If you’re looking for one of Ouarzazate’s cultural festivals then May is definitely the time to visit the Door of the Desert.

The first festival to look out for is The Rose Festival. Just a short drive from Ouarzazate is Kalaat M’Gouna, the rose capital of Morocco. Miles and miles of rosebushes grow around this desert oasis, a wildly colourful sight that fills the air with a heady perfume. Rosewater is highly prized throughout the kingdom (it takes 3,000 kilos of petals to make just one litre) and people celebrate the harvest with dancing and singing through the night in the souk. Through a rain of rose petals a Rose Queen is elected to reign over the crop.

And like many places in Morocco, August is the month for Moussem – Ouarzazate celebrates Sidi Daoud with a pilgrimage, a special souk for craftsmen, and plenty of song and dance.

The Door of the Desert is the place to go if you want to experience the culture of desert life. The Musee Theatre Memoire de Ouarzazate is dedicated to teaching people about, and preserving the cultural values and traditions of, the High Atlas and pre-Saharan Moroccan inhabitants. There are many exhibits here including clothes, tools and written documents that will give you a fascinating insight into these people.

Ouarzazate is in a region famous for its many kasbahs, and it’s simplicity itself to go on a tour of these fascinating buildings that were built centuries ago. It’s also a place proud of its traditions and history, and if you time your holiday correctly you’ll be able to attend one of the festivals the locals organise to celebrate their culture.

Ouarzazate, otherwise known as the Door of the Desert, connects the N9 route over the High Atlas Mountains to the Sahara. It’s the perfect place to start a cycling journey or to visit when coming over the mountains from Marrakech. On this path you get to enjoy one of the best descents Morocco has to offer down towards Ouarzazate.

In town, you will find it easy to rent a bike and excursions with a local guide into the desert or mountains are easy to book. Make sure to tour the Ksar of Aït Benhaddou, a fortress of red clay, or the Kasbah of Tifoultoute, just five miles from Ouarzazate.

The historic city of Ouarzazate, guarded by the stunning Atlas Mountains to the west and the Sahara Desert in the east, offers an adventurous range of activities and opportunities for all to enjoy in stunningly rich surroundings. Head east from Ouarzazate and you’ll soon be trekking through the deep golden sands of the Sahara, sat behind a camel’s hump, trotting along on a horse, racing on a 4×4, or sticking to the fabulous foot trails and feeling the sand beneath your soles. There are well established companies in the area which can offer you a taste of the nomadic Amazigh lifestyle, sleeping out beneath a blanket of stars, to be woken by the first golden rays of the sun hitting the dunes. The ancient Ksar of Aït Benhaddou lies nearby and as you explore it may even start to feel familiar – it’s provided the backdrop to many blockbuster films.

Take your family to Ouarzazate to enjoy some great days out. It’s not a place where you’ll find theme parks: instead, what your family will gain is a special, entirely authentic experience.

You’ll have the opportunity to spend the night in a traditional Amazigh tent surrounded by massive sand dunes, ride camels on treks into the desert and see stunning gorges and imposing mountains just minutes outside the city. Touching the modern world, Ouarzazate is also movie backdrop central. Children and adults alike will love touring Atlas Film Studios and spotting the sets and props from such films and TV shows as Game of Thrones, Atlantis, Kingdom of Heaven and Asterix and Obelix.

Sometimes known as the crossroads of the south, Ouarzazate is a place where Moroccan and Saharan culture have mixed for centuries, and the cuisine on offer in the town reflects this intermingling of cultures.

There is a profusion of dates and spices on offer, on sale in the souk and used in the recipes of the local cafés and restaurants. This area is the saffron capital of the world, and the usually expensive spice can be bought at a reasonable price. The traditional Moroccan dishes of couscous and tagines, in their distinctive domed pots, are also very much in evidence.

Along the main street and in the central square there are plenty of affordable restaurants serving traditional Moroccan cuisine, but you’ll also find the European influence here with pizzas and French cuisine.

Ouarzazate and the surrounding valleys are small oases in the midst of largely arid desert. The city has hosted thousands of adventurers, from avid travellers to film stars, all of whom have found a place to rest amongst the traditional hammams to rejuvenate them after time in the desert.

The hammams are primarily traditional as they have been for centuries – and they come highly recommended. As well as locals and tourists, you’ll be following in the footsteps of stars from productions including the wildly successful Game of Thrones. After a long active day in the desert there is nothing better than cleansing yourself amongst the calm stone chambers of the city’s hammams.

Ouarzazate has stood at the edge of the desert for centuries. A trading post on the north-south route through the kingdom, Arabs, Moors, Amazigh and Muslims have all made their mark on this city.

The first place you should visit when you’re on a heritage tour is the Ksar of Aït Benhaddou. Just twenty miles from Ouarzazate, this site has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO. This fortified city is a fantastic example of southern Moroccan architecture and has featured in dozens of films including The Living Daylights and Gladiator.

There’s plenty in Ouarzazate that will please the heritage seeker too, as rich architecture, intricate carvings and historic buildings can be found all over the city.

The tumbling waters of the Dades River provide you with all the white water you could want as it travels from the High Atlas and joins with the Ouarzazate River. It’s a vividly lush green area in a land of sand and rock, and there is plenty to see as you travel through this ancient land. In some remote areas women still wash their laundry on the banks of the river and traditional villages can be seen a little higher up the land. One of the highlights of any trip in this region is the gigantic Dades Gorge – a magical place with stunning rock formations and kasbahs that have stood for hundreds of years.

Ouarzazate is a place well used to providing a luxury visitor experience – it has been the backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters over the years, so hosting global A-listers and meeting their demands is nothing new to the locals. The knock-on effect of this means that holidaymakers have many lavish places to choose from when they come to stay.

This is your chance to stay in a kasbah with everything laid on for you ­­– round the clock service, private chauffeur, a selection of exquisite hand crafted meals – for a very reasonable price. Or how about a prestigious palace full of heritage and opulent furnishings? The five star hotels range from the old and elegant to the new and stylish, and all of them give you a world-class service.

Ouarzazate has much to recommend it for any biker, but some of the best riding can be found on the journey to the city.

If you’re travelling down to Ouarzazate from Marrakech then you’ll come across the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass on the awesome N9 road. This Moroccan highway stretches all the way from the Red City down through Ouarzazate and Zagora before ending near the Algerian border at Mhamid. The road offers some of the best rides in Morocco, but it’s the pass that is the N9’s crowning glory. A slender ribbon of tarmac that winds through the Atlas Mountains, a ride through Morocco is incomplete without a stretch of the N9.

Ouarzazate’s major music festival is a mix of traditional folk music and new interpretations by the best new musicians in the area. It’s a celebration of Ouarzazate’s heritage including Ahidous music – a traditional Amazigh dance involving flowing circles and pounding rhythms – and Ahwash music which is a significant part of Amazigh culture in this region. A combination of dance, poetry and songs, this evocative music is different amongst every tribe.
To see this fantastic folk festival, you need to book your visit to Ouarzazate for September. It’s five days of culture that will live long in the memory.

Ouarzazate has been a city for just over a century. It wasn’t until the French colonisiation of 1912 that it was officially established, and in 1928 it became a garrison town, administrative centre and troop station. Before the French arrived, the site had been an African trading point. The majority of the population today is still Amazigh and they built most of the buildings in and around Ouarzazate, including the kasbahs. They are a naturally generous, hospitable people, well used to seeing holidaymakers visiting their city, and are always happy to help travellers.

The Door of the Desert is the perfect place for you to escape from the strains and stresses of modern life. Ouarzazate stands alone in Morocco, two hundred kilometres from the nearest big settlement. You’ll be surrounded by sand dunes, palm trees and snow-capped mountains, a world away from the stresses and strains of everyday life. The hotels and riads are well equipped in this area for people who are searching for wellness and peace. Tranquil swimming pools and soothing Jacuzzis take away the heat of the desert, and massages and hammams help you to relax. Of course, it’s the natural beauty that surrounds Ouarzazate that makes this such a great place for a retreat: make sure you take at least one trek out of the Saharan city.

Ideally located in close proximity to the mountains and massive rolling sand dunes, Ouarzazate is the perfect base for your trekking adventure. Hardened explorers will find themselves pleasantly challenged by the extremes of the Chigaga dunes, though there are more gentle outings available for the less experienced. For a truly authentic experience, try trekking with the nomads for a while, joining their seasonal migration across the mountains. These trips can last from a day to a fortnight and there are plenty of local companies who are experienced and trustworthy. If you’re looking for a truly rewarding trek, Ouarzazate is the place for you.