The steepest, most technical week we run. Oukaimeden at 2,660m, mules to carry bikes over the passes, and descents that go on for kilometres.
Stops
Villages and passes in riding order, with the altitudes we record for each day. A route overview rather than a GPS trace: the line follows roads and tracks between the stops, so where a day crosses a pass on mule paths the drawn line takes the nearest rideable way round and will read longer than the distance we quote. Trails between stops vary with conditions and with your group.
This 8-day Morocco enduro MTB tour is built around descending. Where our classic Atlas trip links valleys, this one hunts the steepest rideable lines in the range and uses mules and the support vehicle to get you back to the top of them.
It starts high — Oukaimeden at 2,660m, Morocco’s ski station, which in summer is the gateway to some of the best technical terrain in North Africa. From there the week works west through the Tachedirt valley, over the Tizi Tzikerte with mules carrying the bikes, and down into the Ouazzaden and Amizmiz valleys.
This is an advanced trip and we are strict about that. The trails are steep, loose and exposed, with consequences. If you ride enduro at home and are comfortable on committing terrain, it will be the best week of riding you have had. If you are not sure, take the classic 8-day Atlas tour instead.
Day 1
Airport → Marrakech medina
Airport transfer, bike build and setup, and a briefing that is more detailed than on our other trips because the terrain demands it. Dinner together in the medina.
Day 2
Marrakech → Oukaimeden (2,660m) → Tizi Addi → Tachedirt → Imlil
Straight to the high point. We drive to Oukaimeden at 2,660m and drop in from there — technical singletrack off the ski station, over the Tizi Addi, down through the Tachedirt valley and Tingherine, then over the Tizi Tamatert at 2,300m and a final descent to Imlil. A big first day that tells us exactly how the group rides.
Day 3
Imlil → Tizi Tzikerte → Ouazzaden Valley → Id Aissa
The pass crossing. The Tizi Tzikerte is not rideable upward, so we hike and the mules carry the bikes. A genuinely old-fashioned mountain day. What is on the other side justifies it: rough, steep singletrack dropping into the Ouazzaden valley on terrain that sees almost no traffic.
Day 4
Ouirgane (1,800m) → Amizmiz Valley (1,005m)
Singletrack all day through a string of villages, with a gorge section in the middle that is the technical highlight of the week. We finish early in Amizmiz and go to the hammam — after three days of this your legs will have opinions.
Day 5
Amizmiz → Ait Hamed
Out through the olive groves and up onto the plateau country. We stop with a Berber family for tea and lunch — one of the households we have worked with for years. The afternoon is long uphill sections rewarded by an open, fast descent to Ait Hamed.
Day 6
Ait Hamed → Ijoukak
Over a pass and then into the riverbeds — dry, boulder-strewn and technical, with a rickety bridge crossing that everybody photographs. Ijoukak sits under the Tizi n'Test road in one of the deepest valleys in the range.
Day 7
Ijoukak → Ouirgane → Marrakech
One last climb to a pass and one last long descent into Ouirgane. The best-flowing trail of the week and the right way to end it. Bike wash, drive back to Marrakech, and a proper dinner.
Day 8
Marrakech → Airport
Breakfast and an airport transfer whenever your flight goes.
The riding season is April–June, September–October. Outside it the high passes are either under snow or too hot to enjoy, so we do not run it rather than run it badly. Every departure is private, on dates you choose.
Next available months
The riding year
We run itOut of season
8-Day Morocco Enduro MTB Tour runs in April–June, September–October. The twelve months shown start with the current month.
Village guesthouses need booking, so give us a few weeks' notice where you can. Tell us your dates and we will confirm quickly.
The trails are rawer. There is no trail-building, no berms and no maintenance. These are mule paths and goat tracks that happen to descend brilliantly. Expect loose rock, off-camber exposure and consequences. Riders who like Finale or the Alps generally find this harder and better.
Both. The support vehicle does uplifts where a road exists, mules carry the bikes over the Tizi Tzikerte, and the rest you climb. Expect meaningful climbing most days. This is not a shuttle holiday.
Knee pads and a full-face or convertible helmet are mandatory, not suggestions. Most riders also use elbow pads and a back protector. Bring more brake pads than you think you need.
Tell us before you book. We can often run a second guide so a less confident rider takes easier lines and rejoins at lunch, but it needs arranging in advance. Putting an intermediate rider on this terrain unprepared is how people get hurt.
The questions people ask us most often about this trip, answered properly.
Enduro mountain bike
1 day (4–5 hours riding)
One day, maximum descending. The steepest lines above Imlil and Azzaden, with uplift where the road allows.
From€155 per person
Mountain bike
8 days / 7 nights
Eight days of high singletrack, from the Imlil valley to the Kik Plateau, sleeping in Berber gîtes the whole way.
From€2,690 per person
Mountain bike
9 days / 8 nights
A true point-to-point: start at 2,300m in the Atlas, finish swimming in the Atlantic.
From€3,090 per person