Can You Swim at the Ouzoud Waterfalls? Swimming and the Monkeys

Do not plan a swim at Ouzoud. Swimming is banned in certain zones of the lower basin below the falls, and the commune has put up warning and prohibition signs after drownings there in May and June 2026. That is how the newspaper Aujourd’hui le Maroc reported it on 26 June 2026, quoting the president of the communal council. It did not say which zones are banned, and we could not find the commune’s own notice, so we cannot tell you where, if anywhere, a swim is allowed.

What the commune says, as reported

In its article of 26 June 2026, Aujourd’hui le Maroc reports drownings in the lower basin of the Ouzoud falls in May and June 2026, “despite the formal ban on swimming in certain zones”. It quotes Khalid Ejlaydy, president of the communal council of Ait Taguella (Aït Tgla in the article), on what the commune did with the local authorities:

• it hired a casual agent from the area to warn visitors and step in for people in difficulty;
• it ran a campaign under the slogan “The falls are not a swimming pool… why risk your life?”;
• it installed information and prohibition signs at the basin.

The campaign names the dangers in the water: invisible currents, muddy bottoms, depth and submerged obstacles.

What the tours and reviewers say

Some tours still mention a swim. RED CITY TRANS's day lists swimwear among the things to bring and a dip in the river pools in its description; Trip Spirit SARL AU's itinerary tags the stop at the falls with “Swimming”; Come With Us Tour's private day offers a swim in the natural pools in its free time.

Reviewers from the same weeks disagree. A reviewer of marrakech city travel's day, writing in French on 17 October 2026, advised leaving the swimsuit behind because swimming was forbidden. One writing in Spanish on 14 October 2026 about Marrakech City Life SARL's day found that swimming was not possible, although the tour suggested it was. A reviewer of Ando Travel Ltd's day, writing in Spanish on 23 October 2026, could neither swim nor take the boat because of a storm. Others, in August, September and October 2026, wrote that they had swum.

We do not make a safety call here. The ban, the signs and the drownings are what the commune and the press put on record, and that is enough not to plan a day around a swim. If you go in hot weather, the boat ride at the foot of the falls is how the tours take you close to the water; it too can be suspended in heavy rain or high water.

The Barbary macaques

The monkeys by the paths at Ouzoud are Barbary macaques, Macaca sylvanus. The IUCN Red List classes the species as Endangered (criteria A2bcd, assessment dated 4 August 2016, published 2020) and gives its native range as Algeria and Morocco.

Most Ouzoud tours mention seeing them, but sightings are not promised: “Wild Barbary monkey sightings cannot be guaranteed” is one of the notes on Marrakech City Life SARL's day. “Keep a safe distance from Barbary macaques and follow your guide” is the wildlife advice on Ando Travel SARL's day.

We found no Moroccan or IUCN visitor rule on feeding the macaques to quote here. What we did find is a reviewer of RED CITY TRANS's day who wrote on 4 October 2026 that the monkeys seemed almost “planted” for tourists to feed, with peanuts sold nearby, and that it felt a bit sad.

What to plan instead

The day at Ouzoud is the walk down through the olive trees, the view of the falls from below and the boat at their foot. The walk, the steps and the boat covers that part, and Ando Travel Ltd’s day from Marrakech includes a local guide and the boat ride on Options 1 and 3.