Game of Thrones Filming Locations Morocco: Astapor & Yunkai

Essaouira’s sea wall, the gate at Ait Benhaddou and a plaster castle in the desert all appeared in the same story. Game of Thrones filming locations Morocco covers one season and two cities, both still open to walk. Morocco appeared in season three only. Essaouira’s ramparts and port played Astapor, the ksar of Ait Benhaddou played Yunkai. Some closer set work was done at Atlas Studios near Ouarzazate. Nothing from any other season was shot in the country.

In this guide, we will map each screen city to the real place and show how to see both in one route.

Astapor, Found: Essaouira’s Ramparts and Port

Astapor arrives in the first episode, “Valar Dohaeris”, when Daenerys walks the sea wall and first sees the Unsullied. The Essaouira Astapor pairing works because the city already looked the part: an 18th-century wall, cannon mounts, a working port below. The production dressed almost nothing.

Episode 3, “Walk of Punishment”, reuses that wall with crosses built over the real cannon emplacements; episode 4, “And Now His Watch Is Ended”, is the Dracarys turn. The quieter Daenerys and Jorah scene, where Barristan Selmy reappears, was shot on the Skala du Port.

Nothing from the shoot remains; the crucifix bases were temporary. Come before 10:00 for an empty wall, or at sunset when locals sit on the cannons.

Key spots:

• Skala de la Ville: cannon-lined wall walk through a stone arch at the top of Rue Skala. Free, 9am to sunset.
• Skala du Port: port bastion above the fish auction, ten minutes away. Free to view, a small fee to climb.
• The medina lanes between the two, with the sea in view.

Yunkai, Found: Ait Benhaddou and the Ouarzazate Sets

Yunkai is the shot most people recognise: a ksar stacked on a hill, a gate at the end of a dry riverbed, palm groves in front. The Ait Benhaddou Yunkai match uses the village itself for the wide shots. The walls, gate and approach are original, and families still live inside them.

The Ouarzazate Game of Thrones connection is narrower than people expect. Some closer Yunkai set work happened at Atlas Studios, where the standing castle set also doubled as Jerusalem for Kingdom of Heaven. The real ksar carried the wide shots, and the studio set carried the tight ones.

Entry is free through the main gate at the end of the footbridge, or over the stepping stones.

What to expect:

• The climb: about 20 minutes up to the agadir, the old granary, for the valley view.
• Time and light: allow one to three hours; before 9:00 or late afternoon.
• House museums: small fees, paid to the families who keep them.

Set or Real? What You’re Actually Standing In

In Essaouira nothing was left behind, so the payoff is recognition: you know which wall you are on. Ait Benhaddou is the hybrid, an earthen village that needs no dressing to look like Yunkai.

Atlas Studios is the opposite: a working studio with plaster, timber and paint, visibly artificial, which is the point. Tours run hourly, last about an hour and cost a small fee. Our Atlas Studios guide covers the rest of the backlot.

Two rules on the ground. The Essaouira medina and Ait Benhaddou are both UNESCO World Heritage sites. Ait Benhaddou is also a lived-in village: stay on the paths, ask before photographing people, cover shoulders.

One Route Through Both Cities

The two cities sit on opposite sides of the High Atlas, about six hours apart, so this is a loop from Marrakech rather than a day out.

Drive times, roughly:

• Marrakech to Essaouira: about 2h30 west on the motorway, 190 km.
• Marrakech to Ait Benhaddou: about 3h30 to 4h south over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, 180 km.
• Ait Benhaddou to Ouarzazate: 30 to 40 minutes, 30 km.
• Essaouira to Ait Benhaddou: about six hours if you go direct.

Four to six days gives you room for both without racing. Start on the coast, cross the Atlas, then finish in the desert south. Take Essaouira at sunset and Ait Benhaddou early in the morning. Most travellers sleep on the coast one night and in Ouarzazate or Ait Benhaddou the next, which turns the six-hour crossing into two easier days.

If other productions brought you here, our Outer Banks locations guide covers the same two towns from a different shoot, and the Gladiator locations piece goes deeper on Ait Benhaddou on screen.

Build the Route With a Local

Driving it yourself means the Tizi n’Tichka pass, parking outside two medinas and guessing at the light. A private driver takes that off your hands. Tell us which two sites matter most and we will build the loop around them, with the timing that puts you on the wall and at the gate before the coaches arrive.

For the coast and the desert in one run, our 8-Day Morocco Tour: Marrakech, Sahara Desert & Essaouira pairs Essaouira’s ramparts with a night in the dunes.

Or start in the south with the 4-Day Guided Morocco Tour: Ouarzazate to Marrakech, which includes Atlas Studios, Ait Benhaddou and the pass in four days.

We can customize a tour to match your needs - design your perfect itinerary