Be in Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate on screen: a film lover’s guide to Atlas Studios, Aït Ben Haddou and the desert sets

By

Abdou

· Updated

From Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator and Game of Thrones: which films were shot around Ouarzazate, which sets you can still visit, and how to plan a film day.

Atlas Studios

You have probably seen Ouarzazate without knowing it. Its ksar stood in for ancient cities in Gladiator and Game of Thrones. Its hills doubled for Tibet, Jerusalem and Egypt. For more than sixty years, directors have come here for the light, the empty landscapes and the earthen villages that look like nowhere and everywhere at once.

This guide takes you to the places you can still visit, tells you what was shot where, and gives you a plan for a film day. I have kept to productions that several sources agree on; the rumors stay out.

Why filmmakers come to Ouarzazate

Three things bring the crews. First, the landscapes: desert, mountains, palm groves and gorges within an hour of each other, with almost no modern buildings in the frame. Second, the architecture: earthen ksour and kasbahs that pass for the ancient Middle East, Central Asia or North Africa. Third, the studios. Atlas Studios, founded in 1983, gave productions a base with sets, workshops and local crews who have worked on dozens of international films.

The desert climate helps too. Ouarzazate gets very little rain, a little over 100 mm a year, and clear skies most of the year, which lets a shoot keep to its schedule.

Atlas Studios: the backlot in the desert

Atlas Studios lies on the road west of Ouarzazate, about 5 km from the center. The Moroccan businessman Mohamed Belghmi founded it in 1983. International productions have used its sets and the landscape around it, among them The Jewel of the Nile, The Living Daylights, The Mummy, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, Babel, Prison Break and Game of Thrones.

Guided tours lead you through the outdoor sets, from Egyptian temples to a Tibetan monastery, past props and workshops. Up close, you see how the illusion works: a “stone” palace made of plaster and wood, painted to look a thousand years old.

A room of tall painted columns built as a film set at Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Atlas Studios
Video: Touring Atlas Film Studios, Ouarzazate, Morocco (4K), by Take Off With Tara, on YouTube. Pressing play loads the YouTube player, which may set cookies.

Local tip

Go in the morning, before the heat builds up on the open sets. Sets change between productions, and parts of the lot can close during a shoot, so the tour you get depends on what is being filmed.

Aït Ben Haddou: the most filmed village in Morocco

About 30 minutes from Ouarzazate, the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. It is also a film set that people live next to. The list of productions shot there is long.

YearFilm or seriesNote
1962Lawrence of ArabiaOne of the first big productions in the area
1975The Man Who Would Be King
1977Jesus of NazarethTelevision series
1985The Jewel of the Nile
1987The Living DaylightsJames Bond
1988The Last Temptation of Christ
1997Kundun
1999The Mummy
2000Gladiator
2004Alexander
2005Kingdom of Heaven
2006Babel
2010Prince of Persia
2013Game of Thrones, season 3The ksar played the city of Yunkai
A selection. Some productions filmed only a few scenes here, others built sets on the riverbank.

Guides and shopkeepers in the village love to point out the scenes, so ask them which film used which wall or gate. Walking through the ksar is free; some families charge a small fee to visit their houses.

The earthen ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO site used in many films
Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

More film stops around Ouarzazate

The film trail · 7

The Hills Have Eyes gas station

In the desert about half an hour from Ouarzazate stands a lonely gas station, built as a set for the 2006 horror film The Hills Have Eyes and left in place after filming. There is no ticket and nothing to buy, just a strange photo in an empty landscape. Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon for the light.

Tifoultoute Kasbah

A few kilometers west of town, Tifoultoute Kasbah stands on a hill above the river. It was a Glaoui residence, and film crews have used it, Lawrence of Arabia among them. It is now a privately owned restaurant, so visit as a guest for lunch or a drink with a view over the valley.

Fint oasis

Film crews have also used Fint, a green valley about 10 km from Ouarzazate, as a location. It is easy to see why: palm groves along a river, hidden from the plateau until you reach its edge. Go with a local driver, as the track is rough.

The Cinema Museum and CLA Studios: check first

Two film stops you may read about need a warning. The Cinema Museum, opposite Taourirt Kasbah, displayed sets, props and equipment from local productions. On 21 June 2024, a fire broke out during a shoot and destroyed a large part of it. No one was hurt. We have not found a reliable source confirming that it has reopened.

CLA Studios, the other big studio on the western edge of town, is reported by several recent sources to no longer receive visitors. For a studio tour today, go to Atlas Studios.

A film day from Ouarzazate

TimeStopTip
8:00Atlas StudiosFirst tour of the day, before the heat
10:30The Hills Have Eyes gas stationA quick photo stop
12:30Lunch at Tifoultoute KasbahEat where Lawrence of Arabia filmed
15:00Rest in townThe midday sun is hard from spring to autumn
17:00Aït Ben HaddouWalk the lanes as the tour buses leave; stay for the sunset from the riverbank
Times are a suggestion. Allow for travel between stops with your own car or a local driver.

Where to stay for the film trail

Sleep in Ouarzazate itself if Atlas Studios and the gas station are your priority: both are a short drive from the center, and you can reach the studios for the first tour of the day. Sleep in or near Aït Ben Haddou if you care most about the ksar. You get the lanes to yourself early in the morning and the view of the walls at sunset, when the day tours from Marrakech are gone.

With two nights, do both: one in town, one at Aït Ben Haddou. The drive between them takes about 30 minutes, so you lose nothing, and you see the most filmed village in Morocco in both lights.

Before you go

  • Watch first. Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Lawrence of Arabia and season 3 of Game of Thrones make the best preparation. You will recognize the walls.
  • Be kind to the sets. They are fragile plaster and wood, and some are still used.
  • Ask before filming people in Aït Ben Haddou. The ksar is a home, not only a location.
  • Ask about the shoots. Ask your guide or driver whether they have worked on a film. In a film town, the stories are often better than the films.

We at Be in Ouarzazate think the film trail is the best way to see the town with new eyes. The same kasbah you walked past in the morning becomes, in the evening, a set from a film you grew up with.

Questions readers ask

Which films were shot in Ouarzazate?

Among many others: Lawrence of Arabia, The Jewel of the Nile, The Mummy, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel, Prince of Persia and the series Game of Thrones and Prison Break, at Atlas Studios, Aït Ben Haddou and around the town.

Where was Game of Thrones filmed in Ouarzazate?

Aït Ben Haddou played the city of Yunkai in season 3, and the series also used Atlas Studios.

Can you visit Atlas Studios?

Yes. Guided tours lead through the outdoor sets and workshops. Parts of the lot can close during a shoot.

Is the Cinema Museum in Ouarzazate open?

A fire damaged it on 21 June 2024. We have not found a reliable source confirming that it has reopened, so check locally.

Sources (19)

We publish a fact only when at least four independent sources agree. These are the ones we used for this article, checked in September 2026.

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