Morocco is a rustic which accurately has all of it, it presents towering mountain ranges lined in snow, rivers flowing by means of deep canyons, paradise white sand seashores, the vastness of the Sahara Desert, and most significantly of all, it’s all linked collectively by a few of the most wonderful roads on this planet. The proper mixture for an journey bike journey in Morocco!
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
That is so necessary as a result of Morocco is the place we selected to rekindle our love of motorbike journey. Once we first met in Laos again in Might 2013, over three years in the past, I used to be on a motorbike journey with my greatest pal from house, so I invited Kach to exit for the day with me into the mountains round Luang Prabang. That day of cruising across the mountains, stopping at view factors alongside the best way turned our first date and the primary of many bike adventures we had collectively throughout Laos and northern Vietnam.
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4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
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We continued travelling by bike in India with an outdated Royal Enfield, exploring the seashores and countryside of south India. After this although, we moved to South America the place the laws of proudly owning and using a bike are rather a lot stricter, so we fell away from motorbike journey for fairly some time – 2 entire years in truth! Once we had the chance to come back to Morocco, we knew that this was the right second to get again onto a bike on a few of the greatest environments and roads for motorbike journey on this planet!
The following step in our plans was to seek out out one of the simplest ways to do motorbike journey in Morocco. As we didn’t have our personal bike and we knew nothing of the routes and roads in Morocco both. We had a glance on-line and whereas there have been fairly just a few motorbike rental corporations in Morocco, however there was just one Official BMW Motorrad Companion – Palm Street. To be an Official accomplice of BMW Motorrad means complying with a really strict set of operational pointers, security and naturally high quality and upkeep. This ensures the best ranges of high quality and security within the bikes and gear. As effectively being an official accomplice, the proprietor of Palm Street, Reda Jabri, can also be a BMW Motorrad Licensed Tour Information, which implies he has accomplished a sequence of professional coaching programs on the BMW Motorrad coaching heart in Germany. Reda has been using and providing excursions in Morocco for a few years and you’ll learn extra about him right here – Reda Jabri – Motorbikes and Mountains in Morocco!
For our first time using in over two years, our first time using something just like the BMW and our first time using in Morocco, Palm Street appeared like the right alternative for our motorbike journey in Morocco!
Though I had by no means ridden a BMW bike earlier than, motorbike journey movies like ‘The Bike Diaries’ and Ewan Mcgregor’s ‘Lengthy Manner Spherical’ and ‘Lengthy Manner Down’ gave me the bug for journey motorbike using lengthy earlier than I ever had my license.
Reda had a alternative of BMW’s on provide at Palm Street; the enduring BMW journey bike, the BMW 1200 GS; the robust center weight BMW F800 GS – and the agile BMW F700 GS. These are all wonderful journey bikes in their very own ceremony, however after two years of not using I made my alternative in response to which bike allowed me to place my toes flat on the bottom – the smaller BMW F700 GS! The F700 GS felt like the right bike immediately, sufficient dimension and energy to deal with itself on the open roads, but mild and agile sufficient to simply manoeuvre over any tough terrain.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
Subsequent up was to determine on our route, I met up with Reda in a Marrakech café to debate the perfect path to take, in order that we might expertise the perfect that Morocco has to supply. Palm Street presents three normal guided tour routes, all of which mix completely different features of Morocco’s contrasting landscapes and intriguing cultures. Because the time we had was a little bit shorter than the 7 days of his shortest route, Reda got here up with a personalized tour.
Day 1 – Marrakech – Tichka – Ouarzazate – Agdez (270 Km) – Crossing the Atlas Mountains
Day 2 – Agdez – Zagora – M’hamid (200 Km) – By means of the Draa Valley
Day 3 – M’hamid – Zagora – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou (280 Km) – Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou
Day 4 – Ait Ben Haddou – Telouet – Tichka – Marrakech (200km) – The wonderful journey house
With no distances larger than 280 km in any in the future, we’d by no means be using for greater than 4 hours and with loads of breaks and viewpoints an-route.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco – Considered one of many unimaginable views
DAY 1 – Marrakech – Tichka – Ouarzazate – Agdez (270 Km)
On the primary day, we began from Marrakesh, navigating the busy roads of town till the site visitors regularly pale away and the flat straight highway began morphing right into a serpentine black ribbon wrapped round mountain slopes. These winding roads took us excessive into the Atlas Mountains the place the wind grew stronger and colder and using the bike began to turn into extra of a problem.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco – Final cease earlier than the toughest a part of the route
We stopped for espresso at a restaurant with a panoramic mountain view to relaxation and put together for the hardest a part of the day’s using – the Tichka Cross. There was already a smattering of snow throughout the terraced slopes and there was extra to come back as we headed greater in direction of the snow-covered peaks we might see within the distance.
What got here subsequent was truthfully the most-challenging journey of my life to this point – the under freezing temperatures, gale-force gusts of wind, snow and icy mud – all creating circumstances that have been a large step up from something I had ridden by means of earlier than. It was a tense journey, however reaching the highest of the go made all of it worthwhile, regardless of being an virtually whole whiteout.
As we descended again down the opposite aspect of the Atlas Mountain vary, I spotted how a lot I had taken easy, dry, grippy tarmac roads with no consideration as we obtained again to swinging the bikes easily by means of the corners whereas the snow melted away once more to disclose the rocks and sand of the desert lowlands.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco – Restoration cease after the difficult Tichka Cross
After lunch in Ouarzazate we continued to the traditional city of Agdez, the place we spent the night time at DAR QAMAR STE ASLIM MOBILIER, a phenomenal boutique lodge situated within the coronary heart of the outdated village.
Take a look at our full evaluation of Dar Qamar Ste Aslim Mobilier, a real hidden gem of a lodge in Agdez.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco – Dar Qamar Ste Aslim Mobilier
DAY 2 – Agdez – Zagora – M’hamid (200 Km)
Day 2 – Agdez – Zagora – M’hamid (200 Km)
The following day we rode one other 200 km’s on twisting, curving roads, by means of Zagora and onwards to M’hamid, also called the top of the world, the place the highway ends and the desert begins. From right here we travelled by 4×4 into the desert with Sahara Expertise, to spend the night time in a luxurious desert camp and even journey camels by means of the beautiful sand dunes at sundown.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
This journey can be one of the crucial spectacular, as we entered Draa Valley with its carpet of Palm Timber, using by means of the twisting roads of the valley with a renewed confidence after two years with none using in any respect. The BMW F700GS was the right bike for these roads; sufficiently big to be well-balanced and succesful with rider and pillion, highly effective sufficient to go a number of automobiles safely between corners, but nimble and agile sufficient to carve up the turns with not more than slight shift within the hips. The F700GS shouldn’t be ignored in favour of its larger, extra in style brothers, it’s an ideal touring bike in its personal proper.
On the ultimate stretch of the journey to M’Hamid, we handed by means of the city of Zagora after which out into the dusty, dry warmth of the desert. The distinction to the day before today’s using couldn’t have been larger; the recent air blasting up by means of the helmet, which changed the icy air and drifting snow of the day earlier than turned to spirals of sand whipped up by the desert wind. The nearer we obtained to our vacation spot, the extra the peerlessly easy Moroccan tarmac began to crumble and slim on the edges, till we reached M’Hamid, known as the top of the world, the place the highway merely stopped altogether and the desert took its place.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
Because the highway ended and the desert started we rode into the towered entrance of Lodge Kasbah of Sahara Expertise, the place we’d relaxation for lunch and put together for the journey into the desert, swapping two wheels for 4 with an skilled native Berber to navigate us safely by means of the continuously shifting sand dunes. With our heads lined with conventional Berber blue desert head put on, we drove for nearly two hours by means of the desert, stopping alongside the best way to go to a nomadic household residing in a desert tent, surrounded solely by rocks, sand and the few animals they saved.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
Our closing cease for the night time was a desert camp in a big hole between sand dunes. To seek out it there in any respect was a whole shock, utterly hidden by the towering sand on all sides. The luxurious desert camp was made up of ten or extra white tents, about ten toes tall by ten toes extensive. Inside we have been amazed to discover a comfy double mattress, electrical factors and lights, even a completely functioning toilet with working scorching water!
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
Because the solar began to set, a person arrived with three camels to take us on a sundown camel trek by means of the desert. The camels groaned in noisy protest as they kneeled for us to clamber onto their backs. As we rode a brief distance from the camp, it turned apparent how simply folks might get misplaced within the desert, as inside minutes the camp was out of sight and each dune appeared the identical as the subsequent. Solely our native information actually knew the place we have been. As we headed again in direction of the camp, the solar fell slowly into the sand.
That night we sat all the way down to a house cooked Moroccan dinner of lamb tagine and couscous, earlier than shifting to the massive campfire exterior, the place there was no noise to disturb the peace and stillness of the desert and no mild however the fireplace, permitting each star to shine clearly towards the black sky.
Learn all about our luxurious desert tenting with Sahara Expertise.
The desert is such an integral a part of Moroccan life, historical past and tradition. In actual fact, it’d even be doable to say which you can be taught extra about Morocco from one night time within the desert, than from per week in Marrakech.
DAY 3 – M’hamid – Zagora – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou (280 Km)
Early the subsequent morning, we had a light-weight breakfast and jumped again into the 4 wheel drive to go again to M’Hamid, again to our bikes and again to the highway, to bathe and alter within the Lodge Kasbah prepared for the primary leg of our return journey to Marrakech.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
Leaving the desert behind, we rode again by means of Zagora and Ouarzazate, to the city of Ait Ben Haddou, the place we spent the night time within the luxurious Riad Ksar Ighnda, a palatial luxurious lodge constructed into the ruins of the outdated city, or the Ksar. The Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou is a standard pre-Saharan settlement, made up of earthen buildings packed collectively inside defensive partitions and strengthened by towers within the corners.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
Driving as much as the gates of Ksar Ighnda felt like approaching a fort, with excessive partitions, towers and tall picket doorways. Our rooms have been situated on the roof prime the place a community of interconnecting roof terraces gave unimaginable views throughout the encircling panorama, a carpet of lush inexperienced vegetation and palm timber filling the small valley. Within the internal courtyard was a big, cooling pool shaded by foliage and native timber. After exploring the varied overlapping ranges and shapes of the lodge itself, we headed for the hamman to soak out the mud after the exhilarating journey again from the desert.
Learn our full evaluation of the Riad Ksar Ighnda in Ait Ben Haddou.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
DAY 4 – Ait Ben Haddou – Telouet – Tichka – Marrakech
The ultimate day of our motorbike journey would take us all the best way again from Ait Ben Haddhou, over the Atlas Mountains by means of the Tishka Cross and all the best way again to Marrakech. The wonderful factor about this route is that though we have been using the identical method we had come from, each nook and each view is a completely distinctive expertise when using in the other way!
As we climbed again as much as the highest of the Tishka Cross, a lot of the snow had melted away and the gale drive winds of the earlier days had disappeared making it a a lot simpler and nice journey.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
This final leg of the journey was an opportunity to mirror on the entire journey of the previous few days; the way it was doable to expertise a bustling metropolis, a snow-covered mountain go, a palm-filled valley, rocky plains and the never-ending vastness of the Sahara Desert, all in simply a number of days. To say my using had improved can be an understatement. The problem of an even bigger bike, snow and dirt, and a continuing stream of tight mountain bends, all mixed with the watchful eye and professional recommendation from Reda, rising my abilities and confidence on the bike.
This was our first time again on the bike collectively in two years and it was a very unimaginable to expertise first-hand what retains luring journey bikers right here from everywhere in the world, yr after yr.
We rode all the best way from Ait Ben Haddou again to Marrakesh, again over the Atlas Mountains by means of the Tichka Cross, stopping to absorb the wonderful surroundings alongside the best way, ending our day at Marrakech Riad Cinnamon.
4 Day Journey Motorcycle Journey in Morocco
It felt wonderful to be again on two wheels once more, particularly such a tremendous bike (the BMW F700GS) and being guided by means of the perfect routes by Reda. We have been formally again on two wheels, with many extra bike adventures but to come back!
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