More news on MH3 (800GS in September)

We did the MH3 gorge-to-gorge route from West (Tamtattouche) to East (Akedim Msemrir). The beginning and ending of the road are under active construction. Road at these points is still dirt but is flat and wide (Be aware of heavy rains, they can create deep mud). The rest is gravel but easily doable with our bikes.
There is a diversion of the road on the east end as so waypoint at MH3KM003 is outdated. Instead, according to my GPS, waypoint "31.71325° N, 5.80357° W" can be used, but - all in all - the track is visible with the eye.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Does anyone know if MS8 going west off Mhamid is still blocked by the military? The last report I could find on this is more than 2 years old, so was wondering if anyone tried their luck more recently?

Group of 7 traveling in October; would like to get to Tata on this route to soak up this part of the desert. We are riding dirtbikes with larger tanks and some spare petrol in bladders so range is ok.

Anyone attempted this route recently?

Thanks in advance.

I’m not aware of any recent updates. COVID restrictions limited people trying.

The area is a restricted military zone and the only people I know of who got through have had official permission as part of the big off road rallies.

My attempts have met with being turned back at the checkpoint east of KM256 when heading west and also just south of km299 when trying the route heading east. On the eastbound attempt we tried to skirt around the checkpoint but soon got stopped at another one a few km later.

If you get turned back heading west it’s usually south of Tissant. Frustrating that all the checkpoints upto there let you through if you say you are heading to Tata. From the checkpoint I got stopped at heading west I got a military escort to ensure I went back north.

Thank you for the reply. We will navigate the route south of the Erg up until lake Iriki and the bail out north to Foum Zguid.

You can cross Lac Iriki,which is a highlight,and proceed West through the next check to a point on a major Wadi South of Mrimina where you can turn North onto the main road a few km away. You may even be permitted to go a bit further West but you will eventually be turned out North with firm politeness. Best bet is to be flexible keep going until you are stopped somewhere West of Iriki.

Hi Folks,

Back in Morocco after 3 years. Here’s the news so far:

Ferries. Ticket from Carlos as usual but he now takes card and online payments. €250 4x4 plus 1or2 pax.

On board - usual white form for passport stamp & CIN.
COVID. Printed off and completed COVID entry registration form. Was never asked for it nor COVID pass not proof of vax, etc.

On arrival. Usual procedure. Only our four 4x4s on the boat plus a few local so through customs in 15 mins.

Insurance. Still 950MAD or 95€ for 1 month.

Routes. TangerMed to Tetouan. Tetouan south ring road complete and first 20km of N2 towards Chefchaouan now wide and fast. . No more sitting behind grindingly slow trucks.

Road building/improvements. Everywhere! N8 south of Fes up to Imouzzer Kandar is wide and fast until just before the town.
Centre of Ifrane around cafes now pedestrianised - not much parking.
N13 south of Azrou. Widened and resurfaced. Local drivers discover warp speed.
New solar farm and plantations under construction wears for Zaida, so old post towards Aouli mine now extinguished.
Midelt - Imilchil. RP7318 at Ali Ben Izguen. Reservoir now filled so the old bridge/river crossing is now underwater. Fast road over the barrage and W towards Tounfite the only option.
Agoudal - Tilmi. Piste from Agoudal to summit now all wide, fast blacktop. Up to the top in about 25mins. Shame, as that was a lovely piste. Thankfully, from the summit down to Tilmi is still narrow and twisty.
.
Fes. Camping Diamant Vert is OPEN, despite the rumours. Seems to be under new ownership.

Generally, few 4x4/motors so far although most rallies seem to be going ahead.

Zagora tomorrow!

Happy trails,

Peter

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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.

My updates from the last fortnight with cars and then bikes.
Not driven a fourbie in nearly 15 years. They now make diesel autos!

Road-widening works creeping down the N9 to Marrakech, but not so much on the south side to Ozt (I rarely do this full N9 transit).

Roadside fuel bowser in Zerkten in the N9 (20% over normal price) and they're building a station in Telouet.

MS14 Ozt > Tazenacht now sealed.
Looking for off road locations in this area, we blundered westwards down a track which I later realised was about a km after the turn off for Imidar (30.78954, -7.06621; Imidere on Google) but a separate parallel track to the south via no villages.
Nothing special, but we then came across MH9 from the south at a piste crossroads about 1.5km west of MH9 KM28.5 high point. We then turned west onto MH9.
I've not bothered re-doing this short route since I rode it in 2008, but as options lessen in this area it's actually quite fun following the riverbeds in a 4x4; maybe not a full-dress GS12.

MH6
Did loads of scrapping and banging coming down this in the rental Prado TX (5kph for 2 hours), but I feel any deterioration had stabilised or is adequately repaired by passing 4x4 tourists. The tricky tributary crossings towards the bottom have improved, though once over the main oued you have to re-enter it around a wash out. The rest of the valley westwards is fine (in a car). Subsequent recces after I left the 4x4 group revealed loads more in this region south and west of Issil plain.

MH20
The short, steep climb up to the 2200-m Tizi n Oulaoune (30.940222, -8.125111) off-road High Atlas crossing was in unusually good shape; we'll ride up it later this week. I realise that from the pass that is Toubkal mountain visible to the northeast.

MA9
They have finally started asphalting at the west end of the 53-km desert track to Tlite junction. Service tracks round the roadworks about 10-20km in have gotten a little feche-fechey from over-use, so a bit tricky for bikes.

MH23 as good as ever.

Loads more tourists around for what is normally a quiet time of year. Hottest early November I've known - today 30 in Marrakech and will be again in a few days. Cooler south of the Atlas.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Tarmac now extends south from Taouz to Ksar Jdeid. Beginning of this week was the grand opening for work on the next section onward to Ouzina and Ramlia. Won’t be long before it ties up to Tafraoute Sidi Ali and on to the the road into Zagora.

First time I’ve driven the main piste from Ouzina to Sidi Ali in years and god it’s bad now. So many better options in the area.

Ring road through Agadir has been improved with underpasses and there’s a big new Carrefour complete with alcohol, pork sections and a sushi bar.

I’ve spent much of the last 8 weeks south of the Atlas with the Rally Du Maroc and then our Pizzas on the Piste Overlander Meet-up so haven’t checked many old routes.

I have found time for a lot of exploring of the new pistes that have popped up along with some old ones that haven’t been mapped. Found some real gems so despite the speed of the asphalt expansion there is still a lot for the more adventurous!

@Chris did you mean MA6 or MH6? Some friends tried MA6 from the south early October but got beaten back by severe flash floods. When I last did it in 2019 it was almost impassable in a 4x4 and a few days later a Landcruiser rolled on one of the wash outs

Thanks for updates, Mark. I agree, definitely loads of great pistes left south of the Atlas besides over-rated MS6 and despite the asphalt tsumani.

I meant MA6, Jebel Timouka - southbound.
I can't recall anywhere a washout might roll a car; it's just slow going over the 'babyheads', helped with marshalling to limit contact, when needed. The tricky tributary crossing (KM59) had two ways across and is comparatively easy. With the right clearance and guidance, it's still a great piste.
After you cross the main oued (KM59) at the bottom there is a point 30°12'58.02"N 7°22'38.72"W where you now have to steeply drop back down into th riverbed for a bit as the track above is washed away.

I was told MA7 is in good shape too, as are other ways out of the Issil plain

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

It was the washout at KM59 that was bad when I did it last in May 2019. I met a German couple at the Col how had to sleep on the piste overnight because their progress was so slow. Some time after I did the route a 79 series Landcruiser rolled on the washout.

Very good to hear it’s in better condition now, it’s one of my favourites

First time I did it with bikes we were also caught out in the dark before the Col. had to leave a bike up there.
I'd wrongly assumed it would be the same shape as 2 years earlier in a Mazda pickup.
Since then I understood the nature of [locally] abandoned pistes.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

The old Ziz at Ait Herbil junction has closed down. But there is a new, very expensive station in Fam El Hisn.

MW6 no change really. Tarmac still stops at Labourirat. Road south from Assa to Zag has a new surface and is wider. The Sandy Oued was more gravel today.

Checkpoints into Smara have doubled there’s now a DGSN and a Gendarmerie checkpoint a few km apart. Last time I was here in 2019 they didn’t take our details now it’s back to all the info including whether we have hotel reservations for tonight

just a quick one very very busy route ....... ( never seen it mentioned on here )
How many people who travel to maroc go to Inezgane ( south of agadier )
Its ... shall we say a scruffy moroc town with a massive transport hub .
and the most amazing scrap yard selling most things .......... worth a look for 1 day !

Tropic of Cancer to Boujdour and the much reported 4 lane road widening isn’t very apparent. But it is smoother and wider than 2019.

Only police checkpoints were at Dakhla junction and just outside Boujdour where one of the police was asking for , sunglasses, torches etc. but it’s always been a questionable crew at that one.

Huge numbers of tourists in the road. Banger Rally, Classic car rally big group of motorbikes, some overlanders and a dozen or so campervans. Never seen it so busy that far south.

New road from Agoudal to Dades Gorge is being build. On googlemaps its number is R704. Last year ( september 2021), construction ended in the Col du Ouano pass and I think it will be asphalted already.