Ouarzazate Film Locations: Where Gladiator and Game of Thrones Were Shot

The main Ouarzazate film locations are the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, the two film studios on the Marrakech road (Atlas Studios and CLA Studios), Kasbah Tifoultoute and the surrounding stony desert. Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Kundun, Babel, Game of Thrones and, most recently, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey were all filmed within about an hour of town. This guide sorts the productions by place, separates what is well documented from what is only repeated by tour sellers, and ends with a self-guided film tour you can do in a day.

Why Ouarzazate became Ouallywood

Film crews first came for the light. Ouarzazate gets sunshine on most days of the year, the air is dry and clear, and within a short drive you find earthen villages, palm groves, stony plains, gorges and snowy peaks. For a director that means Egypt, Tibet, ancient Rome or the Holy Land without moving the crew very far.

David Lean filmed part of Lawrence of Arabia here in the early 1960s. In 1983 Atlas Studios opened on the western edge of town, giving foreign productions permanent sets and workshops, and CLA Studios followed in the mid 2000s. Several generations of local carpenters, plasterers, drivers and extras have worked on shoots since then, which is why people call the town Ouallywood (or Ouarzawood) and "the Hollywood of Africa".

One thing to keep in mind before you start: many sets were temporary. Arenas, ships and city gates were built for a few weeks of filming and then taken down. What you can visit today are the permanent studio backlots, the real villages and kasbahs that appeared on screen, and the landscapes themselves.

Ouarzazate film locations at a glance

The table lists productions whose filming in the Ouarzazate area is documented by production records, the films' own credits or established reference sources. Years are release years.

Aït Ben Haddou: Gladiator, Game of Thrones and The Odyssey

About 30 km from Ouarzazate, the UNESCO-listed ksar of Aït Ben Haddou is the most filmed place in the region, and probably the one you will recognise first. Our guide to visiting Aït Ben Haddou covers the practical side; here is what to look for as a film fan.

Gladiator (2000)

Aït Ben Haddou plays Zucchabar, the North African provincial town where Maximus is sold to Proximo and fights his first bouts. The arena was a set built beside the ksar for the shoot and was removed afterwards, so do not go looking for it. The earthen walls and towers you see behind Russell Crowe are the real ones, and the view from the river bank is close to the film's establishing shots.

Game of Thrones: Yunkai, not Pentos

In season 3 the ksar stands in for Yunkai, the slaver city that Daenerys takes with the help of Daario, Grey Worm and Jorah. The final scene of the season, where the freed slaves lift Daenerys above the crowd, was also filmed here. You will often read online that Aït Ben Haddou played Pentos: it did not. Pentos belongs to season 1, which was filmed in Malta. The other Moroccan city of the series, Astapor, was filmed in Essaouira on the Atlantic coast.

The Odyssey (2026)

The most recent big production is Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, which began filming at Aït Ben Haddou in early 2025. The ksar became Troy, with dozens of temporary structures added around it, including a temple and the city gates. Those additions have since been removed, but this is the film that brought a new wave of visitors in 2026.

Older classics

Long before these, the ksar appeared in Lawrence of Arabia, The Man Who Would Be King (as the capital of Kafiristan), Jesus of Nazareth, The Jewel of the Nile and The Last Temptation of Christ. UNESCO's World Heritage listing for Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou explains the architecture that makes it so photogenic.

Atlas Studios: Kundun, The Mummy and the Egyptian sets

Atlas Studios sits on the N9 about 5 km west of the centre, behind the large Egyptian figures at its gate. It is often described as one of the largest film studios in the world by surface area, and it is the easiest film location to visit, with guided tours through the day. Our guide to visiting Atlas Studios covers tickets, timing and the tour itself.

The productions linked to Atlas include The Jewel of the Nile (the fighter jet displayed on the lot is a prop from that film), The Living Daylights, Kundun, for which Martin Scorsese shot most of the film on Tibetan monastery sets here, The Mummy, Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Game of Thrones. Television series such as Prison Break and Vikings have also used the backlot.

A useful detail for The Mummy: the studios hosted parts of the shoot, but the big desert exteriors of Hamunaptra were filmed much further east, near Erfoud, on the way to the dunes covered in our Ouarzazate to Merzouga guide.

CLA Studios and the Jerusalem set

Ouarzazate's second studio, CLA Studios, opened in 2005, also on the Marrakech road and not far from Atlas. It is smaller and usually quieter than Atlas, and its most famous asset is the huge walled replica of medieval Jerusalem built for Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven. Ridley Scott came back to it almost twenty years later for Gladiator II, when the walls were extended and a port was added so the set could play the coastal city of Numidia, attacked by a Roman fleet in the opening battle. The ships were built on hydraulic platforms in the desert and the sea was added digitally.

CLA sets also appear in Game of Thrones and other productions, and the visit is shorter than at Atlas. Our CLA Studios guide explains how the visit works and how it compares.

Kasbah Tifoultoute and Kasbah Taourirt

Two Glaoui kasbahs close to town have their own film history.

• Kasbah Tifoultoute: a battle scene in John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King, with Sean Connery and Michael Caine, was filmed at this kasbah above the river, a short drive from the centre. Its terraces are good at sunset. See our Kasbah Tifoultoute guide.
• Kasbah Taourirt: the town's main kasbah is reported to have appeared in Gladiator and Prince of Persia, though we have not found production records confirming which scenes. Opposite it, the Cinema Museum, opened in 2007 in a former studio, shows cameras, props and sets from films shot in the region. Our Cinema Museum guide has the details.

Skoura, Taguenzalt and the desert scenes

Kasbah Amridil, Skoura (Lawrence of Arabia)

About 40 km east of Ouarzazate, in the Skoura palm grove, Kasbah Amridil appears briefly in Lawrence of Arabia. It is also the kasbah once printed on the Moroccan 50 dirham note. Tour descriptions often add other titles to its list, which we could not confirm. Our Skoura and Kasbah Amridil guide covers the visit.

Taguenzalt (Babel)

In Babel, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett's characters are on a tourist bus when she is shot, and they are taken to a small village to wait for help. That village was filmed in Taguenzalt, a Berber village in rocky country near Ouarzazate, while other scenes were shot around the town itself. It is a lived-in village, not a site with visitor facilities, so if you go, go with a local guide and respect people's privacy.

Open desert

Much of the action in these films takes place in the stony plains around town: the slave caravan and desert travel in Gladiator, the Tafas massacre in Lawrence of Arabia, and sandstorm scenes in Prince of Persia. None of these spots are marked, and many look like any other stretch of reg. Enjoy the landscape for what it is rather than hunting for an exact frame.

Places often mentioned but hard to confirm

Online lists of Ouarzazate film locations repeat each other, and some claims do not hold up.

• Fint oasis: tour sellers say Babel, Prince of Persia and Kingdom of Heaven were shot in this palm valley south of town. Film crews do use it, but we found no production source naming specific films.
• Tamdaght: the Glaoui kasbah a few kilometres above Aït Ben Haddou is regularly described as a film location, again without reliable detail. It is worth the short detour anyway.
• Pentos in Game of Thrones: filmed in Malta, as explained above.
• "Built for the film": Aït Ben Haddou is a real village several centuries old, restored in places for and after shoots, not a film set.

A self-guided film tour from Ouarzazate

You can see the main locations in one full day by car, or two relaxed half days. The order below follows the light: the ksar early, the studios when it is hot, a kasbah at sunset.

1. Early morning: Aït Ben Haddou (about 35 minutes from town). Cross the river and walk up to the granary before the groups from Marrakech arrive. Look for the Gladiator and Game of Thrones angles from the river bank.
2. Late morning: CLA Studios, on the way back towards town, for the Jerusalem walls of Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator II.
3. Lunch in town, then the Cinema Museum and a walk around Kasbah Taourirt.
4. Afternoon: Atlas Studios, about 10 minutes from the centre, for the Egyptian temple, the Tibetan monastery of Kundun and the Jewel of the Nile jet.
5. Sunset: Kasbah Tifoultoute, the setting of The Man Who Would Be King's battle.

If you have an extra day, Skoura and Kasbah Amridil make a good morning outing east of town.

Tips for the tour

• Rewatch before you go: Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and season 3 of Game of Thrones are the most rewarding to recognise on site.
• Check filming: when a production is shooting, parts of the studios or even of Aït Ben Haddou can be closed. Ask locally the day before.
• Plan for heat: the studio backlots have very little shade. In summer, do them early or late.
• Carry cash: studio tickets, small fees inside the ksar and tips for guides are usually paid in dirhams. Prices change, so check on the day.
• Do not climb on sets or walls: plaster sets and earthen walls are both more fragile than they look.

Getting around and where to base yourself

All the places in this guide are on paved roads. A rental car gives the most freedom for early and late light; a driver hired for the day is the simplest option if you prefer not to drive. Petit taxis cover the studios and town sights, but not Aït Ben Haddou.

Ouarzazate itself is the natural base, since everything except Skoura is within about 35 minutes. Residence Chay is about 10 minutes from Atlas Studios and a few minutes from the centre, and our reception can help you arrange a driver or a guide who knows the shoots. Our location page shows the distances from the residence.