The long southern loop: over the Atlas into the Draa valley, west through the Anti-Atlas, and back over the passes to 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.
This is the gravel tour for people who want distance and emptiness rather than a weekend. Six days of riding take you south over the High Atlas into the Draa valley, west through the Anti-Atlas by way of Tissint and Aguinane, up into the saffron country around Taliouine, and back north over the mountains to Marrakech.
It is a genuinely remote route. Long stretches run on hard-packed piste through country where the villages are small and far apart, there is no traffic to speak of, and the surface is the kind gravel bikes were built for. Our 2-day gravel tour is the introduction to Moroccan gravel; this is the trip for somebody who already knows they like it.
The support vehicle carries everything and is never far away, which is what makes a route this remote sensible on a bike. We run 40–45mm tyres throughout.
Day 1
Marrakech → Agdz
The day begins with the transfer south over the High Atlas — the pass road climbs out of the Haouz plain and the country changes completely on the far side. We ride the descent into the south and arrive at Agdz, the town at the head of the Draa valley, where the palm groves and kasbahs begin.
Day 2
Agdz → Tissint
The Draa is one of the longest valleys in Morocco and the riding follows it: palm groves, old kasbahs, and the river where there is water in it. The surface is smooth gravel for most of the day. As the afternoon goes on the country dries out and opens up, and by the time you reach Tissint you are properly in the south.
Day 3
Tissint → Aguinane
The most remote day of the week. Wide desert plateau, rocky gravel roads, and villages where very little has changed in a long time. There is no scenery laid on for visitors here and almost nobody else on the route — it is the day people remember for the silence rather than for any single view.
Day 4
Aguinane → Taliouine
The Anti-Atlas begins and the riding changes with it: dramatic rock, winding mountain roads, steady climbs and long descents with the desert plains behind you. Taliouine is the centre of Morocco’s saffron growing, and if you ride this in late October the harvest is happening in the fields around the town.
Day 5
Taliouine → Ijoukak
The hardest day, and the one most people rate highest. The route crosses from the Anti-Atlas back into the High Atlas over a series of passes, through Amazigh villages a long way from any main road. Long climbs, some technical gravel, and the landscape changing all day. Ijoukak sits in the valley below the Tizi n'Test.
Day 6
Ijoukak → Marrakech
A last morning in the mountains, descending north out of the Atlas with the Haouz plain opening up ahead. The contrast with where you started the week is the point of the day. We wash the bikes and have you back in Marrakech in the afternoon.
The riding season is October–April. 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
6-Day Gravel Bike Tour runs in October–April. 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.
It varies with the stage and with the group, and we would rather give you the real figures than an average that fits nobody — ask us when you enquire and we will send the current day-by-day breakdown. Days 3 and 5 are the long ones.
Completely different country. The 2-day stays within reach of Marrakech on the Agafay and the Kik Plateau. This one crosses the Atlas and spends most of the week in the south — the Draa valley, the desert plateaus and the Anti-Atlas — which you cannot see in a weekend.
October to April. The south is much hotter than the mountains and there is no altitude to take the edge off, so summer is not sensible on this route. Late October has the saffron harvest around Taliouine, which is worth timing for.
40mm minimum, 45mm more comfortable. The surfaces are hard-packed piste with sharp stones, so sidewall protection matters more than tread. Our hire bikes come set up correctly.
Genuinely remote on days 3 and 5 — small villages a long way apart and very little traffic. The support vehicle is with you throughout, which is what makes it sensible, and your guide rides the whole route with you.
The questions people ask us most often about this trip, answered properly.
Gravel bike
2 days / 1 night
Agafay desert piste on day one, the Kik Plateau on day two. The best gravel riding within reach of Marrakech.
From€480 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
Your choice
Your dates, your length
Almost every tour we run is already private. Tell us your dates, your group and how you like to ride.
From€125 per person