Ait Ben Haddou is the most photographed building complex in Morocco, and the second most common way to see it — a day trip from Marrakech — is the worst.
What a ksar actually is
A ksar is a fortified village built as a single defensive structure: family houses pressed together behind one continuous wall, with a collective granary at the highest and most defensible point. Ait Ben Haddou stands where the caravan route from the Sahara crossed the Ounila river, and it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1987.
It is built of pisé — earth, straw and lime rammed into forms — which means it needs constant repair. Some of what you see has been rebuilt, using exactly the same technique and materials, because that is how the building type survives.
Why not to come as a day trip
Day trips from Marrakech arrive between eleven and three. That is the flattest light of the day, the hottest part of it, and the window in which every other coach is also there.
Stay one night nearby and you get the ksar at sunset, when the walls run through ochre to amber to red, and again at eight the next morning when the lanes are empty and the light comes from the other side. It is a completely different place.
Take the Ounila Valley road
The fast road between Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate takes half an hour. The old caravan route through the Ounila Valley takes two, is unpaved in places, and passes kasbahs, a river cut through rock, and villages that see almost no traffic. It also connects to Telouet, the Glaoui stronghold that controlled the pass.
If your itinerary allows one detour in this region, this is the one to take.
Ouarzazate and the studios
Ouarzazate is a modern, functional town that grew as a garrison and then as a film centre. Its two attractions are the Taourirt Kasbah — once a Glaoui stronghold, with painted rooms upstairs — and the studios on the edge of town, where sets from dozens of productions are still standing.
Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, The Mummy and Game of Thrones have all filmed in this area. On a guided visit you get shown exactly which wall was which scene, which is more entertaining than it sounds.
Ready to see it for yourself?
Our two-day experience crosses the Atlas from Marrakech, stays the night facing the ksar, and takes the Ounila Valley to Ouarzazate the next morning.
Tell us your dates and we will shape an itinerary around what you have just read.
