Agafay desert piste on day one, the Kik Plateau on day two. The best gravel riding within reach of Marrakech.
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.
Morocco is close to perfect gravel country and almost nobody has ridden it. This 2-day gravel bike tour links the Agafay desert piste with the Kik Plateau, giving you two very different surfaces and about 130km of riding on tracks where you will not see another cyclist.
Day one crosses the Agafay — hard-packed stone desert with long, fast straights and the Atlas rising in front of you the whole way. Day two is the plateau: a high, open dirt road that runs for over 20km with the full range on one side.
We run 40–45mm tyres, which is enough for the piste and quick enough for the tarmac links between sections. Support vehicle throughout, so you carry two bottles and nothing else.
Day 1
Marrakech → Agafay Desert → Lalla Takerkoust → Amizmiz
We roll out from the edge of Marrakech and are on piste within half an hour. The Agafay is hard-packed stone desert — grey, rolling and completely open, with the Atlas wall filling the view ahead. Fast riding, long sightlines, almost no traffic. We pass the Lalla Takerkoust lake, stop for lunch, then climb gradually into the foothills to Amizmiz, a market town at the base of the mountains.
Day 2
Amizmiz → Kik Plateau → Asni → Marrakech
The climb onto the Kik Plateau is the work of the trip — steady, exposed and worth it. On top you get a high dirt road running the length of the plateau, the Atlas range on your left the entire way, and enough space to ride at whatever pace suits you. The descent to Asni is fast on loose gravel. We load the bikes there and drive back to Marrakech.
The riding season is March–November. 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
2-Day High Atlas Gravel Bike Tour runs in March–November. 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.
40mm is the minimum we would recommend and 45mm is more comfortable. The Agafay piste is hard-packed but there are sharp stones, so a tyre with decent sidewall protection matters more than tread pattern. Our hire bikes come set up correctly.
Yes. We build 4 to 6-day gravel routes that continue west towards the Ouirgane and Ijoukak valleys, or south over the Tizi n'Test. Tell us how many days you have and we will route it.
Very little. The Agafay piste and the Kik Plateau are effectively traffic-free. The short tarmac links between sections carry occasional local traffic and the odd grand taxi, and your guide rides those sections with you.
The questions people ask us most often about this trip, answered properly.
Mountain bike
3 days / 2 nights
The short trip that still feels like an expedition — Imlil to Amizmiz across three valleys.
From€720 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
Mountain bike
1 day (4–5 hours riding)
Hotel pickup at 9am, real Atlas singletrack by 10.30, back in Marrakech for dinner.
From€125 per person