Imlil Mountain Biking

Imlil sits at 1,740m at the head of the valley, about 65km south of Marrakech and an hour and a half by road. It is where the tarmac ends. Above it the range keeps rising to Toubkal at 4,167m, the highest peak in North Africa, and the only ways further up are on foot, on a mule or on a bike.

That geography is the whole reason it matters to us. A trailhead this high, this close to an international airport, is genuinely rare — you can be collected from a riad after breakfast and be on singletrack at 2,300m by mid-morning. Ten of the thirteen tours on this site start here, finish here or ride through.

It is also a working village rather than a resort, which changes what the riding feels like. The paths between the hamlets are in daily use by people and animals, so they are maintained because they are needed, and you ride past ordinary life rather than through scenery arranged for you.

The classic is the Tizi n'Tamatert, the pass at 2,300m directly above the village. The climb is roughly 6km and 540m of ascent — real work on a normal mountain bike and very pleasant on an e-bike — and from the top a long traverse runs into the Imenane valley through a string of villages linked by irrigation channels.

West of the village, the Azzaden valley is steeper, greener and more dramatic: walnut terraces, stone houses stacked up the hillside, and mule paths built for feet rather than wheels. It is intermediate riding — rocky in places, exposed in a few — and it appears on almost every multi-day trip we run, because it is simply the nicest way to move between the Imlil and Ouirgane valleys.

For stronger riders the terrain above Tachedirt opens up, including the Tizi n'Tachedirt at 3,230m. That is high enough that the season is much shorter and the passes hold snow well into spring.

Pickup from your Marrakech hotel or riad between 8 and 9am, then the transfer south. Bike fit and a briefing at the trailhead — we set saddle height and, on the e-bikes, walk you through the assistance modes before the trail narrows rather than after.

Four to five hours of riding with a proper sit-down lunch in the middle, not a packet eaten by the roadside. The 4x4 shadows the route with bags, water, spares and a spare wheelset, so the only thing you carry is what you want on your back.

Back in Marrakech by late afternoon, usually between 4 and 6pm. On the multi-day trips the first night is in a gîte in one of the valley villages instead, which is a different and better way to see the place.