In Morocco, Ouarzazate is also referred to as the “Gateway to the Moroccan Desert.” It is distinguished by the diversity of its landscapes, the friendliness of its people, the depth and variety of its folklore, and the authenticity of its habitat’s architectural design. It is surrounded by mountains and is 1,160 meters above sea level.
An outpost established by the Foreign Legion in 1928 gave birth to Ouarzazate, which is still a significant garrison town today. In actuality, there are about 56,000 residents and workers here, albeit it serves more as a starting and ending point for trips coming from the south than as a final destination in and of itself. Another popular option for visitors to the “red city” is a Marrakech Ouarzazate excursion.
All travelers who follow the Oasis route must stop in Ouarzazate, which has recently experienced a surge in the film industry because of the area’s stunning natural scenery for filmmaking. The top Hollywood producers and filmmakers, including those from Hollywood, are drawn to it because of this. Many feature films have been filmed in this city’s various film studios, some of which have won Oscars, including Lawrence of Arabia, Kundun, Gladiator, Asterix and Obelix, Tea in the Sahara, and Babel. There are three film studios and a museum in the city.
With a selection of high-quality hotels providing a total of more than 3,937 bedrooms, Ouarzazate is equipped for tourism. Therefore, it is a city with everything needed to stay and take use of its amenities and surroundings.
Al Mouahidine Square, the Central Market, and the handicraft souk are perhaps the city center’s highlights. The Kasbah, located on the city’s outskirts, is open for visits from 8 am to 18 pm. It is not just the main attraction in the region but also one of Morocco’s most fascinating Kasbahs. The Glaoui tribe constructed this adobe stronghold with crenelated towers on either side in the 18th century for the gold trade route from Marrakech to Timbuktu. The rooms of the Glaoui dynasty are within, and you are welcome to explore them while being escorted by one of the tour guides on hand.
You can visit the Ouarzazate Kasbah in addition to the handicraft center, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm and on Saturdays from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm. Pieces of local pottery, stones, tapestries, and carpets are manufactured and sold here.
It’s also worthwhile to take a quick trip to the movie studios to see the locations where local movies have been filmed. The Oscar Hotel and the Atlas Film Studios both have a long list of movies that were filmed there. Since Ouarzazate served as the setting for Game of Thrones and may be visited in the film studios as part of its settings, it has gained a lot of notoriety among “Game of Thrones” fans.The Jnan Sbil Garden, in addition to its lush foliage, has an amazing hydraulic infrastructure. The garden is crisscrossed with water channels that run from a nearby spring and are used to hydrate the plants and keep the garden beautiful green.
As an alternative to going on a trip to Ouarzazate, we advise going to Ksar-Ben-Haddou or Ait Ben Haddou, which is around 26 kilometers away from Marrakech. UNESCO has designated this magnificent fortification a World Heritage Site. It’s being repaired right now. Since ancient times, it has been a significant commercial and cultural crossroads for the area. You may explore it on foot and get a beautiful view of the settlement, the surrounding area, and the Moroccan desert.
At 1,188 meters above sea level, it is located between the Atlas, Anti Atlas, and the Dades valley, forty kilometers from Ouarzazate. A calm oasis and a maze of gardens covered by date palms, pomegranate trees, fig trees, almond trees, and cereal fields are available in this region, which is known for its olives and oil.
Tour guides refer to this woodland as “The road of the thousand kasbahs” since it is home to a variety of magnificent kasbahs. It is the perfect location to practice any kind of tour, whether it be on a car, 4×4, mountain bike, hiking, on horseback, on mules, etc. Spending lovely evenings in tents in the center of the oasis is an additional intriguing suggestion.
Since the railway terminates in Marrakech, there are only two ways to get to Ouarzazate: by car or by plane. A nice option for traveling by road is to board a bus operated by CTM or Supratour. It takes about four to five hours. Each person will pay less than 100 dirhams. Another choice is to take a cab in Marrakech; the journey takes about 3.5 to 4 hours. But keep in mind that, unless you purchase additional seats, the cab will only depart when it is fully occupied (6 passengers total: 2 up front plus the driver and 4 in the back). Additionally, each person’s cost is less than 100 dirhams.
The cost of traveling by minibus or 4×4 with a transportation company will be more expensive than with the other options, but you can stop anywhere to take pictures.
The downtown area is not particularly large. For roughly 4 dirhams, you can ride a cab to get about the city center (5 dhs if it is after 9 pm). They typically charge around 50 dhs to take you from the airport to the city. These taxis may hold a maximum of three passengers.
There are numerous shops, hotels, and eateries along Mohamed V Avenue. The pedestrian area, known as the “prince,” which has shops and restaurants, is immediately behind. There are a lot of sellers in Taourirt that will try to catch your eye.
Obviously, the weather in Ouarzazate will depend on the date of our trip, but it’s important to remember that the average temperature there is 19.1 ° C. Winters are chilly and dry, and summers are quite scorching. The warmest months to visit Ouarzazate are from March to May and from late September to early October. Remember that Ouarzazate is close to the Atlas Mountains, specifically the High Atlas, which have frequent winter snowfalls and may even obstruct the Tizi n’Tichka mountain pass that connects Ouarzazate with Marrakech.
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