Morocco with kids: Akchour Waterfalls hike

If you are traveling through Morocco with hiking-age kids, make a(nother) stop at Akchour Waterfalls. I say “another”, because we said the exact same thing about hiking Monkey Fingers Canyon near the Dades Valley. These day-trips were among the kids’ most favourite Morocco experiences. If you want adventure and movement, if you want a break from Morocco’s busy cities, if you want to experience the unexpected and sometimes surreal Morocco nature and landscape, definitely take the time to explore some of Morocco’s countryside. In fact, we (both kids and adults) might have enjoyed our Akchour Waterfalls hike even more than Chefchaouen, the city we had come to see!

Where is Akchour Waterfalls?

Akchour Waterfalls is a hiking trail within Talassemtane National Park, in the Rif Mountains about 30km from Chefchaouen (~40 minute drive). It is named after Akchour, the small town nearby. Akchour Waterfalls is about 2.5 hours from Tangier, 4 hours from Fez, and significantly further from Morocco’s other landmarks. We would not recommend visiting Akchour if it is out of the way from your Morocco itinerary, but it is absolutely worth a day-trip if you will be in Chefchaouen.

What is there to see at Akchour Waterfalls?

Akchour Waterfalls has 2 main trails. The first trail is around 11km roundtrip and leads to 2 main waterfalls, the Petite and Grande. The second trail is about 4.5km and takes you to a natural rock arch called God’s Bridge. But the delightful thing about Akchour is the hike itself is most of the adventure. You will be hiking along the river, on a path that often criss-crosses the river by way of rickety wooden planks or stone blocks. There are mini waterfalls everywhere, places to stop and swim, and a number of tagine stalls with tables and chairs set right in the river itself.

Is Akchour Waterfalls kid-friendly?

The hikes are great for elementary kids and older. Ours loved crossing the bridges, clambering over the rocks, and playing by the river. This is a hike where the kids definitely won’t be getting bored, and you don’t need to worry about bribing them to go the next mile. (And you don’t have to do the entire distance – you can turn back whenever the kids start lagging.) While we would not consider these trails strenuous or dangerous, the “bridges” are planks and stone steps, along open water with rapids and small waterfalls, so we would be caution about very young children (especially the kind that like to launch themselves off boulders… just mine?) It’s possible to bring kids in backpack carriers, though it requires a bit of balance clambering across some of the rockier bits.

How to get to Akchour Waterfalls

Unless you are a part of a tour group, you will need a car or taxi to get to Akchour.

A taxi will cost around 150-200 dh (~ 15 euros) each way. You may want to pay for the driver to wait for your while you hike, or get the driver’s number so they can pick you up afterward.

We had hired a private driver through Morocco, who drove us to Akchour. (And despite being a driver and tour guide, he had actually never been to Akchour, so came along with us on the hike!)

An itinerary for visiting Akchour Waterfalls

Although there are no opening hours, you definitely want to be hiking in daylight. Early morning starts are better to take advantage of less crowds and cooler weather. We recommend arriving for around 8-9am.

Arrival at Akchour Waterfalls

The winding drive to Akchour is an attraction of its own, with beautiful views of the Rif Mountains, farmland and small hamlets. As you approach Akchour, you pass country houses with bread kilns right by the side of the road where you can see women making khobz (a type of Moroccan flatbread), which our kids thought was very neat.

If you are driving, there is a small fee to park in the parking lot (10-20 dh, depending on the attendant :P).

If you would like to hire a guide, you can do so directly from the front gate. This costs around 150-200 dh per day. It’s not necessary to hire a guide here, as the trails are marked and easy to follow. However, our driver suggested this (I think he felt a bit less weird coming along with us on a more “organized” tour). It was certainly easier not having to worry about navigation, and our guide was part professional conversationalist and part photographer.

Be sure to use the restrooms at the entrance. (You may find restrooms at some of the roadside “restaurants”, but be prepared for hole-in-the-ground type situations.) You can also buy snacks from the vendors, like small bags of nuts or candies.

The trailheads for both trails start at the Akchour dam, and follows 2 different rivers. Take the RIGHT trail for the God’s Bridge, and the LEFT trail for the waterfalls (basically the only bit of navigation you have to do for the entire hike. :P)

The God’s Bridge trail

We recommend the God’s Bridge trail first, as it is shorter and more “kid-friendly”. The trail weaves through the ravine and hugs the Farda river, with plenty of elements to keep the kids’ interest.

“God’s Bridge” itself is just a lookout point (you can not hike directly to/underneath the arch), but is a great spot to take some photos and admire the view.

On your way back to the dam, you can either backtrack along the river trail, or there is a path that turns away from the river immediately before the God’s Bridge lookout (on the lefthand side) which will bring you to a parallel trail that follows the top of the gorge.

Plan for around 2.5 hours for this trail. Our kids loved jumping along the stones and bridges and playing in the river.

The waterfall trail

Because this trail is 11km long, you may not want to do the entire hike with kids. We hiked to the Petite waterfall, around 2.5 km in. Hiking to the Grande waterfall is double that distance.

The trail follows the Kelaa River, but does not hug the riverbank like the other trail. There is also a steady elevation gain up into the mountains, so is more effort than the God’s Bridge trail. Our kids did not find this trail as interesting as the God’s Bridge, and were all starting to lag after 30-40 minutes.

The hike to the Petite waterfall takes about 1 hour, and it is the perfect place to stop for a fresh juice and a late-ish lunch. You can swim at the base of the waterfall, and it looked like a popular place for locals. There is a pool at the top of the waterfall for swimming as well, with a few rocks you can jump from. This was the perfect spot to relax and enjoy nature. You can watch how the tagine cooks over the barbecue, and the kids loved hanging out with the local cats, dogs, and chickens.

We chose to turn back after the Petite waterfall, as the kids had had enough. The hike to the Grande waterfall is a bit more involved, with stone blocks that act as steps back and forth across the river. The Grande waterfall is highly dependant on the season, with very little water flowing during the drier months.

The hike back to the parking lot was much easier for the kids (now that they were full and it was downhill :P). We made it back to Chefchaouen around mid-afternoon, and were able to relax and freshen up before venturing out to find dinner.

What to wear and what to bring

These trails are not overly strenuous and can be done in casual wear and sneakers/running shoes. (Our driver did it in sandals, but we would not recommend this!) Make sure to wear a hat as most of the trail is not shaded.

What to bring

• Daypack
• Water bottle
• Sunscreen
• Snacks (even on the most interesting hikes, with kids, snacks keeps the world goin’ round…)
• Swimwear
• Quick-dry towel
• Cash (for lunch, juice/pop, and paying for parking/guides)

Traveling to Morocco with kids? Be sure to check out the rest of our posts!