Top 10 Viewpoints in Morocco
Morocco compresses four landscapes into a single road trip. The 4,000-metre Atlas runs diagonally across the country; the Atlantic coast unrolls fortified ksars on the west; the Sahara opens its first true ergs in the south-east; and the Mediterranean Rif drops blue mountain towns to the north. The viewpoint culture mixes Berber tower houses, French colonial belvederes and the rooftop terraces of every old medina.
1. Tizi n'Tichka pass, High Atlas
The N9 road from Marrakech to Ouarzazate crosses the High Atlas at 2,260 metres. The pass itself has half a dozen lay-bys; the most photographed is on the southern descent, looking down on the switchbacks to the desert plain. The road was rebuilt in 2020 and is no longer the white-knuckle drive of the 2000s, but the view from the top is the same.
2. Jbel Toubkal summit, High Atlas
North Africa's highest peak at 4,167 metres is reached by a 2-day trek from the village of Imlil via the refuge at 3,207 metres. The summit cross gives the only 360° view in Morocco that takes in both the Atlantic plain and the Sahara, weather permitting. Best in May or October when the snow line is high and the haze is low.
3. Chefchaouen kasbah rooftop, Rif
The blue medina of Chefchaouen is climbed from any of three sides; the canonical viewpoint is the small terrace above the Place Outa-el-Hammam, opposite the kasbah. The drop into the bowl of indigo houses is most photographed in the soft hour after sunrise when the shadows of the Rif are still long.
4. Aït Benhaddou ridge, near Ouarzazate
The UNESCO ksar is best seen not from inside but from the modest opposite ridge across the Ounila wadi. A path leaves the new village and climbs to a small stone marker in 20 minutes. The view encloses the entire fortified town against the bare red mountains — the canonical Gladiator-Lawrence of Arabia setting, used by both films.
5. Erg Chebbi from the dune crest, Merzouga
The 28-kilometre dune sea east of Merzouga rises in clean orange ridges to 150 metres. Climbing the highest crest of Erg Chebbi before sunrise (1 hour from the camp) gives a view east across the Algerian border and west over the rest of the erg. The wind erases the previous day's footprints by midnight.
6. Cap Spartel, Tangier
The lighthouse on Africa's north-western corner sits 95 metres above the meeting point of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The Spanish coast at Tarifa is 14 kilometres across the strait, the closest two continents come outside the Bering. The view is best in the afternoon when the Spanish hills catch the light.
7. Telouet kasbah ruins, Atlas
The decaying Glaoui palace at the foot of the Tichka pass is itself the viewpoint. Climbing through the cracked plaster halls to the upper terrace gives a sweeping view of the bare Atlas above and the small village of Telouet below. The contrast of crumbling stucco and red mountain is the canonical High Atlas image.
8. Volubilis from the Capitol, Meknes region
The Roman ruins of Volubilis are themselves the high point of the plain of Meknes — the city was built on a slight rise above the wheat fields. The capitol terrace at the centre of the site gives a view across the still-standing arch of Caracalla, the olive groves and the white hill town of Moulay Idriss in the distance.
9. Akchour falls upper viewpoint, Talassemtane National Park
The waterfall trail from Akchour village in the Rif climbs 4 kilometres up a limestone gorge to a small bridge over a green plunge pool. The upper viewpoint, another 20 minutes scramble, looks down on the falls from above with the layered Rif ridges behind. Mid-morning in spring, when the water is still high, is the canonical visit.
10. Jardin Majorelle terrace, Marrakech
The cobalt-blue garden in Marrakech's Gueliz quarter is more microcosm than macrocosm, but the small terrace at the eastern end of the pool gives a perspective across the bamboo grove that explains what Yves Saint Laurent saved. The viewpoint is dawn-only in summer; the garden opens at 8 and the crowds queue from 7.
Plan a Moroccan viewpoint trip
A 10-day road trip from Marrakech through the High Atlas, the Drâa valley, Erg Chebbi and back via Fes covers seven of the ten points above. The interactive map shows the viewpoints alongside Morocco's dense network of kasbahs, ksars and Atlas refuges.