Cascade d' Ouzoud for a weekend

The Cascade d’ Ouzoud is considered one of the special places to visit in Morocco. We had been told about the magnificent waterfalls, great Berber towns in the area. (Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River.) Getting there was said to be a bit of a challenge so we left early.
The roads in Morocco are fine on the main highways but become increasingly dangerous as you get farther into the countryside or the mountains. We stopped through Fquih be Salah to have a picnic. It is very common for locals to stop, pull out the burner and have some tea or snacks on the side of the road. Sheldon played some tunes and we napped for a bit. Once back on the road we were able to travel through some great little towns. Things change rapidly once you leave the main costal cities.
Travelling over the mountains was spectacular and the countryside did remind us in some ways of Southern Colorado and Northern NM. The cars get less and less as you enter the mountains and donkeys, walking, or taxi is the main source of transportation in the mountains. Upon entering Ouzoud we went directly to our little Kasbah. We stayed at Kasbah d Ouzoud, which is basically well made tents with the construction of the pool and other things in process. Sayid was our “greeter” and was very nice. He even offered to make us some dinner which we gladly accepted for a small fee. We stayed up and played games, ate a great meal and enjoyed the company.
In the morning we had a nice breakfast of breads, jams, coffee, and tea out side and loaded up for our time at the waterfalls. We started at the top, hiked down, met up with some monkeys, some old guy selling tea, stopped for another picnic as well. I finally was able to find a good price on a traditional tagine pot for cooking. The falls are breathtaking. The rain this year actually raised the river so high that it destroyed a restaurant that was perched on the top of the falls. They have these little boats that will take you right up to the falls. It is like a little Niagara Falls. I also hooked up with Sayid as well in his little shop to chat about his new upcoming wedding. He was getting married to a young lady he met two years before……..most likely an arranged situation but he seemed excited. He asked us to return and stay with him in his home and he would take us hiking back to the hills to meet his family and other villages that most do not get to visit.
We finished our time at the falls travelling back over the mountains. It was late when we got back but worth every mile. Cascades d Ouzoud is most definitely one of the best sites in the country.

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