Journal
Kasbahs, oases, valleys and film studios: practical guides written from the riad, with travel times from our door.
1 guide
The Fint oasis: a guide to the hidden oasis of Ouarzazate
A river, palms and earthen villages below the cliffs, about 12 km south of Ouarzazate at the end of a rocky track. How to get there, and how to visit it well.Read the guide-
The best things to do in Ouarzazate
Earthen kasbahs, working film studios, an oasis hidden behind the rock and a UNESCO ksar half an hour away: where to start, and how to fit it into a few days. -
Where to stay in Ouarzazate: areas, riads and kasbahs
The town centre, the guest houses across the river, the quiet side of Tifoultoute or a night in an oasis: how the areas differ, and what to ask before you book. -
From Ouarzazate to Aït Ben Haddou: how to get there and when to go
The UNESCO ksar is about 30 km from Ouarzazate. Car, grand taxi, bus or a ride across the plateau: how to get there, and the hours when the walls are at their best. -
Ouarzazate travel guide: arriving, seasons and getting around
How to arrive, when to come, how to get around and what to pack: the practical side of a stay in Ouarzazate, from people who live here. -
The best day trips from Ouarzazate
East to Skoura and the roses, north west up the Ounila to Telouet, south down the Drâa: four day trips from Ouarzazate, and how to choose between them. -
Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate: the visit, the films and the other sets
The best known film studio of Ouarzazate is five minutes from the riad. How the guided visit works, what was filmed around here, and the other studios and the Cinema Museum. -
The Fint oasis: a guide to the hidden oasis of Ouarzazate
A river, palms and earthen villages below the cliffs, about 12 km south of Ouarzazate at the end of a rocky track. How to get there, and how to visit it well. -
Where to eat in Ouarzazate: restaurants and traditional food
What to order in the south of Morocco, how dinner works here, and a few tables to know in Ouarzazate, including our own. -
Marrakech to Ouarzazate: by road over the Atlas, by coach or by plane
About 200 km and the High Atlas in between: the road over the Tizi n’Tichka, the slower way through Telouet, and the coach, taxi and plane options. -
How many days in Ouarzazate? One, two and three day plans
One night is a stopover, two nights is a visit, three is a stay. Simple plans for each, at the pace the south deserves. -
The best time to visit Ouarzazate: weather and seasons month by month
Ouarzazate has sun almost all year, but the same afternoon can be pleasant in March and punishing in July. What each month is really like, and what it means for the road and the desert. -
Ouarzazate airport (OZZ): flights, transfers and arriving at night
A small airport a couple of kilometres from the centre, a handful of routes that change with the seasons, and the simple ways to get from the plane to your room. -
Ouarzazate with kids: what works, what to skip and how to pace it
Film sets, a village to climb, a river to cross on horseback: Ouarzazate suits children better than most of Morocco, as long as you respect the sun and the distances. -
A southern Morocco itinerary: 5 to 7 days from Marrakech on the road of a thousand kasbahs
Over the Atlas, along the kasbahs, out to the dunes and back: a loop that respects real driving times, with Ouarzazate as the place to slow down. -
Movies filmed in Ouarzazate: the films, the series and where to see their sets
A checked list of the films and series shot around Ouarzazate, a few famous titles that were filmed elsewhere, and how to see the locations in one day. -
The Cinema Museum and CLA Studios in Ouarzazate: what you see and which to choose
Ouarzazate has three film places with similar promises. What the Cinema Museum and CLA Studios actually show, how they differ from Atlas, and how to fit them in. -
Kasbah Taourirt: the Glaoui kasbah in the heart of Ouarzazate
An earthen residence of the Glaoui family and a village of lanes around it. Its history, what you can visit while restoration goes on, and how to see it well. -
Kasbah Tifoultoute: the Glaoui kasbah above the Ouarzazate river
The kasbah on the rock above the river is our nearest neighbour, five minutes on foot. What is known of its history, what was filmed there, and how to see it. -
The Ounila valley and Telouet: the old caravan road above Aït Ben Haddou
Behind Aït Ben Haddou, a quiet paved road follows the Ounila river up to Telouet and the painted rooms of the Glaoui. How to drive it, what to stop for, and how it fits a day or a crossing of the Atlas. -
Kasbah Amridil and the Skoura oasis
The kasbah from the old 50 dirham note is still in the hands of the family it was built for. What to see inside, how to walk the Skoura palm grove around it, and how to plan the morning. -
The Valley of Roses: Kelaat M’Gouna, the harvest and the festival
The roses of Kelaat M’Gouna grow as hedges between fields, bloom for a few weeks in spring and end up in rose water. When to come, what is there the rest of the year, and how to tell a real bottle from a pink one. -
The Dadès gorges from Ouarzazate: the valley road, the switchbacks and where to sleep
Boumalne, the valley road north, the Monkey Fingers, the switchbacks everyone photographs and the narrows above them. How long it really takes from Ouarzazate, and when it is better to stay the night. -
The Drâa valley road trip: from Ouarzazate to Agdz, Zagora and M’Hamid
About 260 km of tarmac, one pass and six oases between Ouarzazate and the end of the road at M’Hamid. How the valley works, and how to split it into days. -
Agdz and Tamnougalt: the first palm grove of the Drâa
An hour and a quarter south of Ouarzazate, a small market town, a family kasbah in the palms and the old capital of Mezguita across the river. What to see, and how long to give it. -
Zagora: what to see, Tamegroute, Tinfou and an honest word on the desert
Zagora is a palm grove town, not a sea of dunes. Here is what it does well, what it does not, and how to plan it from Ouarzazate. -
M’Hamid and Erg Chegaga: planning a night in the big dunes
The road ends at M’Hamid; Chegaga starts some 50 to 60 km further, across the piste. How to reach it, what to ask a camp, and the season to choose. -
The Sahara from Ouarzazate: which desert trip to choose
Three very different deserts are sold from Ouarzazate under the same word. How they compare on distance, dunes and nights, and what to check before you pay. -
Ouarzazate to Merzouga: the road east, stage by stage
About 360 km and close to six hours of driving, best split in two. The usual route, the alternative through Alnif, where to break the trip and how to come back. -
Quad and buggy rides in Ouarzazate: routes, tips and booking
Stony plateau, old film sets, the palms of Tifoultoute and the river of Fint: what a ride around Ouarzazate is like, how to choose between quad, buggy and horse, and what to bring. -
Taznakht and its carpets: a day trip from Ouarzazate
A small town on the Anti-Atlas plateau where the carpets of the Aït Ouaouzguite are woven. How to get there, what makes the carpets distinctive, and how to buy one without regrets.
The best things to do in Ouarzazate
Earthen kasbahs, working film studios, an oasis hidden behind the rock and a UNESCO ksar half an hour away: where to start, and how to fit it into a few days.Read the guideWhere to stay in Ouarzazate: areas, riads and kasbahs
The town centre, the guest houses across the river, the quiet side of Tifoultoute or a night in an oasis: how the areas differ, and what to ask before you book.Read the guideFrom Ouarzazate to Aït Ben Haddou: how to get there and when to go
The UNESCO ksar is about 30 km from Ouarzazate. Car, grand taxi, bus or a ride across the plateau: how to get there, and the hours when the walls are at their best.Read the guideOuarzazate travel guide: arriving, seasons and getting around
How to arrive, when to come, how to get around and what to pack: the practical side of a stay in Ouarzazate, from people who live here.Read the guideThe best day trips from Ouarzazate
East to Skoura and the roses, north west up the Ounila to Telouet, south down the Drâa: four day trips from Ouarzazate, and how to choose between them.Read the guideAtlas Studios in Ouarzazate: the visit, the films and the other sets
The best known film studio of Ouarzazate is five minutes from the riad. How the guided visit works, what was filmed around here, and the other studios and the Cinema Museum.Read the guideWhere to eat in Ouarzazate: restaurants and traditional food
What to order in the south of Morocco, how dinner works here, and a few tables to know in Ouarzazate, including our own.Read the guideMarrakech to Ouarzazate: by road over the Atlas, by coach or by plane
About 200 km and the High Atlas in between: the road over the Tizi n’Tichka, the slower way through Telouet, and the coach, taxi and plane options.Read the guideHow many days in Ouarzazate? One, two and three day plans
One night is a stopover, two nights is a visit, three is a stay. Simple plans for each, at the pace the south deserves.Read the guideThe best time to visit Ouarzazate: weather and seasons month by month
Ouarzazate has sun almost all year, but the same afternoon can be pleasant in March and punishing in July. What each month is really like, and what it means for the road and the desert.Read the guideOuarzazate airport (OZZ): flights, transfers and arriving at night
A small airport a couple of kilometres from the centre, a handful of routes that change with the seasons, and the simple ways to get from the plane to your room.Read the guideOuarzazate with kids: what works, what to skip and how to pace it
Film sets, a village to climb, a river to cross on horseback: Ouarzazate suits children better than most of Morocco, as long as you respect the sun and the distances.Read the guideA southern Morocco itinerary: 5 to 7 days from Marrakech on the road of a thousand kasbahs
Over the Atlas, along the kasbahs, out to the dunes and back: a loop that respects real driving times, with Ouarzazate as the place to slow down.Read the guideMovies filmed in Ouarzazate: the films, the series and where to see their sets
A checked list of the films and series shot around Ouarzazate, a few famous titles that were filmed elsewhere, and how to see the locations in one day.Read the guideThe Cinema Museum and CLA Studios in Ouarzazate: what you see and which to choose
Ouarzazate has three film places with similar promises. What the Cinema Museum and CLA Studios actually show, how they differ from Atlas, and how to fit them in.Read the guideKasbah Taourirt: the Glaoui kasbah in the heart of Ouarzazate
An earthen residence of the Glaoui family and a village of lanes around it. Its history, what you can visit while restoration goes on, and how to see it well.Read the guideKasbah Tifoultoute: the Glaoui kasbah above the Ouarzazate river
The kasbah on the rock above the river is our nearest neighbour, five minutes on foot. What is known of its history, what was filmed there, and how to see it.Read the guideThe Ounila valley and Telouet: the old caravan road above Aït Ben Haddou
Behind Aït Ben Haddou, a quiet paved road follows the Ounila river up to Telouet and the painted rooms of the Glaoui. How to drive it, what to stop for, and how it fits a day or a crossing of the Atlas.Read the guideKasbah Amridil and the Skoura oasis
The kasbah from the old 50 dirham note is still in the hands of the family it was built for. What to see inside, how to walk the Skoura palm grove around it, and how to plan the morning.Read the guideThe Valley of Roses: Kelaat M’Gouna, the harvest and the festival
The roses of Kelaat M’Gouna grow as hedges between fields, bloom for a few weeks in spring and end up in rose water. When to come, what is there the rest of the year, and how to tell a real bottle from a pink one.Read the guideThe Dadès gorges from Ouarzazate: the valley road, the switchbacks and where to sleep
Boumalne, the valley road north, the Monkey Fingers, the switchbacks everyone photographs and the narrows above them. How long it really takes from Ouarzazate, and when it is better to stay the night.Read the guideThe Drâa valley road trip: from Ouarzazate to Agdz, Zagora and M’Hamid
About 260 km of tarmac, one pass and six oases between Ouarzazate and the end of the road at M’Hamid. How the valley works, and how to split it into days.Read the guideAgdz and Tamnougalt: the first palm grove of the Drâa
An hour and a quarter south of Ouarzazate, a small market town, a family kasbah in the palms and the old capital of Mezguita across the river. What to see, and how long to give it.Read the guideZagora: what to see, Tamegroute, Tinfou and an honest word on the desert
Zagora is a palm grove town, not a sea of dunes. Here is what it does well, what it does not, and how to plan it from Ouarzazate.Read the guideM’Hamid and Erg Chegaga: planning a night in the big dunes
The road ends at M’Hamid; Chegaga starts some 50 to 60 km further, across the piste. How to reach it, what to ask a camp, and the season to choose.Read the guideThe Sahara from Ouarzazate: which desert trip to choose
Three very different deserts are sold from Ouarzazate under the same word. How they compare on distance, dunes and nights, and what to check before you pay.Read the guideOuarzazate to Merzouga: the road east, stage by stage
About 360 km and close to six hours of driving, best split in two. The usual route, the alternative through Alnif, where to break the trip and how to come back.Read the guideQuad and buggy rides in Ouarzazate: routes, tips and booking
Stony plateau, old film sets, the palms of Tifoultoute and the river of Fint: what a ride around Ouarzazate is like, how to choose between quad, buggy and horse, and what to bring.Read the guideTaznakht and its carpets: a day trip from Ouarzazate
A small town on the Anti-Atlas plateau where the carpets of the Aït Ouaouzguite are woven. How to get there, what makes the carpets distinctive, and how to buy one without regrets.Read the guideStay at Riad Chay, in the palm grove of Tifoultoute, and visit it from our door.