The Springs of Oum er Rbia

The Oum er Rbia is the longest river in Morocco, and its source is a place you can walk to: a wooded hillside in the Middle Atlas where dozens of springs burst straight out of the rock and fall down the slope in a tangle of cascades before joining into one river. Some of the springs are fresh and some are salt, which is unusual enough that local guides make a point of it. Wooden walkways and steps lead up through the spray past the outlets, with cafés and stalls set among the rocks along the way. It is a short, steep walk rather than a hike, and the noise and cold spray are a relief in summer heat.

What you actually see

• The spring outlets - water pouring straight out of the rock face in dozens of places.
• The cascades - the falls formed where the springs run down the slope.
• The salt and fresh springs - the mix of water sources that guides point out.
• The walkways - wooden stairs and bridges built through the spray.

When to go

Spring and early summer give the strongest flow. Weekends and the summer holidays fill the site with Moroccan families and the cafés get noisy; weekday mornings are calm. Autumn is quiet and mild. In winter the walkways are cold, wet and slippery, and the roads across the Middle Atlas can be affected by snow.

Honest expectations

The site has been developed with a lot of concrete, stalls and cafés crowding the rocks, and it is charged at the gate with more asked for parking. The walkways are wet and slippery throughout. Vendors and unofficial guides are persistent. It is a stop of a couple of hours on a longer Middle Atlas drive rather than a destination.

Nearby

The forest lake of Aguelmam Azigza is close by, and Khenifra and the cedar country lie on the road north.