Ouarzazate is the door of the desert — the town where the High Atlas gives way to kasbahs, palm valleys and the long road to the Sahara. It makes a natural base for exploring southern Morocco. Every tour on this page starts in Ouarzazate, is fully private, and is planned by our own family at Morocco Stunning Tours.
From Ouarzazate you are minutes from the UNESCO ksar of Ait Benhaddou and the Atlas Film Studios, and a half-day from the great dunes of the Sahara. It is quieter than the big cities, with huge scenery on every side. Pick-up is from your hotel or the local airport, with a driver-guide who grew up on these roads.
Kasbahs & the south. Explore Ait Benhaddou, the Draa Valley of a thousand kasbahs, the Rose Valley and the Skoura palm grove — the heart of Morocco’s earthen architecture.
Sahara desert tours. From Ouarzazate the road runs east to Zagora and on to the dunes of Merzouga: a camel walk into Erg Chebbi, a night at our Berber camp, and sunrise over the sand before you turn back or continue to Fes.
Private tours. Every trip from Ouarzazate is private — your own vehicle and guide, your own pace, and the freedom to linger at a kasbah or stop for photos wherever the light is good.
Day trips from Ouarzazate. Short on time? Visit Ait Benhaddou and the Atlas Film Studios, drive out to the green Fint Oasis, or head up the Draa Valley. Back in Ouarzazate by evening.
Here are our current tours departing from Ouarzazate. Each one is private and can be shaped around your dates, pace and budget — tell us what you have in mind and we will plan it around you.
Included on most Ouarzazate tours: a private air-conditioned vehicle and fuel, a local driver-guide, hotel pick-up, and the desert camp and camel experience where listed. Usually not included: flights, lunches, monument entrance fees and tips. Local guides and extra nights are easy to add on request.
Thirty kilometres from town, and the most impressive ksar in Morocco. Earth and straw, towers that have stood for centuries with the mountains behind them, and a list of films shot here that runs from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator, The Mummy and Game of Thrones. Cross the river, climb up through the lanes to the granary at the top, and look back down the valley. Go early or late. In the middle of the day the light is flat, the walls lose their colour and the heat is punishing.
The biggest studio complex in Africa, with more than 200 international productions behind it. The backlots have Egyptian temples, Roman coliseums and Tibetan monasteries standing out in the dust, and up close they’re plywood and plaster, which is most of the fun. Around 50 MAD including the guided tour. If you like this sort of thing, the Musée du Cinéma across from the Taourirt Kasbah is a good second stop. If you don’t, an hour here is plenty.
In the middle of town, this was the seat of the Glaoui family, who held the mountain passes and effectively ran southern Morocco in the early 20th century. Only part of it has been restored, but the painted ceilings and carved plaster in those rooms tell you how much money used to move through here. Climb to the upper terraces for the view out over the palmery.
Head east and the road follows the Dades Valley past half-collapsed kasbahs, palm oases and canyon walls: the Skoura palm grove, the Rose Valley at El Kelaa M’Gouna, then the Dades and Todra gorges. Come in April or May and the roses are being harvested — the whole valley smells of them. Closer to town, the Fint Oasis is a strip of green hidden inside red rock 15 km south. The track in needs a decent vehicle, which is exactly why almost nobody goes.
It sits where the High Atlas ends and the pre-Sahara begins. Most overland routes to the Draa Valley, Zagora and Merzouga pass through it.
About 30 km — a short, easy trip, usually combined with the Atlas Film Studios.
Yes. It is a scenic drive east through the Dades and Todra gorges, and most desert tours from Ouarzazate finish at the Erg Chebbi dunes.
Yes, every one, with your own driver-guide and vehicle and an itinerary planned around you.
Tell us your dates and what you would like to see, and we will send back a real plan — not a template. No pressure, and no pushy emails. Tea is on us when you arrive.
