The city of Ouarzazate, or the gate of the desert as it is also called, is about 200 km away from Marrakech. Ouarzazate is located at an altitude of 1,160 meters, in the middle of a bare plateau south of Mount Atlas, while the desert stretches to the very south of the city. Although this is a small town, it is extremely beautiful and represents one of the main tourist attractions of Morocco. Aït Benhaddou (a fortified village) west of the city is under UNESCO protection.
Ouarzazate was known as a trading position or link between Africa and North Africa and Europe. During the French rule, the city had a role of garrison city for French units that remained here until Morocco's independence in 1956.
Due to its unique architecture, Ouarzazate was one of the main places outside America where popular Hollywood productions were filmed. So the famous "Lawrence of Arabia", " The Man Who Would Be King" starring Sean Connery was shot here, then the movie "The Mummy", "The Gladiator", "Hannah", "The Hills Have Eyes", the famous "Heavenly Kingdom”and numerous other cinematic realizations. This city is also known for making carpets with a geometric red-orange design on a black background.
A city that is definitely worth seeing. And we definitely advise you to come through the agency for the simple reason that there are numerous attractions along the way that you would not want to miss, and only tourist guides will stop at those places and explain the importance of them.
If you insist on going on your own then you can take a bus from the main station in Marrakech. The journey takes several hours and the price of a one-way ticket per person is about 80 drachmas.
Photo credit: Abdessamad Lotfi
