About Sources Oum er-Rbia (Oum Rabia or Oum Errabiaa)
The Sources Oum er-Rbia was said to be where some 40 springs feed the beginning of Morocco’s second largest river called the Oum er-Rbia River.
This river eventually made its way over 600km into the Atlantic Ocean at Azemmour.
While we’re aware that there were many other waterfalls at or near the source of this river, we tend to associate the name Sources Oum er-Rbia with the waterfall that we’re discussing on this page.
As you can see from the photo above, this was indeed a very attractive waterfall likely to come from at least one of these springs.
Adding to its scenic allure was its unusual backdrop of tall red cliffs that reminded us of the kind of scenery we had experienced in Southern Utah or Northern Arizona.
Further adding to the atmosphere and uniqueness of this waterfalling experience was that there was a village built right around the gushing er-Rbia River just downstream of the falls.
As we passed through this village, on both sides of the river’s banks, there were sit-on-the-floor outdoor restaurants and tea rooms where we could literally enjoy a relaxing lunch right against the loud rush of the water.
We actually stopped to have a lunch in one of these local cafes, and we wound up with one of the tastiest locally-sourced chicken tagines that we’ve ever had.
It’s hard to describe in words just how charming and magical (in a very Moroccan way) this unusual waterfalling experience was, and hopefully this page can convey that.
The bottom line was that this unusual setting in such seemingly harsh desert landscapes was what made the Sources Oum er-Rbia Waterfall stand out to us.
Experiencing the Sources Oum-er-Rbia Waterfall
As for the Sources Oum-er-Rbia Waterfall excursion itself, we were driven to a scenic car park right at the base of the village where there was a very clear pool towered over by huge red cliffs.
We then walked uphill for roughly 15 minutes into the heart of the Oum er-Rbia village.
It was an additional five minutes or so further upstream from the village passing through a bridge fronted by a Berber local collecting a modest sum of a few dirhams to continue.
Further upstream, the short footpath would eventually reach a dead-end right at the base of the Sources Oum-er-Rbia Waterfall where the gorge closed in completely.
Although the water near the car park looked very clear, the plunge pool at the base of the falls had a more Colorado River-like brownish color.
Now I did notice that there were a couple of paths branching off the main one that we took to the waterfall shown here.
I wasn’t sure if these paths led to other springs and waterfalls or if they were just leading to other parts of the village.
Since we didn’t explore them, we can’t say anything more.
So overall, we had spent about a couple hours in this spot, but that included a lunch as well as a short tea break after our short hike.
The walk itself was family friendly enough that we were able to take our four-year-old daughter without needing a child carrier.
Perhaps most of the time was really spent just driving here, which I’ll go more into in the directions writeup below.
Nomenclature Concerning the Sources Oum-er-Rbia Waterfall
Finally, another thing we noticed about the Sources Oum-er-Rbia Waterfall was that there was a sign saying “Cascade Khedoud” on the way to the waterfall.
I don’t know if this sign was referring to the main waterfall here or if the sign referred to a much smaller cascade further downstream.
I’ve also seen this waterfall referred to as Oum Errabiaa as well as the Source de l’Oum-er-Rbia.
Authorities
The Sources Oum er-Rbia Waterfall resides in the Aguelmam Azigza National Park near the town of Khenifra in the Middle Atlas Mountains of the Khenifra Province in Morocco. I don’t think the waterfalls are administered by any formal authority, but there are locals who are motivated to maintain the trails for commerce. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you may get leads from the Morocco National Tourism website.
The Sources Oum er-Rbia was roughly 160km south of Fes.
It took our driver roughly 3 hours to get from here to the city of Fes via Ifrane National Park and the town of Ifrane (which unfortunately we didn’t have time to linger around this “Swiss-style” city).
So it would require a full day if we were based in Fes and did this as a day tour, which was our original plan before our tour operator suggested something more efficient.
Speaking of being efficient, we actually visited this waterfall during a long drive to Fes from Bin el-Ouidane (an intermediate stop between Marrakech and Fes).
It took our driver roughly 5 hours to go from Bin el-Ouidane to the Sources Oum er-Rbia.
This should at least give you an idea of how much time to allocate when planning for your trip.
Again, as for specific directions, since we were on a fully escorted custom tour, we can’t give give such directions since we didn’t drive ourselves.
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Checking out the traditional Moroccan restaurant situated next to the Oum er-Rbia River near its source. By the way, this place had some of the freshest and tastiest chicken tagines and Moroccan tea we've had on our trip.
Checking out the waterfall and cove along with the picturesque red cliffs surrounding us at the source of the Oum er-Rbia River.
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