Excursión de un día a Ouarzazate & Kasbah Ait Benhaddou desde Marrakech

We spent a very nice day on the road with our driver Abdul. The experience is very striking with breathtaking landscapes, between the winding road in the mountains and then the desert and its beautiful colors. We loved the Atlas studios in Ouarzazate, a visit that is definitely worth a visit! Aït Benhaddou transported us to another time, beautiful view at the top on the surrounding landscapes, greenery and river. We were spoiled on the way back by a beautiful sun that gave very beautiful colors. Thank you to Abdul who was in care with us all day, answered our questions and shared with us a lot about Morocco.

We made the sunrise in hot air balloon and it was just beautiful. A little disappointed with our outing in Zagora where the sunset was not at the rendezvous as expected. The support from start to finish was very well managed. I thank the whole team for their kindness, benevolence and professionalism.

Departure from the taxi stand (3 mins from our Riad) at 8:30 in the morning. We drove towards Tichka, 2662 m. Followed by numerous hairpin turns, quite the elevation gain and heavy traffic of tourists going up and over the mountain pass. The driver was very skilled and made the turns smoothly, and it was as if he knew every bump in these roads. The roads were exceptionally good most of the way, and at one point, asphalt was being laid as we passed! Just before Tichka there was a stop at a favorable vantage point for photography and a restroom break before the trip went to another lookout point with rock sellers and violent winds. The wind jerked our hands when we tried to take pictures, so hold on to your hats! Arriving at the Äit Ben Haddou Kasbah,we got (after a stern warning from our driver not to buy anything because it was all fake goods). We had a local guide assigned and crossed over a dried riverbed where there would normally be about 2 meters depth. The brave amongst us got to try olives off the branch (bitter!!!) There were also "greenery"; olive groves, date palms, figs and apricots, but little vegetables because of the saltiness of the water in the river (from the salt mines further up the Atlas mountains). Some parts of the kashba had suffered damage during the last earthquake, but most of it was intact. The Kasbah is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Interestingly, several of the the inner kashbas are inhabited by private families to this day. Inside the Kasbah, the big stair climb began - hundreds of steps of stairs to get to the very top of the Kasbah. But so worth it; at the top there was a small watchtower they called Agadir and valuables were also stored here in the old days. The view was amazing! The Kasbah was followed by lunch. We chose to go to a nearby restaurant rather then go with the program, as that lunch was a proper tourist machine with what seemed like rather dull servings. This was not a problem, and after finding our driver, we continued in our quest. The journey continued towards Quarzazate, but there was also a very short stop at Atlas Studios. In Quarzazate we thus only had time for a 20 minute stop, but we did manage to get slightly lost in the maze. The long drive back to Marrakech began, and we were back at the taxi stand just after the 20:00 hours.

Amazing experience brilliant group. Salah was amazing. On time, very friendly and personal touch. The price was very reasonable. There’s too much good to say but I would conclude that it’s highly recommended and when I come back I will always go with this group. Thanks very much to Salah. Farooq From UK

We booked two tours with Salah. He welcomed us and was very nice. The drivers we got were skilled and drove well. Recommend this company

It was a perfect day trip, well organised and no selling tour. It’s quite a long way by bus for one day but we had enough time to visit the interesting points. That’s why I made another day trip with that company to Essaouira.