Animals in Marrakesh

Encounters with animals in Marrakesh reveal a gentler side of the Red City. Beyond the souks and palaces, the city and its surrounding plain keep a quiet relationship with the animal world, from the camels of the palm groves to the horses that draw its carriages and the wildlife of the nearby mountains. To seek out animals in Marrakesh is to step away from the medina's intensity into the calmer rhythm of the Palmeraie and the Atlas foothills, where the city's softer character comes through. The Red City keeps better company than its chaos suggests.

The settings lie just outside the walls. The Palmeraie, the palm grove on the city's edge, offers camel rides through the trees, the classic desert image close at hand, while horses draw the traditional calèches that circle the medina and pull riders across the plains. The Ourika Valley and the Atlas foothills, a short drive south, shelter mountain birdlife and lead toward the cedar country where the Barbary macaque lives further north. The argan country toward the coast keeps its famous tree-climbing goats. Animals in Marrakesh thread through grove, plain, and mountain.

Today the encounters reward families and nature lovers alike. The best animal experiences in Marrakesh range from camel rides in the Palmeraie and horse excursions on the plains to wildlife day trips into the Atlas valleys. Families searching Marrakesh animal tours or top animal experiences will find palm-grove camel treks, horse riding, and countryside excursions. Among the gentler things to do in Marrakesh, a camel ride through the Palmeraie at sunset offers calm after the medina's rush. The Red City hides its softer side just beyond its walls, in the groves and the hills.