about Marrakech. While the city is undoubtedly fascinating, we often find that the Atlas Mountains become the unexpected highlight of the trip. The contrast works beautifully. A few days exploring the medina, navigating the souks and ducking into riads behind unmarked doors feels all the more rewarding when followed by a few days of fresh mountain air, quiet surroundings and slower mornings.

Marrakech

Start in Marrakech, where the call to prayer echoes across the rooftops, the souks are full of life, and every corner feels like it has a story to tell. Spend your days exploring the souks with a local guide, visiting a traditional hammam, taking a Moroccan cooking class, wandering Jardin Majorelle and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, or discovering the city by sidecar.

Some of our favourite riads in the medina each have their own personality. La Sultana for its rooftop pool and views toward the Atlas, El Fenn for its bold art collection and a rooftop bar that draws half the city at sunset, IZZA for sleeping inside seven joined-together historic riads strung with contemporary art, and Villa des Orangers for something quieter and more classic, tucked near the Koutoubia Mosque.

Outside the medina, where there's more room to breathe, the choices get grander. Royal Mansour does away with rooms altogether in favour of private multi-storey riads, fitting for a hotel built by a king. Amanjena unfolds around a long reflecting pool in its own olive grove. Selman is the one for horse lovers, built around a stud of Arabian thoroughbreds. And Four Seasons Resort Marrakech is the easy, spacious choice when you're travelling with family.

The Atlas Mountains

Then swap the energy of Marrakech for the Atlas Mountains. The scenery changes dramatically. Villages cling to the hillsides, winding roads lead through valleys and mountain passes, and the focus shifts from sightseeing to simply enjoying where you are. Here, days are spent hiking through the mountains with a picnic, visiting a Berber village, stargazing, or simply slowing down by the pool with nowhere else to be.

Our favourite hotels here couldn't be more different from one another. Olinto, tucked into the Ouirgane Valley, is an adults-only retreat of nine private pavilions, each with its own garden and pool, built around a working olive grove and a kind of quiet you don't find in the city. Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson's place near Asni, is the more sociable choice, proper Berber hospitality alongside genuinely good facilities for families, with Mount Toubkal rising behind it. And Kasbah Bab Ourika sits on a hilltop above the Ourika Valley, built from rammed earth in the traditional Berber style, with 360 degree views that are hard to beat at sunset.

Kasbah Tamadot

Morocco does contrast better than almost anywhere. A few days spent between Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains gives you both sides of the country: vibrant, energetic and full of life, followed by calm, space and some of the most beautiful mountain scenery.

When to Visit

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the best times to go. Marrakech is properly hot by midsummer, and the mountains turn cold and can see snow in winter, so the shoulder seasons give you the best of both at once.