Ouarzazate in January

January in Ouarzazate is a study in extremes between day and night. Daytime highs of around 17°C under brilliant, dry blue skies make for pleasant, clear sightseeing at the kasbahs and the Atlas Film Studios, but nights drop close to freezing — sometimes below — so warm layers are essential after dark. The high-desert air is crisp and the light exceptionally clear, ideal for photographing the earthen towers of the old kasbahs against a sharp winter sky.

The town's film-and-kasbah trail is at its photogenic best in this season's low, raking sun. Ait Benhaddou, the great fortified ksar a short drive away, frames superbly in the clear morning and late-afternoon light, while the studios and the Taourirt Kasbah are comfortable to explore by day. There is almost no rain — Ouarzazate is one of Morocco's driest places — so sightseeing days run uninterrupted, just bookended by cold mornings and colder nights.

January suits travellers who want the desert gateway calm, dry and crowd-free, and who pack for genuine cold after sunset. It works well as the high-desert leg of a southern itinerary — over the Tizi n'Tichka pass from Marrakech, down the Dades and Draa valleys, and on toward the Sahara — where winter days are comfortable but nights are sharply cold. For clear skies and dramatic light, midwinter is rewarding here.