Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou,
Morocco.
Pre-Sahara · Southern Morocco
Aït Ben Haddou above the riverbed and its palms
- From Marrakech
- 130 kmas the crow flies
- How long
- 1–2 nights (en route to the Sahara)
- Nearest airport
- OZZOuarzazate (OZZ)
- Best time
- March–May and September–November
The Hollywood of the south — kasbahs and film studios just over the Atlas pass from Marrakech, on the road down to the dunes.
Clear the Tizi n'Tichka pass out of Marrakech and you descend into Ouarzazate, the staging town for the Sahara, the Dadès and Drâa valleys and the whole kasbah road beyond. It's the first real halt on every Marrakech desert route, four hours from the city. A further forty minutes on stands Aït Ben Haddou, Morocco's most celebrated fortified village — a UNESCO ksar that has stood in for ancient cities in Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and Game of Thrones, with the working Atlas and CLA studios alongside. We schedule it as an overnight rather than a hurried photo stop, so the earthen walls reach you at first or last light.
Where it sits
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou on the map.
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou is about 130 km south-east of Marrakech in a straight line; the road is longer. The line on the map is that straight line, not the route your driver takes.
Map: Marrakech to Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou
- MarrakechView on OpenStreetMap
- Ouarzazate & Aït Ben HaddouView on OpenStreetMap
- SkouraView on OpenStreetMap
- Aït Bougmez ValleyView on OpenStreetMap
- Ourika ValleyView on OpenStreetMap
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
What to see in Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou.
Earth rooftops of the Aït Ben Haddou ksar Aït Ben Haddou ksar
The UNESCO-listed earthen village stacked in tiers above the river — climb to the old granary on top for the classic view back over the palms.
Atlas & CLA Studios
Working sound stages and standing exterior sets left behind by Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Cleopatra and a long list of other productions.
Telouet kasbah
A crumbling 19th-century Glaoui palace on the old caravan road, its painted rooms intact and almost none of the crowds you find at Aït Ben Haddou.
The road through the Todra gorge On toward the gorges
Two days further east open the Dadès and Todra gorges — cliff-edge roads, walnut groves and some of the most dramatic canyon walls in Morocco.
Trips
One tour that visit Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou.
Every itinerary is private and built around your dates, with a proper stop in Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou. Each one is priced in a written quote within 24 hours.
Plan your Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou days
- Private your group in its own car
- 24 h a written quote
- Free nothing to pay to ask
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou, answered.
Is Aït Ben Haddou worth the detour?
Can I do Ouarzazate as a day trip from Marrakech?
Before you go.
- Getting there
- A 4h drive from Marrakech over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260m)
- Best combined with
- The Sahara at Merzouga or Chigaga — Ouarzazate is the obvious overnight en route
Pair Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou with.
From the journal.
Have your Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou days planned by a local.
Tell us your dates, group size and pace. We send a written proposal within 24 hours: private guides, transfers, riads, the lot.