The Hills Have Eyes Filming Locations in Morocco (2006)

When a cult horror classic was remade, the production skipped the American desert entirely. The Hills Have Eyes filming locations sit in Morocco, in and around the sun-baked city of Ouarzazate. So where was The Hills Have Eyes filmed? Not in New Mexico — the story’s on-screen setting — but in real Moroccan desert that stood in for it.

In this guide, we break down the Ouarzazate film studios and the desert sets behind the film. We also show how to visit them on your own Morocco trip. New Mexico was scouted, but never used.

Ouarzazate — The Hollywood of Africa

Ouarzazate is the gateway to the Sahara, where the High Atlas mountains open onto wide valleys of rock, sand and dust. That scenery earned the city its nickname, the Hollywood of Africa, and it doubled for half the world on screen.

The remake’s producers needed a hostile, empty desert that could pass for the American Southwest. They scouted New Mexico, Namibia, South Africa and Mexico, then chose Morocco. Ouarzazate’s rocky hills, long horizons and hard light delivered the look the story needed.

Key features that draw film crews:

• Rocky hills: dry ridges that read as the American Southwest.
• Empty horizons: unbroken views that sell total isolation.
• Hard light: bright, even sun that keeps shoot days predictable.
• Kasbah backdrops: mud-brick fortresses that look centuries old on camera.

Crews have used the same terrain for epics, war films and fantasy series, so the city feels like a working backlot.

CLA Studios and the Desert Sets

The remake’s production base is listed as CLA Studios in Ouarzazate. Some outlets also name Marrakech among the shoot cities, a claim that remains unconfirmed. The shoot ran for two months with a multinational crew, and Ouarzazate stayed the main location.

CLA Studios is not Atlas Studios, the larger complex that hosted the later sequel and countless blockbusters. Atlas Studios is the reliable public option, with a guided tour of its sets lasting about 45 to 60 minutes. Access to CLA Studios is filming-dependent, as it now mostly serves as production offices.

What visitors can expect:

• Atlas Studios tour: standing sets, props and desert forts.
• CLA Studios: exterior views only; access depends on filming.
• Local guides: production stories no signboard tells.

Even from the outside, the location makes the film’s world legible. Rows of desert sets, old forts and open ground wait for the next production.

The Desert That Doubled for New Mexico

On screen, the film plays out in a fictional stretch of New Mexico. In reality, the desert around Ouarzazate provided every grain of sand. The script’s hostile wasteland was Morocco’s arid south, filmed under a sky that rarely clouds.

No recognizable landmarks appear on screen, and that is exactly why the location works. The same dry ridges, cracked plains and dusty tracks are still there today, minus the on-screen horror.

Standing on those plains, it is easy to see how a director reads them as the American Southwest. The scale is enormous, and the silence does the rest.

Why the Moroccan desert works as a stand-in:

• Similar geology: dry, rocky hills that echo the American Southwest.
• Anonymous terrain: no landmarks, so it can pass for anywhere.
• Real heat and dust: conditions that make desert survival believable.
• Practical access: sealed roads that reach the main viewpoints.

Visiting the Locations: Ait Benhaddou and the Desert

Seeing the remake’s terrain for yourself is easier than most fans expect. Ouarzazate has its own airport, and the desert sets, kasbahs and dunes are all reachable on a private itinerary. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Ait Benhaddou, a fortified village of clay and stone, sits about 30 minutes away.

From Marrakech, the drive takes around four hours over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, with panoramic mountain stops along the way. Farther south, the dunes of Merzouga anchor multi-day desert routes. A private driver-guide makes the desert distances comfortable and hassle-free.

Most visitors combine the studios, the kasbah and a night under the stars. The film stops then become part of a wider southern circuit, not a detour. Guides who know the productions can point out which ridges and tracks appeared on screen, adding context a self-guided drive would miss.

Plan Your Hills Have Eyes Morocco Trip

A film-location trip fits naturally into a wider Moroccan itinerary. Pair Ouarzazate’s studios with the southern kasbahs, the dunes of Merzouga and the markets of Marrakech on one private route. Local guides add the production stories that turn a desert stop into a behind-the-scenes experience.

Our 4-Day Morocco Desert Tour from Ouarzazate – Merzouga & Cultural Highlights pairs the film city with the Erg Chebbi dunes. For a route that connects the studios to Marrakech, try our 4-Day Guided Morocco Tour: Ouarzazate to Marrakech Desert Adventure.

Following the whole series? Our guide to The Hills Have Eyes 2 filming locations covers the later film’s Atlas Studios sets.

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