Ouarzazate, Morocco. Stock Photo

Ouarzazate is a city south of the Moroccan High Atlas, famous for being the gateway to the Sahara desert. From its enormous citadel of Taourirt, which houses a nineteenth-century palace, it is possible to contemplate the rugged landscape of the region, which has served as the setting for several films. To the northwest is the fortified city of reddish earth of Ait ben Hadu. The rocky gorges of Todra are to the northeast. A road winds southeastward between the lush palm groves of the Dra Valley to the desert.