The Middle Atlas around Azrou rewards exploration. Most of these require a car or a hired taxi — grand taxis are easy to arrange from the main square.
Le Belvédère d'Ito (15 km) is a viewpoint above the mountains, best visited in the morning before haze builds up. Bekrit, 49 km away, is a quiet village beside Lac Sidi Ali, a high-altitude lake good for fishing and wandering. Mrirt (32 km towards Khenifra) has a good Thursday market.
The springs of the Oum R'biaa are about two hours' drive from Azrou — a series of sources where the river begins, surrounded by straw-hut restaurants at the base of a waterfall. It is an unhurried half-day: eat, swim if the season is right, drive back slowly. Le Lac Afenouir is 21 km towards Midelt on rough roads; the drive itself is the point.