Devotees of HBO’s Game of Thrones know that the show is truly an international production. Portugal, Iceland, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Morocco, and Malta, to name a few, have all portrayed locations in Westeros and Essos. Stephanie, Meagan, and their friend Audrey have all added Game of Thrones filming locations to their recent vacations. Now we’re sharing our GOT stories from Morocco, Northern Ireland and Iceland! The locations we visited include Yunkai (Aït Ben Haddou, Morocco), the Kingsroad north of King’s Landing (Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland), Winterfell (Castle Ward, Northern Ireland), Jon Snow and Ygritte’s “cave” (Grjótagjá near Lake Myvatn, Iceland), and Beyond the Wall (Skaftafell National Park, Iceland).
Yunkai – Aït Ben Haddou, Morocco
Despite this Berber village’s obvious resemblance to Yunkai, Meagan, excited to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, added it to her itinerary based purely on its history and beauty. Once she realized that it had been transformed into the Slaver’s Bay city of Yunkai, her excitement doubled!
Ait Ben Haddou is Morocco’s most famous kasbah, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more scenic and historic filming location in Morocco. This fortified city stood guard over the caravan route from Marrakech to the Sahara desert and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The rust-colored buildings of the 11th century city stretch up a hill along the Oued Ounila river, perfect for monitoring the caravan route as traders made their way to Marrakech. As you approach the fortified city from the bridge over the river, take a moment to read the UNESCO signs that detail why the city was chosen as a World Heritage Site.
Wandering through the streets, you’ll notice that aside from a few open shops, most residents have moved across the river to the town that thrives on tourism and the film industry. Ait Ben Haddou isn’t only Yunkai from Game of Thrones; dozens of other movies have been filmed here, including Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, Kingdom of Heaven, and numerous more films and television shows. Climb to the top for a panoramic view of the kasbah, the desert, and the palmeraie.
How to Get There: Aït Ben Haddou is not an easy day trip from Marrakech, but it’s definitely worth it. Between the long drive (around 4 hours) and the treacherous mountain roads, we highly recommend hiring a guide. After sifting through hundreds of reviews, we landed on Moroccan Dunes Tours, and we can’t recommend them enough!
Their prices were great, their car was nice and air-conditioned, but most importantly, they included the sites we wanted to see and no additional time-wasters. In addition to Ait Ben Haddou, we visited the Glaoui Kasbah in Telouet (pictured below) where we navigated impressive ruins on our way into an amazing apartment of intricate tile-work and painted ceilings. We visited an argan oil cooperative (our request), and we are very happy with our purchases. When stopping at rest areas along the way, we were never pressured by our guide to buy anything. Mohammad was a knowledgeable, hospitable, and professional guide, and we know you’ll enjoy your time with him.
The Kingsroad north of King’s Landing- Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland
Our friend Audrey and her new husband Josh visited Northern Ireland on their honeymoon last year. After a full day touring the sights of the Causeway Coast, the National Trust’s Dark Hedges was their last stop. They expected a gate and a walk to get to these iconic trees that were featured in HBO’s show Game of Thrones, but alas they made a left turn and then there they were! Along with tons of cars pulled over to the side and people standing in the middle of the road taking pictures of the iconic trees! After all these trees are one of the most photographed sights in all of Northern Ireland. The trees are featured in Season 2, Episode 1: On the King’ s Road when Arya Stark escaped King’s Landing dressed as a boy.
Winterfell- Castle Ward, Northern Ireland
Castle Ward is a must-visit sight if you go to Northern Ireland and are a Game of Thrones fan. It is the home of Winterfell, The Twins and the Whispering Wood! Audrey and Josh visited on a day when they were setting up for a wedding on the grounds so were not able to partake in all of the Game of Thrones activities but did get to chat with the man who was responsible for bringing the show to the grounds! He had great stories to tell about the cast and filming. Even if you are not a fan of the show, there is a still a ton to do here.! Plus if you like to hike this is a must visit. There are miles and miles of hiking trails and the grounds are beautiful!
Beyond the Wall- Skaftafell National Park, Iceland
Going on a glacier hike was on Stephanie and her husband’s list of must-do activities on their recent Icelandic adventure. While riding the bus in Skaftafell National Park to the glacier to throw on a pair of crampons, we passed the the Vatnajökull glacier featured in Game of Thrones as Beyond the Wall where the wildlings live.
Jon and Ygritte’s cave- Grjótagjá – Lake Mývatn, Iceland
Lake Mývatn during winter in Northern Iceland has been used to film more of the landscape of Beyond the Wall. One of the more famous sights is the steamy cave where things heated up between Jon Snow and Ygritte. It’s a small lava cave with a hot spring pool inside. It’s on private property and you’re allowed to go see it but not swim…it’s definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area as it’s not far from the Mývatn Nature Baths.
Have you been to any of these or other GOT filming locations? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Thank you so so much Meagan, We really appreciate you all that! Glad you enjoyed it and we wish that will not be the last time in Morocco.
Best wishes.
All of these three GOT locations are really great. All the pictures really look amazing and I hope to be able to visit all of them. I admit I am intrigued about the dark hedges as well as Lake Mývatn. And this trip would also be perfect with family and friends.
thank you for your good Responses about morocco
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