Trekking from Ouarzazate to Marrakesh meant spending the better part of a day on the bus again. The trip was broken up with a pleasant stop at Ait Benhaddou, a kasbah that is was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list back in 1987. It has been the backdrop for countless movies and, more recently, the blockbuster HBO series Game of Thrones. The walk to the top of the ruins is well worth the view you get once you arrive at the granary located at the top.
The thing that surprised me most about this particular kasbah is that it is still occupied. Most of the kasbahs we saw were deserted. This one feels a bit isolated, which made it even more surprising that several families still live here. The kasbah sits atop a large hill across a river that once required tourists to cross by stepping on stones in the river. A bridge now makes it much easier to access. There is a small coffee ship on the near side of the bridge that also has restrooms for travelers that need to stop before trekking to the top of the kasbah.
The kasbah dates back to around the seventeenth century, built mostly of mud. When the majority of the residents deserted the kasbah, it began to decay. Several years ago, projects were initiated to preserve the scenic community. Evidence of the preservation can be seen in a few areas where erosion barriers are visible. It appears careful consideration was given to allow preservation attempts to blend into the scenery as much as possible.
There are plenty of shops for tourists to visit on the way up. I seem to recall that the most prominent items were clothing, shoes and art. There were quite a few shops as you wind up the narrow alleys toward the top. The merchants were not overly aggressive, but you could expect them to follow you if you paid any special interest to an item they were selling. One of my friends on the tour had a merchant follow her almost the entire way back down to get a sale. She closed the deal, so something can be said for that.
There is plenty to see on the way up to the top. There are some excellent vantage points if you walk to either end of the tier you are ascending. The town appears to have been built in layers ascending toward the top. So many of the trails are on the same elevation, with stairways or passageways leading up to the next strata of shops and houses. There were plenty of opportunities for photos, which I exploited as much as possible. I will tell the rest of the story in the photos. Needless to say, the views from the top were the best.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Ait Benhaddou as much as I enjoyed revisiting this amazing World Heritage site while sharing these descriptions and photos with you. Kasbah Ait Benhaddou is a cool place to visit. It is not far off the beaten path if you are traveling between Ouarzazate and Marrakesh. It was a nice break from the bus ride through the desert mountains.
All photos are my own. They may be reproduced with prior permission.