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You will go to the South by crossing the High Atlas by the pass of Tizi n’Tichka located at 2260 meters of altitude. All along this road, you will be struck by the beauty of the landscapes composed of small Berber villages on the mountainside.
Before arriving in Ouarzazate, you will stop at the fortified Kasbah of Aït-ben-Haddou, famous for being the location of many successful films.
In Ouarzazate, you will have free time to eat and walk around the Kasbah of Taourirt built in the 17th century.
You will also be able to visit (on request) the Ouarzazate Cinema Museum known as the “Hollywood of Africa ».
You will be back in Marrakech in the early evening.
Situated at an altitude of 1,150 metres south of the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains, Ouarzazate is known as the gateway to the Sahara Desert on the road to Zagora. It is reached through the lush palm groves of the Draa Valley.
A symbol of the city of Ouarzazate, its enormous Kasbah of Taourirt, depicted on the new 50 dirham banknotes, is a national heritage. Adjacent to the medina, it was built in pisé (a mixture of earth and straw dried in the sun) in the mid-18th century and belonged to the Glaoui (the pasha and his family). This beautiful restored residence gives an idea of the opulence of the lord of the time, a high dignitary of the Moroccan royalty.
All around Ouarzazate, you can visit numerous kasbahs and fortified villages, each more cinematic than the last (and which are often used as film sets).
This is the case of the Ksar of Aït-Benhaddou, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This fortified village built on a rocky spur is magical in the late afternoon when the setting sun illuminates it. Its houses and fortifications reflected in the river below appear like a mirage in the desert.
The village appears as a group of earthen buildings surrounded by walls, the ksar, which is a type of traditional pre-Saharan habitat. The houses are grouped together inside its defensive walls reinforced by corner towers. Some of these dwellings appear to be small castles with their high towers decorated with motifs in mud brick. The oldest buildings date from the 17th century. The site would have been a trading post on the trade route that linked Saharan Africa to Marrakech. A fondouk (caravanserai) can still be seen there.
Many films have been shot here, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven, and more recently Game of Thrones.
Another site to visit is the Kasbah of Amridil, on the right bank of the Oued El Hajaj. Nestled in a natural palm grove classified by Unesco, it is a marvel of Berber architecture.
Ouarzazate has become a very popular filming location for directors of peplums with its Atlas Corporation studios where many Hollywood blockbusters are shot, and a film museum (worth visiting) where relics of sets and costumes are on display.
In addition to the landscapes, one of the cinematographic assets of this high place is the quality of the light.
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