View from the Top of Ait Ben-Haddou

I was thrilled at the fact that I was at the fortified village of Ait Ben-Haddou. This was probably the main reason why I decided to visit Morocco in the first place. At the same time, I was getting antsy because I wanted to take the signature photos of Ait Ben-Haddou which can only be taken from a distance from the village. I was trapped in a guided tour inside the village and we were making our way to the top of the hill where Ait Ben-Haddou was built. In the final stretch to the top of the hill, the area opens up and the trail basically heads straight up. The trail isn’t very steep but some people might have some difficulty climbing this part.

Once you reach the top, you would be rewarded with sweeping views of the area. You can see how much desert is actually here. The ground is all sand colored without having any sand dunes. Looking around, it makes you wonder why people would have set up a fortified village here of all places. There is a almost dried up riverbed here which runs past the hill, I could imagine that the riverbed filled up when there is a lot of rain somewhere but I couldn’t imagine living in such a dry place like this. Apparently, Ait Ben-Haddou was an important stop in the caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh People would actually come here to trade. It is quite amazing to think that this area could support that many people. Then again, Marrakesh might end up being the one which provides the supplies since it is closer to the coast.

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