Ouarzazate Travel Guide: The Gateway to the Sahara & Morocco's Hollywood

Ouarzazate (pronounced "war-za-zat") is the largest city in southern Morocco, sitting at an altitude of 1,160 metres between the High Atlas Mountains and the pre-Saharan plains. It is known as "the door of the desert" — the point where the High Atlas ends and the arid, extraordinary southern landscape begins. For most visitors, Ouarzazate is a transit city on the way to or from the Sahara, with one night spent here while driving between Marrakech and Merzouga. But the city itself has enough to fill a day, and the surrounding area — Ait Benhaddou, Skoura, the Draa Valley — is among the most beautiful in all of Morocco.

Atlas Film Studios: Ouarzazate's main attraction and the reason for its "Hollywood of Morocco" nickname. The studios have hosted productions including Gladiator, The Mummy, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, Lawrence of Arabia, Jewel of the Nile, and the Game of Thrones series. CLA Studios and Atlas Corporation Studios are both open to visitors (admission 50–80 MAD), with sets from various productions left in situ: a Roman temple, an Egyptian market, a medieval Arab city. The Gladiator set is the most impressive. It is kitsch in the best possible way, and genuinely fascinating for film history enthusiasts.

The Taourirt Kasbah: In the centre of Ouarzazate, the Taourirt Kasbah is a massive 19th-century fortified palace that once housed the extended family of the Glaoui — the powerful Berber lords who collaborated with the French during the Protectorate and controlled southern Morocco for decades. Part of the kasbah is now a UNESCO-listed site (admission 50 MAD); the inhabited sections adjacent to it give you a sense of how the earthen architecture is maintained over generations. The kasbah is far less visited than Ait Benhaddou and more atmospheric for it.

Skoura and the Amridil Kasbah: 40 kilometres east of Ouarzazate, the Skoura oasis contains one of the finest kasbahs in the Draa Valley — the Amridil Kasbah, a perfectly preserved 17th-century fortified house surrounded by a palm grove. Unlike Ait Benhaddou, Amridil is rarely crowded and gives a more intimate sense of what kasbah life actually looked like. The drive through the Skoura palmery is beautiful, especially in the late afternoon light. Several excellent ecolodge-style riads operate in the oasis, making Skoura an attractive alternative to staying in the Ouarzazate city centre.

Practical information: Ouarzazate has a regional airport with flights to Casablanca (RAM, 1 hour) and seasonal flights to Paris. CTM buses connect to Marrakech (4 hours) and Agadir (6 hours). Accommodation ranges from budget hotels near the city centre to excellent kasbahs and riads in the surrounding palmeries. The night sky above Ouarzazate, away from the city lights, is spectacular — the altitude and dry desert air make it one of the clearest in Morocco. Our desert tours from Marrakech and Fez all pass through Ouarzazate as the gateway to the Sahara south.