Ouarzazate in May

May turns up the heat at the desert gateway. Daytime highs climb to around 31°C under intense, dry sun, while the nights stay pleasantly mild. It is the last comfortably warm month before the deep-summer peak, and the film-and-kasbah trail remains rewarding if you favour the cooler mornings and late afternoons. The light is brilliant and clear, and the ochre kasbahs and ksour glow under the strong spring sun.

Sightseeing is best paced around the heat: explore the Atlas Film Studios, the Taourirt Kasbah and the great ksar of Ait Benhaddou in the early and late hours, and take shade and water through the brightest midday. The valleys to the south and east remain accessible, though the onward Sahara grows hot. With virtually no rain and dependable clear skies, the weather is reliable — the only real planning factor is managing the building heat.

May still works well as the high-desert leg of a southern circuit, with warm, dry days and clear nights, though travellers sensitive to heat may prefer the earlier spring. For those who don't mind the strong sun, it offers brilliant light, reliable weather and the dramatic cinematic landscape of the kasbah country at its most luminous, just before July and August push the temperatures higher still.