CIP Ain Assardoun

Built in 1688 on the orders of Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail, the Ain Assardoun kasbah watched over a vital resource: the spring of the same name, whose Amazigh name means "spring of the mule". Perched on high ground overlooking the Tadla plain, the fortress protected the region from tribal raids that regularly threatened this fertile agricultural land in the 17th and 18th centuries. Now partly in ruins, it retains the austere charm of Alaouite military architecture. At its foot, waters from the spring, fed by the Middle Atlas, form waterfalls and pools that still irrigate the surrounding gardens and orchards, making the site a cool, green stop at the heart of Beni Mellal. Free entry for Moroccans and residents on Fridays and the first days of national and religious holidays.