What are the best things to do in Ouarzazate?

Ouarzazate is nicknamed "Ouallywood," and its single most distinctive draw is the film industry. This sunbaked town on the edge of the desert has doubled for ancient Rome, Egypt, Jerusalem and countless fantasy worlds, and you can tour the working backlots: the Atlas Film Studios on the edge of town, with its standing sets of temples and pharaonic statues, and the larger CLA Studios. Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, The Mummy and Game of Thrones all filmed in the region, and wandering among the props and facades is good fun, especially if you are a film buff — just go in honestly knowing it is a backlot, plywood and plaster up close, not a polished theme park.

The real showstopper, though, is just down the road: Aït Benhaddou, the spectacular UNESCO-listed ksar of red-earth kasbahs piled up a hillside above a river, about half an hour from Ouarzazate. It is the most famous fortified village in Morocco and the backdrop to a huge number of those films, and climbing through its earthen towers to the top for the view over the valley is unforgettable. Most people visit it as part of a Ouarzazate stop or en route between Marrakech and the desert, and it is honestly the single best thing in the area — do not skip it.

In town itself, the Taourirt Kasbah is well worth an hour — a labyrinthine former residence of the powerful Glaoui clan, with carved-plaster rooms and a warren of mudbrick passages that hint at how these desert strongholds worked. Beyond that, Ouarzazate's greatest value is as a base and gateway: it sits at the crossroads of the routes south to the Sahara, east into the Dades and Todra gorges, and along the Draa Valley's endless palm groves toward M'hamid. The lovely oasis of Skoura, with its kasbahs hidden among the palms, is an easy and rewarding side trip.

My honest guidance: Ouarzazate is more a hub and a stepping stone than a destination you linger in for days — a day to combine Aït Benhaddou with a studio tour and the Taourirt Kasbah is usually plenty, and most travellers fold it into a longer journey to the desert or through the gorges. Manage expectations on the studios (fun but rough around the edges) and prioritise Aït Benhaddou, which genuinely lives up to the hype. The region gets very hot in summer and the light is best early and late. Opening hours and tour availability vary, so check current details, especially as film schedules occasionally affect studio access.