The Oukaimeden Observatory is run by the Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech and takes advantage of the plateau's high altitude, dry air, and distance from city light pollution for astronomical research. The observatory has discovered several minor planets (asteroids) and carries out photometric monitoring work.
Visits are not a standard tourist activity but the observatory has occasionally opened to groups. The presence of the observatory is a reminder of what makes Oukaimeden's location genuinely exceptional: at 2,600 metres, above much of the atmospheric moisture that affects lower-altitude observing, the skies are among the clearest in Morocco. Even without access to the telescope, the night sky from the plateau is remarkable — on a clear winter night, the Milky Way is vivid and stars down to the horizon are visible.