Ifrane & Azrou

Ifrane is a planned hill town with pitched roofs and parks, useful when Fes is hot or when children need a day that is not a medina. Azrou’s cedar forest is the wilder half of the outing — macaques, woodland, a different Morocco.

This is also the first landscape on many Fes-to-Merzouga drives. As a dedicated day trip it is unhurried; as a transfer it is a coffee and a photo.

We do not promise snow. In winter it can happen. In summer you came for the air.

When to visit Ifrane and Azrou

Ifrane sits at about 1,650 metres, so it stays cool in summer and often sees snow in winter. Spring brings green meadows and flowering trees, and autumn colours the forests. It is a good day out in any season when Fes feels too hot.

Getting to Ifrane and Azrou

Ifrane is about an hour south of Fes on the road to the Middle Atlas and Midelt, and Azrou is a further twenty minutes. The cedar forest between them is home to Barbary macaques, often seen near the road. Most desert tours from Fes stop here for coffee and a short walk, and a dedicated day trip adds lakes such as Dayet Aoua and walks in the forest.

Authoritative background: Visit Morocco page for Ifrane (Visit Morocco — Ifrane).