Tamdaght Kasbah

Six kilometres up the Ounila valley from Ait Ben Haddou, where the coaches stop, is Tamdaght - a kasbah of the Glaoui family, the Atlas lords who controlled the passes and much of southern Morocco in the first half of the twentieth century. It is large, part ruined and part occupied, built of packed earth on stone, with decorated towers on which storks have built nests that have become the thing people photograph. Parts of the interior can be walked with a family member who lives there, through rooms with painted ceilings and collapsed floors above; the standard of preservation is much lower than at the restored kasbahs and the sense of a building going back to earth is the point. It has been used as a film location repeatedly, as has the whole valley. Almost nobody comes here, which after Ait Ben Haddou is a relief.

What you actually see

• A Glaoui kasbah - built by the family that controlled the southern passes.
• Storks on the towers - nests on the decorated tops, the site's signature.
• Part ruined, part lived in - rooms with painted ceilings beside collapsed floors.
• Almost no visitors - six kilometres from Ait Ben Haddou and empty.

When to go

October to April; late afternoon light on the earth walls. An hour.

Honest expectations

The building is unstable in places and there is no supervision. A family lives there and shows visitors round for a donation - agree what you are giving. There are no facilities. The Ounila road beyond is rough in stretches.

Nearby

Ait Ben Haddou is downstream; Telouet is up the Ounila valley.