Known as the ‘Door of the Desert’, Ouarzazate is the gateway between the High Atlas and the Sahara, home to Kasbah Taourirt and the Atlas Film Studios.
Every route south from Marrakech passes through Ouarzazate. Sitting just beyond the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, it has long served as the last major town before the desert provinces begin — which is exactly why it's known across Morocco as the ‘Door of the Desert’.
In town, the Kasbah Taourirt stands as one of the finest examples of pre-Saharan earthen architecture, its maze of chambers once home to the Glaoui family who controlled the south. For travellers with time to spare, the Atlas Film Studios — among the largest in the world — are a short stop away.
Ouarzazate is less a destination in itself than a staging point: the place where the mountains end and the road toward Aït Ben Haddou, the Drâa Valley and the dunes truly begins.