Oukaimeden

Oukaimeden is a ski resort at 2,600 metres in the High Atlas, 75 kilometres south of Marrakech. The drive takes about an hour and a half. The transition is abrupt — from palm trees and ochre walls to pine forest, rock, and in winter, snow.

The skiing is modest — a few drag lifts, no grooming to speak of, and a season that runs from December to March depending on snowfall. The runs suit beginners. The setting — surrounded by 3,000-metre peaks, with the Haouz plain shimmering far below — is the point.

More remarkable than the skiing is the rock art. Oukaimeden has one of the largest collections of Bronze Age petroglyphs in North Africa — carved into flat rocks across the plateau. Daggers, shields, sun discs, and animals. The carvings are 2,000 to 4,000 years old and freely accessible. Most visitors walk past them on the way to the lifts without knowing they are there.

In summer, the plateau is a high-altitude pasture. Amazigh shepherds bring their flocks up from the valleys. The wildflowers are dense. The air is thin.