Destination

Aït Ben Haddou

Tours visiting Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed earthen ksar above the Ounila river and Morocco’s most filmed landscape.

30 tours in Aït Ben Haddou

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Planning a trip to Aït Ben Haddou

Aït Ben Haddou is a ksar — a fortified village of earthen houses packed inside a defensive wall — rising up a hillside above the Ounila river. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1987, and it is the single most recognisable built landscape in Morocco, which is why it turns up in so many films that visitors often arrive with a sense of having been there before.

You cross the riverbed to reach it, then climb through the lanes to the granary at the top. The walk up takes about twenty minutes at an easy pace and the view back over the valley is the reason to do it. A handful of families still live inside the ksar; most of the community moved to the modern village on the other bank.

It sits 30 kilometres from Ouarzazate, so it slots naturally into the first or last day of any Marrakech-to-desert itinerary. Early morning and late afternoon are both far better than the middle of the day, for light and for crowds.

Questions about Aït Ben Haddou

How hard is the walk up?

Moderate. The lanes are uneven earth and stone with steps in places, and there is no handrail for much of it. Most reasonably mobile people manage it comfortably in twenty minutes. You can also see the ksar well from the riverbank without climbing at all.

Do you have to cross the river on foot?

Usually there are stepping stones or a footbridge and your feet stay dry. After heavy rain the river rises and the crossing can be wet, which is worth knowing if you are travelling in late winter.

Camel caravan crossing the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset near Merzouga

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