British Travel Guide Names Moroccan Village Aït Benhaddou Among World’s Most Beautiful

Aït Benhaddou (Morocco) ranks 12th in the ranking of the 20 most beautiful villages in the world, compiled by the Whitby Travel Guide. Located 30 km from Ouarzazate, in the Ounila valley, south of Télouet, stronghold of the Glaoui, a valley that was a traditional passage point for the caravans connecting Marrakech to the southern Sahara, Aït-ben-Haddou was once nicknamed "the Mont-Saint-Michel of the Chleuhs" during the French protectorate. In 1987, this Moroccan village was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. "An ensemble of earthen buildings surrounded by walls, the ksar is a type of traditional pre-Saharan habitat. The houses are grouped within its defensive walls reinforced by corner towers. Aït-Ben-Haddou, located in the province of Ouarzazate, is a striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco," it is described on the UN organization’s website.

Cinque Terre (Italy) tops the ranking. It consists of five villages whose houses are colorful. This place welcomes many tourists each year. Reine, a small fishing village in the south of the Lofoten archipelago, in Norway, takes second place. It is followed by Oia (Greece), Burano (Italy), Colmar (France), Hallstatt (Austria) and Alberobello (Italy). Hobbiton (New Zealand), Shirakawago (Japan) and Sidi Bou Saïd (Tunisia) complete the top 10. Wengen (Switzerland) occupies the 11th place in the ranking, while Popeye Village (Malta) is positioned in the 13th place. Then come Bibury (England), Ortahisar (Turkey), Ancient town of Fenghuang (China) and Staithes (England). Juzcar (Spain), Palanga (Iran) and Simiane la Rotonde (France) close the podium.

To establish its top 20 of the most beautiful villages in the world, it analyzed data collected on Instagram, The Northern Echo reports.