Dune-riding in Morocco
The latest KTM Adventure Tour went to Morocco, across the High Atlas Mountains and to the edge of the Sahara desert
“We roared through empty desert and it really felt like pure adventure”
AS THE RUGGED mountain passes were replaced with an African desert landscape, we found ourselves on open plains with no sign of road or even track. We roared through 50km sections of empty desert and it really felt like pure adventure. This was Morocco, where I was on a trip with KTM Adventure Tours across the Atlas mountains to the edge of the Sahara desert.
On the first morning, I was allocated my bike, a 2018-model KTM 450 EXC. The sky was a clear blue and the morning was warm as we left the hotel in Marrakesh in convoy and rode out towards Ait Ourir in the Al Haouz Province, across the Atlas mountain range towards Toundoute and onto Boumaine Dades at the outlet of the 1500m upper Dades Valley.
Our party of 16 would be split into two groups, one advanced and the other comprising beginners and intermediatelevel riders. Unfortunately the translation system failed at the first attempt and I followed the advanced group out. Two
hours later, I was tired, sweating and struggling to keep up, trying to get used to the bike and failing. We arranged to meet up with the second group an hour down the road, so I could switch groups and get everything back on track.
When I arrived to meet the other group, word reached us that a rider in the other group had fallen and broken his shin and arm, which required support from the tour doctor and leader. The rest of the day, we rode as one group and covered a mix of road and off-road riding, with more asphalt than was apparently usual, just to make up some time. The views were spectacular and we were getting to see the real Morocco, often riding through small villages, with children running out to wave. We arrived at Boumaine Dades at around 6:30pm, having covered 220 miles.
We were staying at this hotel for two nights and the next day was a 150-mile circular off-road tour around the Soussmassa-draa region and Todgha Gorges, a series of limestone river canyons in the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains.
As we approached the lunch stop, we rode an amazing road through the
mountain pass, with hairpin bends as the road snaked its way up the hilly section. It was wonderful and the view from the café where we stopped for lunch was amazing. The support van had brought fresh bread, cheese, salad and dried meats for lunch. These arrangements were introduced to avoid stomach problems, which would be no fun on a 150-mile off-road section.
After two days there, we set off on a 320km ride from our hotel in Boumaine Dades down to Merzouga, moving from the mountains to the desert. The morning started with gravel tracks through the mountains as we made our way towards Alnif. Our afternoon was spectacular, blasting across wide desert plains that showed no evidence of anyone having been there before. Ever.
We arrived at the hotel at 7pm, just as it was just turning dark — we were the last group to arrive, having completed the longest day so far. The hotel did not serve alcohol but had agreed we could bring our own and the party in the car park was in full swing.
Our hotel was right on the sand dunes, so the next day was dedicated to dune riding, starting with instruction on how to do it. The key points were the importance of missing green bushes (“Hitting them is like hitting concrete”), keeping the power on and never stopping when going uphill. We were also shown how to rescue a bike if it got stuck.
We rode a circular route around the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi and the area around Merzouga. It was fun but tiring and at lunch, over paella at the hotel, some of the group decided an afternoon by the pool was called for. The more hardened riders headed back out to the sand dunes though.
The next day was scheduled to be the longest day of the tour at 250 miles from Merzouga back to Ouarzazate, passing El-facht, Tazzarine and Agdz. We aimed to complete 125 miles before lunch, all off-road. The afternoon was split between off-road for the majority and moving onto a main asphalt road from 4pm, which took us over the mountains and down into Ouarzazate
The final riding day was seen as a relaxed ride back to Marrakech, which was mostly on twisty, scenic, hairpin-bend mountain roads, interspersed with smaller off-road sections. Our route took us through Aitbenhaddou and the mountain pass of Tizi N’tichka and then onto our hotel in Marrakech to finish the tour.
Though it sounds expensive at £1700 (plus flights), I thought the trip was excellent value as it included bike rental, fuel, hotels and half-board meals. The KTM team was professional, friendly and knowledgeable. While being the only British person on the tour may be a problem for some, I enjoyed the diversity of the group.