What is the history of Aït Benhaddou?

Aït Benhaddou is the picture most people already carry of Morocco without knowing its name — that tiered, honey-coloured ksar rising against a backdrop of bare hills. It stands on the old caravan road that linked Marrakech, over the Atlas, with the Sahara and Sudan, and for centuries traders passing through paid for protection and rest behind its walls.

Most of what you climb through today dates from the 17th century onward, though the site has been inhabited far longer, since it guarded such a vital crossing of the Ounila valley. It is built entirely of earth — pisé and adobe — which is why it must be constantly repaired, and why UNESCO inscribed it in 1987 to help protect a fragile masterpiece of southern Moroccan earthen architecture.

Filmmakers discovered it long ago, and it has stood in for ancient cities in productions from “Lawrence of Arabia” to “Gladiator” and “Game of Thrones.” I am always careful to tell guests this is genuine heritage that happens to photograph like a film set, not a set built to look like heritage — the distinction matters when you climb its real, lived-in lanes.

My practical advice: cross the river early in the morning before the day-trippers arrive from Ouarzazate, and climb all the way to the agadir, the old fortified granary at the top, for the view back over the valley. A handful of families still live within the ksar, and buying their crafts or sharing tea is a far better souvenir than another rooftop photo. We usually fold it into the drive between Marrakech and the dunes.