MAISON D’HÔTESGÎTE D’ETAPEI Rocha $$
( 0667 73 70 02; www.irocha.com; Tisseldi, Ighrem N’Oudal; d per person incl half-
board Dh450-550; ) Halfway between the turn-off for Telouet and Aït Benhaddou along the
Marrakesh–Ouarzazate road is this cliffside stone guesthouse, lifting travel-worn spirits above
the green river valley. Ten sunny, cream-coloured rooms have easygoing Berber charm, with
wood-beamed ceilings, plush local carpets, and beldi -tiled bathrooms. The split-level room by
the pool is an ideal family retreat, with a sleeping loft and a tub. Owners Ahmed and Katherine
make terrific French-Moroccan dishes with herbs fresh from the terrace garden; guests can
learn how to cook them for Dh350. To unwind after a guided hike out to the Fint Oasis and
natural springs, go for a hammam (Dh90), a Tazzarine henna treatment, or a dip in the small
pool.
Dar Aissa $
( 0670 22 22 47; www.maisondhotesdaraissatelouet.com; Telouet; per person incl
breakfast/half-board Dh120/200) In downtown Telouet near the Glaoui Kasbah, this new
guesthouse offers clean, cheerful mattress-on-floor accommodation in pink and yellow rooms
with modern shared bathrooms.
Getting There & Away
From the N9 Marrakesh–Ouarzazate Rd, the turn-off to Telouet is signed a few kilometres
beyond the pass. There’s a daily bus from Bab Gehmat in Marrakesh (Dh55), which returns to
Marrakesh at 7am. A bus leaves Ouarzazate for Telouet at noon, returning at 7am (Dh40-50).
Grands taxis are Dh50-70 per seat, but you might get stuck renting out all six seats.
Aït Benhaddou
Like certain Botoxed stars, this Unesco-protected kasbah seems suspiciously frozen in time:
with Hollywood touch-ups, it still resembles its days in the 11th century as an Almoravid
caravanserai. Movie buffs recognise this red mudbrick kasbah 32km from Ouarzazate from
Lawrence of Arabia , Jesus of Nazareth (for which much of Aït Benhaddou was rebuilt), Jewel
of the Nile (note the Egyptian towers) and Gladiator .
If you’re headed to the desert, Aït Benhaddou is a worthy detour for a tasty lunch and
kasbah stroll. From the Hôtel la Kasbah, head down past the souvenir stalls to the kasbah
across the parched Oued Ounilla riverbed. But where are all the people? The few remaining
residents make a few dirham providing access through their family homes to the kasbah
(customary tip Dh10) . Climb the kasbah to a ruined agadir with magnificent views of
surrounding palmeraie and unforgiving hammada (stony desert).
A less retouched kasbah can be found 7km north along the tarmac from Aït Benhaddou: the
Tamdaght kasbah (tip to caretaker Dh10) , a crumbling Glaoui fortification topped by storks’
nests. To see what Aït Benhaddou may have looked like in its original state, follow the Telouet-
bound piste north of Tamdaght to the red-tower kasbah of Anmiter.