Is Aït Benhaddou worth visiting, and what should I know before I go?

I have crossed the little riverbed below Aït Benhaddou more times than I can count, and it still makes me stop. A ksar is a fortified village of packed earth and straw, and this one — strung up a hillside above the Ounila River — is the most complete and photogenic in the south. It was a real caravan stop on the route between Marrakech and the Sahara, where traders rested before or after crossing the High Atlas. UNESCO listed it in 1987, and it earns that.

Let me be honest about what it is now, though. Only a handful of families still live inside the old ksar; most moved to the modern village across the river decades ago. A lot of what you walk through has been rebuilt and maintained for the film industry — Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, Game of Thrones and dozens of others shot here, and several of the 'shops' inside are really studios for selling saffron-dyed paintings to tour groups. None of that ruins it, but go in knowing it is a curated experience, not a frozen-in-time village.

Here is how to actually enjoy it. Arrive before about 9am or come for the last two hours of daylight — the mud walls turn the colour of honey and the coach crowds thin out. Climb all the way to the agadir (the collective granary) at the summit; most day-trippers stop halfway and miss the best view, back over the whole ksar and the palm groves. In low water you can hop across the stepping stones; after rain there is a sandbag crossing or a man with a donkey who will ferry you for a few dirhams.

Wear proper shoes — the lanes are steep, uneven earth — and bring water and a hat, because there is almost no shade once you start climbing. I would budget ninety minutes to two hours. Most people see Aït Benhaddou as a stop between Marrakech and Ouarzazate or on the way to the desert, and that rhythm works well: pair it with the Telouet Kasbah and the old Tizi n'Tichka road for a far richer day than the highway alone.