Day Trip To Ait Ben Haddou From Marrakech

DAY 1 : Full Day Trip To Ait Ben Haddou

Departure at 7/30-8 am with a driver / guide speaking English, who will try to give you the planning of the day to discover the highest mountain range in North Africa. An impregnable barrier ,Great Massifs,Narrow Valleys and deep canyons ,during your drive try to admire these different things. In the past the mountains have been a place of refuge for populations ,fleeing from invaders ,conflicts between sedentary tribes and Nomads , led to the development of a remarkable form of fortified architecture.

Old patriarchal houses are still used to offer a shelter and safety. Every last plot of land is used to grow barley,Maize (Corn) ,turnips,Lucerne,potatoes crops that can be cultivated at high altitudes. Systems of irrigation carrying water from springs and the river by building little Dams; grazing their flocks of goats and sheep which they rise for butter ,milk and wool. The constant round of labor punctuated by various festivals.

Many stops including Comfort ones. You arrive to the pass 7000 feet high , and it is the beginning of another world, the Southern side of Atlas. Continue to Ait Ben Haddou , a village of tall beaten clay (Adobe ) Kasbahs is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and is regularly used as a film set. On the left bank of Wadi El maleh the picturesque village with its pinkish sandstone hill,some of its kasbah have been restored , some are still struggling to survive since 13 century. Real gateway for caravans that willing to reach Marrakech, as there is no other way except the natural one which is the valley. Plenty restaurants, opportunity to get food on one of the terraces in the new village. Many films,been set since the first one The Jewel of the Nile ,Staring (Kathleen Turner & Michael Douglas) in 1985.

The second one who gave the village certain celebrity is the Film Galdiator Staring (Russell Crowe) in 2000, Realized by Riddely Scott And others Back to Marrakech at the end of the day. Notice that you can drive only 20 miles to Ouarzazate to visit the city But in winter it’s quite difficult otherwise you get back to the hotel late means you drive during the night.