Ait Ourir is best treated as a base for short trips into the Atlas foothills or a coffee stop between Marrakesh and the south. The villages of Tighedouine and Sidi Rahal lie within an hour, and the road over the Tizi n'Tichka pass starts climbing in earnest just a few kilometres east, carrying you over the High Atlas toward Telouet, Ouarzazate, and Aït Benhaddou.