Cedar Forest & Cèdre Gouraud

The Cedar Forest area is the defining natural landscape around Azrou and the reason many travelers include the town in a Middle Atlas itinerary. Located outside the urban centre, the forest is associated with magnificent Atlas cedars and with Barbary macaques, which visitors often see near Cèdre Gouraud and surrounding woodland routes. The atmosphere is entirely different from the town centre: cooler, quieter, and more open, with forest tracks, picnic stops, roadside clearings, and mountain views. This is not a formal city district, but it functions as Azrou's most important visitor zone for nature and outdoor activity. Travelers come for short walks, photography, wildlife viewing, and scenic drives through the cedar circuits that connect Azrou with the broader Ifrane and Michlifen mountain landscape. The forest can be visited independently with a car or as part of day trips from Fes, Ifrane, or Azrou itself. Responsible behavior is important, especially around macaques; feeding wildlife can change animal behavior and harm the forest environment. Accommodation is usually in Azrou, Ifrane, or roadside lodgings rather than deep within the forest itself. This area is ideal for travelers seeking fresh air, gentle hiking, wildlife encounters, and a visual introduction to the highland ecology that distinguishes the Middle Atlas from Morocco's coastal and desert regions.