Marrakech day trip to Ait Ben Haddou & Telouet

The day trip to Ait Benhaddou and Telouet Kasbahs will take you through the High Atlas Mountains and the famous Tizi-n-Tichka Pass, one of the most dramatic steps in Morocco (The government launched a project to renovate much of the road after a tragic bus accident in 2012 and work is still underway due to the harsh winter weather and geography). Along the road, one can see the Berber villages scattered along the slope of the mountains, sometimes difficult to distinguish from the mountain suite. As you get to the other side of the mountains, the landscape changes dramatically, becoming semi-arid and desert-like the Atlas Mountains acts as a barrier that separates the Mediterranean climate from the north from the arid desert winds of the southeast.
After the passage of Tichka 2162m, we left the main road and took a secondary road to the Kasbah Telouet, which belonged to the Pasha of the Atlas, the Glaoui, and is in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country after the departure of the French armies. In the first kasbah, you will visit only a few rooms that you can see, as a large part of the kasbah has been closed due to falling ceilings and unsafe walls. However, the tiled walls, the ribbed pillars, the beautifully painted wooden ceilings, and the colorful glass windows of the reception rooms allow you to imagine how it was at its best.

From there you continue for lunch at Ait Ben Haddou along the newly paved road. Once in the village, you will see more closely the architecture of the Kasbah with turrets in all the buildings, adorned with grilled windows and soft peach-colored walls. These traditional houses are made of mud, very suitable for southern climatic conditions and mountain peaks because it is effective temperature insulation and building materials are abundant and do not require any major transport or transformation process. The afternoon went on to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou, It is the most famous of all the Moroccan kasbahs, largely due to its appearance in many Hollywood blockbusters. It was one of the fortress’s most important strongholds on the ancient caravan routes of Salt Road, where traders brought slaves, gold, ivory, and salt from sub-Saharan Africa to Marrakesh and beyond. Before leaving Ait Benhaddou, you will take the last look at the village from a distant point offering a magnificent panoramic view, especially under a clear blue sky.