Morocco
Oukaimeden
Africa's highest ski resort — Berber shepherds and snowboarders sharing the same Atlas ridge.
Snow on African soil — the concept takes a moment to land. At 2,600 metres in the High Atlas, Oukaimeden operates Africa's highest ski resort, its five runs carved into slopes where Berber shepherds graze flocks in summer. The chairlift is basic. The après-ski is mint tea. The novelty of skiing in Morocco, with the Haouz Plain shimmering below and the Sahara somewhere beyond the southern horizon, never quite wears off.
Oukaimeden is a ski station at 2,600 metres in the High Atlas, roughly 75 kilometres south of Marrakech. Africa's highest ski resort operates between December and March, offering five runs, a chairlift, and several drag lifts. The slopes suit beginners and intermediates; the experience is about the novelty and setting rather than technical challenge. Beyond the ski season, the plateau offers hiking and mountain biking, and the area contains Neolithic rock engravings of tools, animals, and geometric patterns. The resort is accessible from Marrakech in approximately ninety minutes, making it a feasible day trip for visitors seeking mountain air and altitude.
Friends
Skiing in Africa is a story worth telling. The runs are approachable, the setting is surreal, and the shared absurdity of the experience bonds groups.
Family
Gentle slopes, an easy day trip from Marrakech, and the novelty of skiing in Morocco. Children who have skied in the Alps will be thrilled by the contrast.
- Africa's highest ski resort at 2,600 metres offers five runs and a chairlift in winter.
- In summer, the same slopes become wildflower meadows with prehistoric rock engravings.
- Berber shepherds graze flocks beside the ski lifts — a collision of worlds.
- The resort is ninety minutes from Marrakech — morning souks, afternoon skiing.
Hot harira soup and fresh bread at the ski lodge, altitude sharpening every flavour.
Berber mint tea brewed on portable stoves at 2,600 metres.
Pedra de Lume
Cape Verde
Float in a salt lake inside an extinct volcano, crater walls rising on every side.
Vale do Paúl
Cape Verde
Sugarcane terraces spill down a volcanic crater into the greenest valley in the archipelago.
Lander
United States
A river vanishes underground and resurfaces a quarter-mile later in a pool of giant trout.
Chã das Caldeiras
Cape Verde
A village inside an active volcano where residents grow wine on fresh lava fields.
Chefchaouen
Morocco
Blue-washed walls dripping with bougainvillea in a mountain medina where cats outnumber cars.
Fes el-Bali
Morocco
Nine thousand alleys where the smell of cedar, leather, and centuries of spice never fades.
Essaouira
Morocco
Atlantic gales rattle shutters on a fortified port where Hendrix once jammed with Gnawa musicians.
Erg Chebbi
Morocco
Saharan dunes taller than apartment blocks turning from gold to crimson as the sun drops.