Practical guide
Marrakech in summer: living with the heat.
In July and August the thermometer regularly passes forty degrees. That is no reason to stay away, but it changes entirely how a day is organised. Here is what works and what is better avoided.
What to actually expect
Marrakech heat is dry, which makes it more bearable than humid heat at the same temperature. Nights often drop to around twenty-five degrees. The peak falls between one and five in the afternoon, and that is the only genuinely hard stretch.
The medina is cooler than it looks. The reed-covered lanes, the thick walls and the permanent shade of the souks run several degrees below the avenues of Gueliz. It is the big squares and open gardens that punish you, not the old streets.
Cutting the day differently
The answer is not to do less but to do it at other hours. Out by seven or eight, visiting until noon, back for lunch and a rest, out again around five. That is the rhythm of the people who live here, and it is no sacrifice: the monuments are empty in the morning.
Evening walks take on another dimension in summer. Jemaa el-Fna only fills after eight, the terraces are pleasant, and the late light on the ochre walls is the finest of the year.
Leaving the city for cool air
This is what people from Marrakech do themselves. The Ourika valley is an hour away and easily ten degrees cooler, with shade and water. Imlil, higher up, is cooler still. Ouzoud offers the falls and the olive groves. Essaouira, on the Atlantic, rarely passes twenty-five degrees thanks to the wind.
Conversely, summer is the wrong season for Agafay and for the desert, where shade does not exist. If you are set on Agafay, go in late afternoon for the sunset and dinner, never in the middle of the day.
A few concrete precautions
Drink more than you feel like: dry heat does not make you visibly sweat. A hat and loose clothes covering the shoulders protect better than a vest. Closed shoes beat sandals in the souks, where the ground is uneven.
Expect children and older travellers to cope less well, and shorten the routes accordingly. Say so when you book: a walk is built very differently depending on how a group handles heat.
In summer Adil runs the walks early or late, and suggests the valleys for the afternoon.
Questions about this tour
Should Marrakech be avoided in July and August?
No, provided the rhythm is adapted. It is also the cheapest time and the quietest for monuments. Visitors who come in summer and go out at the right hours remember it very well.
What is the best trip in real heat?
Ourika, without hesitation: an hour’s drive, ten degrees cooler, water and shade. Imlil if you want to walk, Essaouira if you prefer the ocean.
Are the walks shortened in summer?
They are moved rather than shortened. The same content is seen very comfortably between eight and noon, often better in fact, since the light is finer and the sites almost empty.