Is the Kik Plateau worth the drive?

The Kik Plateau is a destination for the drive itself, and on the right day it is one of the most beautiful stretches of road near Marrakech. It is a high, rolling plateau — a broad green-and-gold tableland — that sits between the city and the High Atlas, threaded by a quiet back road that links the Asni valley, Ouirgane and the Lalla Takerkoust lake. As you climb onto it, the land opens out into vast sweeping fields with the snow-capped Atlas peaks lined up dramatically on the horizon, and the sense of space is wonderful.

What makes it worth it is the panorama and the journey. There are pull-offs where you can stop and take in the enormous views back toward the mountains, and in spring the plateau is carpeted in wildflowers and green wheat, which is genuinely spectacular and a photographer’s delight. Driving the loop — up onto the plateau, across the tableland and back down toward the lake or Ouirgane — turns a simple A-to-B trip into a scenic circuit, and it pairs beautifully with a lakeside lunch at Lalla Takerkoust or a stop in an Atlas valley.

I’ll be honest about the caveats. The Kik Plateau is scenery, not sights — there are no monuments, villages of note or attractions to visit, so if you need things to "do," you may find a windswept plateau underwhelming. The road can be rough and narrow in places, best tackled with a confident driver or a hired one, and the magic is very weather- and season-dependent: in high summer or a dry year the plateau looks bleached and bare, where in spring it’s lush and glorious. Time it wrong and the drive feels long for the payoff.

My verdict: the Kik Plateau is worth the drive if you love landscape and a scenic back road, especially in spring when it’s at its most beautiful — I weave it into Atlas loops as a glorious connecting drive rather than a stop in its own right. Go with a driver who knows the route, build it into a circuit with Lalla Takerkoust, Asni or Ouirgane, bring a camera, and pick a clear day. If you want attractions rather than panoramas, spend your time in Imlil or the Ourika Valley instead.