Landmark Africa
Aït Benhaddou
Aït Benhaddou is an old village in Morocco built from earth. Its houses and towers crowd together on a hill. Long ago, traders stopped here on long journeys.
Aït Benhaddou is a ksar, a village of earthen buildings inside high walls, on the southern slopes of the High Atlas mountains in Morocco. Its oldest buildings probably date from no earlier than the 1600s. It was a stop on an old trade route to Marrakesh, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
The Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou, in Ouarzazate Province, is a walled group of earthen houses, tower-houses and shared spaces on a hillside above the Ounila Valley. UNESCO calls it a striking example of southern Moroccan architecture and a complete panorama of pre-Saharan earthen building methods; its oldest structures do not appear to predate the 17th century, and it was inscribed in 1987.
Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Aït Benhaddou
Aït Benhaddou is in Morocco, a country in North Africa.
It is a village with thick walls and tall towers. The walls are made of reddish earth.
Aït Benhaddou stands in the foothills on the southern side of the High Atlas mountains, in Morocco's Ouarzazate Province, about 30 kilometers from the town of Ouarzazate.
It is a ksar: a village of earthen buildings packed close together inside high walls, with towers at the corners. UNESCO calls it a striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco.
UNESCO places the ksar in the foothills of the southern slopes of the High Atlas, in the Ounila Valley of Ouarzazate Province, and describes a ksar as a mainly collective grouping of dwellings. Here the houses crowd together inside defensive walls reinforced by angle towers and entered through a baffle gate.
UNESCO calls the ensemble a perfect synthesis of the earthen architecture of Morocco's pre-Saharan regions and a complete panorama of its building techniques. Morocco's SNRT News, reporting in 2024, put it about 30 km from Ouarzazate, with red rammed-earth walls overlooking the Ounila Valley.
- Where
- Ouarzazate Province, Morocco
- Oldest buildings
- probably no earlier than the 17th century
- Built of
- earth and wood
- World Heritage
- inscribed 1987
A stop on the caravan route
Long ago, traders crossed the desert with their goods.
They passed through this village on their way to the big city of Marrakesh.
UNESCO says Aït Benhaddou was one of many trading posts on an old route that linked ancient Sudan, south of the Sahara, to the city of Marrakesh, through the Dra Valley and over the Tizi-n'Telouet pass.
Morocco's SNRT News says caravans on this route carried cloth, gold, dates, salt and spices. The oldest buildings standing today are probably no earlier than the 1600s, though this way of building is much older in the valleys of southern Morocco.
UNESCO describes the site as one of many trading posts on the commercial route linking ancient Sudan to Marrakesh by way of the Dra Valley and the Tizi-n'Telouet Pass; SNRT News (2024) lists textiles, gold, dates, salt and spices among the goods. The oldest constructions do not appear to predate the 17th century, although their structure and techniques had spread from a very early period in the valleys of southern Morocco.
UNESCO inscribed the ksar in 1987 under criteria (iv) and (v), the second because the traditional earthen way of life it represents has become vulnerable through irreversible social, economic and cultural change.
Houses and towers made of earth
The houses are made of earth and wood.
Some are small. Others are big, with tall towers and patterns at the top.
Inside the walls, some houses are small and simple, while others look like little castles, with tall corner towers whose upper parts are decorated with patterns made of clay bricks.
In 2009, UNESCO reported, the buildings were still made of earth and wood: a committee was keeping builders from using cement and making sure wooden doors and windows were not swapped for metal ones.
UNESCO describes houses ranging from modest dwellings to buildings resembling small urban castles, with high angle towers and upper sections decorated with motifs in clay brick, forming a compact, closed grouping. In 2009 it reported that the materials were still earth and wood: attempts to bring in cement had failed thanks to a monitoring committee of local and national bodies, a few concrete lintels had been hidden under earthen rendering, and wooden doors and windows were being kept from replacement by metal.
UNESCO judged the earthen buildings well adapted to the climate, but very vulnerable when they are not maintained.
Granary, square and caravanserai
At the top of the village is a place to store grain.
There is also a square, a mosque and an inn for travelers.
The ksar has shared spaces as well as homes: a mosque, a public square, and areas outside the walls where grain was threshed, or beaten to free the seeds. At the top of the village are a fortification and a shared granary called an agadir.
There is also a caravanserai, an inn where travelers and their animals could stay.
UNESCO lists the ksar's community areas: a mosque, a public square, grain-threshing floors outside the ramparts, a fortification and a loft at the top of the village, and a caravanserai. SNRT News names the loft as a collective granary (agadir) and the caravanserai as a foundouk.
The World Heritage property covers 3.03 ha, with a 16.32 ha buffer zone that UNESCO says protects its surroundings.
- World Heritage property
- 3.03 hectares
- Buffer zone
- 16.32 hectares
- Granary
- a shared granary (agadir) at the top of the village
- Tourists each year (2024)
- more than 520,000
The village in the photo, and caring for it
In the photo, earthen houses and towers climb up a hill.
Palm trees and bushes grow in front. A person rides an animal across the stony ground.
The photo, taken in March 2024, shows the ksar's reddish-brown houses and towers climbing a rocky hillside, with a ruined building on the hilltop. In front are palm trees, green bushes, an arched doorway and wide, stony ground, where a person rides an animal.
UNESCO reported in 2009 that many people had moved away from the old ksar and that its earthen buildings needed regular repair. Today it is a big draw for visitors: more than 520,000 a year, a local tourism official said in a 2024 SNRT News report, and many films have been shot here.
The photo (19 March 2024) looks across a broad stony flat toward the ksar: tightly packed earthen houses and tower-houses rise up a rocky hill topped by a ruined structure, with decorated tower tops, an arched doorway, palms and green scrub at the foot, and a rider crossing the flat on the right.
In 2009 UNESCO reported that the buildings were very vulnerable because many inhabitants had left and maintenance had lapsed, and noted a 2007–2012 management plan coordinated by CERKAS, Morocco's center for the conservation of Atlas and sub-Atlas architecture. SNRT News reported in 2024 that a 2021 agreement aimed to create a tourism and museum space in the village of Aït Ben Haddou, and that the site has served as a backdrop for many international films.
Amazing facts
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Lots of films have been made in this earthen village.
Many international films have been shot at Aït Benhaddou, SNRT News reports.
SNRT News (2024) notes that the ksar has served as the backdrop for many international film productions, which helped make it known worldwide.
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People here worked to keep building with earth, not cement.
In 2009 UNESCO reported that a monitoring committee was stopping builders from using cement, so the village stayed made of earth and wood.
In 2009 UNESCO reported that attempts to introduce cement had been unsuccessful thanks to the monitoring of an infractions committee, and that the few concrete lintels used had been hidden under earthen rendering.
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The top of the village had a big shared place to keep grain.
At the top of the village is a shared granary, called an agadir.
The loft at the top of the village that UNESCO lists is, according to SNRT News, a collective granary known as an agadir.
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Some houses here look like little castles.
Some of the ksar's houses look like small castles, with tall corner towers decorated at the top.
UNESCO compares the grandest houses to small urban castles, with high angle towers whose upper sections bear clay-brick motifs.
Words to know
- ksar
- a village of earthen buildings inside defensive walls, found in North Africa
- rammed earth
- damp earth packed hard between boards to build thick walls
- granary
- a building for storing grain
- caravan
- a group of traders traveling together with animals and goods
- caravanserai
- an inn where travelers and their animals could rest
- foothills
- low hills at the bottom of a mountain range
Discovery challenge
-
What are the village's houses made of?
What are the buildings of Aït Benhaddou made of?
Which materials did UNESCO report in 2009 were still used for the ksar's buildings?
- Earth and wood
- Glass and steel
- Ice and snow
Show the answer
Earth and wood
Earth and wood!
Earth and wood.
Earth and wood; cement and metal doors were being kept out.
-
What is a village like this, inside high walls, called?
What is a village of earthen buildings inside high walls called in Morocco?
What term does UNESCO use for this walled grouping of earthen dwellings?
- A ksar
- An igloo
- A pagoda
Show the answer
A ksar
A ksar!
A ksar.
A ksar (plural ksour).
-
Which big city did the traders travel to?
The old trade route through Aït Benhaddou led from ancient Sudan to which city?
UNESCO says the ksar was a trading post on the route linking ancient Sudan to which city?
- Marrakesh
- Cairo
- Lisbon
Show the answer
Marrakesh
Marrakesh!
Marrakesh, by way of the Dra Valley.
Marrakesh, by the Dra Valley and the Tizi-n'Telouet Pass.
-
Which mountains is the village near?
On the slopes of which mountains does Aït Benhaddou stand?
On the southern slopes of which range does UNESCO place the ksar?
- The High Atlas
- The Alps
- The Andes
Show the answer
The High Atlas
The High Atlas mountains!
The High Atlas, in Morocco.
The High Atlas.
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When did Aït Benhaddou join the World Heritage List?
In which year did UNESCO add Aït Benhaddou to the World Heritage List?
In which year was the Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou inscribed on the World Heritage List?
- 1987
- 1687
- 2021
Show the answer
1987
In 1987!
In 1987.
1987, under criteria (iv) and (v).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Aït Benhaddou in southern Morocco and describe a ksar as a walled village of earthen buildings.
- Explain why earthen buildings suit a dry climate but need regular repair.
- Describe the ksar's role as a trading post on a route across the Sahara to Marrakesh.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might people build their houses close together inside one wall?
- Why do you think the village works to keep out cement and metal doors?
- What happens to old buildings when the people who lived in them move away?
Try at home or in class
- Mix soil, sand and a little water, press it into an ice-cube tray to make small 'bricks', let them dry in the sun and build a tiny wall.
- Draw a map of a ksar with a wall, corner towers, houses, a square, a granary at the top and an inn for travelers.
Key vocabulary: ksar, rammed earth, granary, caravan, caravanserai, foothills
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Ksar Ait Ben Haddou, un trésor de l'architecture et de l'histoire , SNRT News (MAP)
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.