Ouarzazate

Currency budget Morocco

The dirham cannot be bought abroad. Change in Marrakech or at a bank in Ouarzazate itself; Aït Ben Haddou has guesthouses and souvenir shops but no bank, and the families who charge a few dirhams to cross their houses inside the ksar want cash.

ATMs & cards

The banks are on Avenue Mohammed V in Ouarzazate: Attijariwafa, BMCE and Banque Populaire. Machines charge foreign cards a flat fee per withdrawal. Draw enough here before Aït Ben Haddou, Skoura or the Draa valley.

The guesthouses, the guides and the families inside the ksar are paid in cash. Draw in Ouarzazate before going out to the kasbahs.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Morocco

Quiet and easy. Guides at the ksar entrance in Aït Ben Haddou are persistent and mostly harmless, and the families living inside charge a small fee to pass through their houses, which is legitimate. The real hazards are the heat in high summer and the Tizi n'Tichka road, which is slow, crowded with lorries and occasionally closed by snow in winter — do not drive it in the dark. Stay one night if you are crossing to the desert; two if you sleep in Aït Ben Haddou itself, which is the point of staying at all.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Morocco visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Morocco

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Kasbah food: tagine, Berber omelette, and bread baked in the guesthouse oven. Madfouna, the stuffed flatbread of the south, is worth asking for. Ouarzazate has a few honest grill restaurants around Place al-Mouahidine; Aït Ben Haddou eats at its guesthouses, which is where the better food is anyway.

Getting around

• Hire car or driver — the only way to see the kasbahs at your own pace; the roads south of the Atlas are quiet and good
• Grand taxi — shared from Ouarzazate to the Aït Ben Haddou junction and to Skoura, leaving when full
• Bus — CTM and Supratours over the Tizi n'Tichka from Marrakech in about four and a half hours
• On foot — Aït Ben Haddou is reached from the new village by a footbridge over the riverbed
• Airport: Ouarzazate is 10 min from the centre; Marrakech (RAK) is four hours over the pass

eSIM

A data eSIM for Morocco, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:Works hereWorks hereRevolutIn the app

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Arabic

• Helloمرحبا — MarhabaMAR-ha-ba
• Pleaseمن فضلك — Min fadlakmin FAD-lak
• Thank youشكرا — ShukranSHOOK-ran
• Yes / Noنعم / لا — Na’am / LaNA-am / la

Inshallah, meaning God willing, follows nearly any statement about the future and is conversational rather than religious.

Religion

Sunni Muslim

Islam is the state religion and the king holds religious authority. Non-Muslims may not enter most mosques — the Hassan II in Casablanca is the main exception. Ramadan changes opening hours everywhere.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Haggle in the souks — the first price is an opening, and good humour is part of it
• Dress modestly, particularly women and particularly away from tourist areas
• Use the right hand for eating and giving
• Accept mint tea; it is the standard gesture of welcome

Don't

• Do not follow unofficial guides who offer to show you the way in the medina; the help ends in a demand
• Do not photograph people, market stalls or performers without asking — payment will be expected
• Do not enter mosques unless you are Muslim; almost all are closed to visitors
• Do not show public affection, and avoid discussing the monarchy critically