I done the cirque route (MH1 I think?) from Midelt to Imilchil about 7 days ago, leaving Midelt it looks like they are building a motorway to the start of the route! Lots of roadworks going on there, looks like the approach will be tarmac soon.

There was one muddy rutted section before the cirque, required a bit of labour to fill in the puddles and ruts to get through, once through that it was plain sailing until the track hits the bottom of the valley; we were faced with a stretch of 50cm deep snow about 40-50 foot long - lots of aggressive begging from locals at this point, not boys but young men, climbing all over the truck trying to get into the Windows etc. It was just my wife and myself so it was a little intimidating, but if there are a few blokes present I wouldn't worry too much.

As we climbed up into the forest there was lots of thick mud and we had to use the waffle boards on a couple of occasions but managed to get through ok. After that the rest is ok.

The last few days we've been in Chefchaouen and the rain has been non stop for 3 days, I can imagine such weather has turned to snow over the mountains so conditions may have worsened?

Anyhow, best of luck old chap, I'm sure you'll be fine, this route was my very first excursion off road in a 4x4 (Toyota Hilux, virtually stock apart from AT tyres) and I'd do it again tomorrow if I could, so if you're experienced I guess it'll be fairly straight forward.

Cheers,

Benny.

Coming through Spain today - loads more snow than usual at this time of year in the Picos. Should be in the Atlas on Monday so will post a heads up.
Happy trails,
Peter

__________________
Atlas Overland - Specialist adventure tour company providing off-road holidays for 4x4 enthusiasts in Europe and North Africa.
Tours to Morocco, Iceland, Arctic Circle, Portugal, Alps, Pyrenees, Eastern Europe, Corsica, and UK weekend tours.

Had an email today from Brittany Ferries to say our ferry is sailing midnight Friday instead of 8.15 Saturday, to stay in front of a weather front!

Cheers Benny, we live 12 miles south of York should meet up for , we are prepared for all kinds of weather but you have to be careful enjoy your trip Russ

The Cirque de Jaffar is the only place in Morocco where I've encountered such problems, see Bandits on the Cirque de Jaffar.

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Hi Tim, I read about your incident a while ago and I did wonder if it was the same lot. This was a step up from the usual hassle, a couple of shepards came down from the hill and joined in, I was out of the vehicle at this point and one of them was constantly trying to get behind me, he had a pick axe slung over his shoulder and I couldn't help thinking he was going to use it on me.

One of the guys was crazed, to describe him as 'feral' would be a compliment, he hung on to the vehicle for ages. It's a lonely place to get involved with such behaviour that's for sure.

Most adult Moroccans are decent people but teenagers and young men can be a pain in the ass.

Feral sounds right. My incident was 8km to the west, so could easily be the same group. I find behaviour and scams in Morocco tends to be very localised. One bad egg infects the whole village. Kick one and they all limp.

I did think of going back with some very big mates who would hang back a km or so and then bring them in with walky talkies (and tyre irons). Started daydreaming about immobilising them with cable ties as handcuffs, dropping their pants and spraying their nether regions with chilli spray. Then take lots of incriminating photos, nick their ID cards, and leave them tied up for the police.

<revenge daydream over>

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Benny doable in motorcycle ?
Im coming from imilchil and thinking on going trough the gorges or as Tim call them the jaws .
Lots of water ?
If not I will continue by the main road to Ait Omghar -> midelt .

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn't go through the jaws so can't comment, we crossed some big muddy sections which may give you trouble on a motorcycle, especially if you are fully loaded on a large machine. I have an XT1200 and definitely wouldn't have made it through on that! Safe travels.

Thanks benny.
The biggest bike will be Ktm990 all others we will be smaller, gs800 and Ktm690 .
Did you take pics that you can share ?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi, I haven't got any pics I can share unfortunately, I have loads of GoPro footage but I'm still on the road at the moment so can't edit it etc. If you are in a group then I'd give it a go! I thought you might be solo so I was a bit hesitant to recommend taking the route but you will be able to help each other through any difficult sections. Have fun and good luck!