Ait Ben Haddou (also spelled Ait Benhaddou) in Morocco challenges me. We spent a full day there on our recent family trip to Morocco, and I will tell you what we did. But this blog was always meant to be a collection of my travel writing – more than just a clickbait travel listicle.
Of course, The Family Trip has become more “to do”s over its almost-decade of existence because that’s what the Internet wants, and rewards. Yet I still try, in every one of my travel posts, to dig deeper, offer my readers more, and to reflect on what it meant to experience the place. What is the thing that struck me? What nuance can I share? What is the hidden lesson to all of it (see here, here, here, and here as examples)?
Ait Ben Haddou, however, is exactly what you expect, and what you want. It is an ancient fortified North African city, made of mud bricks, crumbling and stately all at the same time. The surrounding town is small and dusty, with women in hijab walking and dodging stray dogs, and cold, sugary sodas sold from small stands. It is what you think it is.
The problem is that so many people want to experience these things, this vibe, that hundreds of day tourists flood into Ait Ben Haddou. Which, ironically, completely changes the dynamic of a sleepy, old Moroccan town.
During peak season, it is estimated that there are 3,000 visitors who descend each day. That’s a lot of people!
By staying one night in Ait Ben Haddou, we were able to experience it as you want it to be, the thing that exactly meets your expectations. I am not sure I could say the same if we did this as a day trip.
(The majority of tourists come to Ait Ben Haddou as a day trip from Marrakech, or as a stop on a bus tour that is driving from one area to another. But, as I shared in our itinerary, we wanted to move a little slower through Morocco than most itineraries offer.)
Ait Ben Haddou is a marvel (and a UNESCO World Heritage site, which you know we love!). Technically, Ait Ben Haddou is a ksar, which is a fortified fortress.
The fortress was believed to have been constructed in the 11th century and sat on an important trade route.
What is most remarkable, however, is the construction of the buildings. Almost the entire ksar is made of “rammed earth,” or compacted natural material. It is what gives Ait Ben Haddou its breathtaking look – it seems to organically grow out of the ground.
Yet it is also miserable to maintain, constantly cracking and eroding. As a UNESCO World Heritage site, Ait Ben Haddou is under constant restoration and the work is done in accordance with traditional methods.
While in Ait Ben Haddou, we learned that most residents live across the river, in modern dwellings. But the government and town are trying to encourage people to actually live inside the old ksar. They constructed a bridge across the river to make it easier to access the old town. I couldn’t imagine living in the ancient buildings, but am fascinated with the idea.
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The ksar has become famous, as well, for the Hollywood flicks filmed there. In most recent history and most notably, Game of Thrones filmed on location in Ait Ben Haddou, and other old favorites (Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, Gladiator) were also filmed in part in Ait Ben Haddou.
PRO TIP: If you are really into seeing the sites of movies, you will want to head to Ouarzazate, which is not far from Ait Ben Haddou. We enjoyed Ouarzazate each time we stopped there on our road trips for lunch and wished we had more time to explore it. Ouarzazate grew out of the film industry, and Atlas Studios is available for touring and visits.
You could easily do this visit as a stop while on a road trip or as a half-day from Ait Ben Haddou.
Where to stay in Ait Ben Haddou
We stayed at Riad Paradise of Silence and enjoyed it.
Upon driving in, we were a bit worried about the location. It was off the main road and up a hill. But the distance was nothing. We were easily able to walk into the new(er) part of Ait Ben Haddou, and then into the ksar. It was also fun to be where locals live, to walk past the local school and sweets shop.
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We had a large room that fit our family of four well, a private bathroom, access to a beautiful pool as well as cabanas to rest in, enchanting views, and a delicious breakfast. Dinner was available in the Riad with reservations and for an additional fee.
The manager was kind (although do plan to pay your balance in cash when you leave, as that is certainly preferred over credit card).
What to do in Ait Ben Haddou
Obviously, the ksar and enjoying the narrow, winding walkways that dip up and down along mud-packed walls is the thing to do.
We very much appreciated being in Ait Ben Haddou in the evening, when the hordes of tourists had left, things became calm, and the sun hit the ksar at new, interesting angles. We also appreciated waking up in the morning and being able to walk through the ksar before tourists descended en masse.
The entire ksar is free to the public.
We ate a pizza dinner (a break from Moroccan cuisine for a night, even though we were enjoying the food around the country) in the newer part of Ait Ben Haddou at Dar Carmine la Terrazza. The pizza wasn’t cheap, being one of our more expensive meals during our trip, but the view was everything.
In the morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at our Riad, but then we were up and out as soon as we finished to walk to the top of the ksar. Being the first ones out the door meant we were granted less blasting heat and more space to move our elbows as we navigated through uncrowded, narrow streets.
By the time we were coming down from the top of the ksar, the first few tour buses had arrived and unloaded, and the number of people and crowds was immediately apparent and already becoming uncomfortable.
The way to get to the top is pretty evident: just keep going up steps and hills until you arrive. It will take about 30 – 45 minutes if you don’t meander. That being said, you are likely to get lost and turned around inside the ksar (and that’s part of the fun). This was obviously not built on a grid system.
The elevation gain we recorded to get to the top was around 270 feet. It’s not rugged terrain, so good walkers will be fine.
As I have confessed countless times, I am not a shopper. But I regret not purchasing items in Ait Ben Haddou. There was some beautiful art being created in the alleyways that I recall with longing. There were also scarves, jewelry, and more, without the cacophony of stimulation in Marrakech to wade through while negotiating.
Some bloggers and writers have shared that they found the salesmen to be very aggressive in Ait Ben Haddou, but we didn’t. Perhaps we had a unique experience, but I was not annoyed with any seller’s attempt to get us to purchase items.
With more time, we would have taken ATVs out into the desert. I had tried to arrange this excursion for us before leaving the States and beginning our travels, but it was nearly impossible to book online, so I gave up. But upon arriving in Ait Ben Haddou, we discovered that the main road had many shops where we could have easily booked a guided quad or ATV tour.
I also wanted to take a cooking class (and had this place in mind), but my sons were not as interested in this. We decided to lazily meander the river and relax instead (no complaints).
A popular question people search on the Internet: is it worth staying the night in Ait Ben Haddou?
I can say that I thought so. It was slow and quiet, but only when the heaps of tour buses rolled out. It was in the slow and quiet that I felt as though we experienced (and loved) Ait Ben Haddou.
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