Ouarzazate has been doubling for Egypt, Tibet, Somalia, Judea and Westeros since David Lean shot Lawrence of Arabia in the area in 1962. Atlas Studios, founded in 1983, is the biggest of the local facilities — 322 hectares of backlot on the plain east of town — and unusually for a working studio, it lets visitors walk the standing sets.
Be clear about what it is: a slightly weathered outdoor lot rather than a polished theme park. Half the pleasure is spotting how thin the illusion is — polystyrene hieroglyphs, plaster columns, a Tibetan monastery with a plywood back. The other half is standing inside sets you have watched for twenty years.
Top things to do at Atlas Film Studios
Take the guided tour
You cannot wander alone — visits are guided and run roughly hourly, lasting about 45 minutes. Guides are usually former crew and full of production stories.
See the Kundun sets
Scorsese’s Tibetan temple is the best-preserved thing on the lot and, unexpectedly, rather beautiful.
Add the Cinema Museum in town
Opposite Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate, a smaller collection of props and sets that fills a spare hour.
How to get to Atlas Film Studios
- From Ouarzazate: 5 km on the Marrakech road. A petit taxi costs very little; some hotels run a shuttle.
- From Aït Benhaddou: around 25 km, 25 minutes by car or taxi.
- By tour: several Marrakech day trips bundle the studios with the ksar in a single day.
Insider tips
- There is no shade on the lot. Go early or late, and bring water and a hat.
- Tickets are cheap (around 80 MAD including the guide). Card payment is not always possible — bring cash.
- If you only have time for one film-related stop, the standing sets at the ksar itself are more atmospheric; the studios are better if you want the behind-the-scenes story.
Best tours & tickets for Atlas Film Studios
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Atlas Film Studios and the surrounding valleys:
Day trip from €25 From Marrakech: Ouarzazate, Aït Ben Haddou & Atlas Studios
The same great Atlas crossing as the classic day trip, with Africa’s largest film studio bolted on. Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Game of Thrones and Prince of Persia were all shot between these two stops, and the guide knows exactly which wall was which.
- Walk the sets of Atlas Film Studios
- The UNESCO ksar of Aït Ben Haddou
- Mountain scenery over the Tizi n’Tichka
Day trip from €100 From Ouarzazate: Aït Benhaddou, Fint Oasis & Film Studios
If you are basing yourself in Ouarzazate — which we recommend — this is the day that ties the region together. Thirty minutes to the ksar, then a rough track south to Fint, an oasis of black basalt and date palms almost no coach reaches.
- The ksar without the four-hour drive
- Hidden Fint oasis and its Berber villages
- Film studios and Kasbah Taourirt
