What is Ouarzazate like in spring?

Spring is prime time for Ouarzazate, the high-desert gateway south of the Atlas, and I send a lot of itineraries through here in March, April and May. Sitting at altitude on the edge of the pre-Sahara, the town enjoys warm, dry, reliably sunny days that build from the low 20s in early March to a very pleasant 28–30°C by May, while the desert air keeps the nights cool and crisp at 8–14°C. After the cold of winter and before the brutal summer, this is the climate Ouarzazate does best — gentle by day, fresh by night, almost always clear.

The light is what makes spring here unforgettable. Ouarzazate isn't called the Hollywood of Africa for nothing — the Atlas Studios and the nearby UNESCO kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou drink in that famous luminous desert clarity, and in spring the sun is strong enough to glow on the rammed-earth walls without the white-hot harshness of summer. Photographers love it. The snow still capping the High Atlas behind you against the warm ochre kasbahs in front is a spring-specific contrast that simply isn't there later in the year.

Spring also brings the valleys to life, which is half the reason to be based here. The Draa Valley running south and the Dades and surrounding oasis country are at their lushest after the winter rains and snowmelt — the date palms and the strips of cultivation a vivid green ribbon through the bare ochre hills, the almond trees often still in blossom early in the season. Touring out to the kasbahs, the gorges and the desert from Ouarzazate is at its most beautiful now, with green oases punctuating the vast mineral landscapes.

My practical notes: spring is busy-ish by Ouarzazate standards because the weather is so good, so book your kasbah riad and any onward desert nights ahead. Pack for a real temperature swing — t-shirts and sun protection for the strong daytime sun, plus warm layers for the genuinely cool evenings, since desert nights stay chilly well into April. And if you're continuing to the dunes at Merzouga or Zagora, spring is equally kind out there, making this the ideal season to string the whole southern route together.