What's on in Ouarzazate, Morocco through the year

Busy — Mid-year holiday in Morocco, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  19 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  Studios and kasbahs stay open but the town eats at sunset and works around it, and drivers on the long desert runs are fasting. Restaurants outside the hotels are shut by day. Source ↗

Still on: Snow on the Tichka pass (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), Snow on the Tichka pass (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Third interim break (spring) in Morocco

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ramadan (19 Feb – 19 Mar), Snow on the Tichka pass (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Rose festival at Kelaat M'Gouna

  6–9 MayHarvestCrowded

  The Dades valley picks its damask roses through late April and May and marks the end of it with three or four days of parades and market stalls an hour up the road. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Rose festival at Kelaat M'Gouna, Eid al-Adha

• Holiday

  Eid al-Adha

  27–29 MayRamadan & EidClosuresBook early

  Two or three days when the town shuts and everyone who works in it goes home to the villages. Transport out is booked well ahead and the studios stop entirely. Source ↗

Still on: Rose festival at Kelaat M'Gouna (6–9 May)

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The pre-Saharan summer

  15 Jun – 5 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  High, dry and unshaded: the kasbahs are worth an early start and nothing else. Gorge and desert trips out of town run at dawn or not at all.

Still on: Eid al-Adha (27–29 May)

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: The pre-Saharan summer (15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: The pre-Saharan summer (15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Morocco, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Date harvest in the Draa

  15 Sep – 31 Oct · usually

  The oases south and east of town, around Skoura and down the Draa, bring in the crop as the heat goes out of the day. It is the best month of the year to drive the valley.

Still on: The pre-Saharan summer (15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — First interim break (October) in Morocco, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Date harvest in the Draa (15 Sep – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Busy — Second interim break (December) in Morocco, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Closure

  Snow on the Tichka pass

  1 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyRisk

  The high pass over the Atlas closes at short notice after a snowfall, which cuts the direct road to Marrakesh and adds hours by the long way round. Check before committing to a loop. Source ↗