Currently having a post-festivities planning session and have cracked out Chris's Morocco Overland book and the new 2023 RKH map of Morocco...

I'm planning a trip in March and was hoping to run my proposed route by some of the more experienced members of the group. I've been to Marrakesh for a long weekend before, but this will be my first trip into Morocco with my own transport. I plan on taking my RE Himalayan, which i've slowly been kitting out for overland travel.

Currently the plan is

• Tangier - Essouira - Marrakesh (4 or 5 days)
• Marrakesh - Tizi n Test - MH7 - MS9 - Ourzazate (3 days)
• Ourzazate - Tinghir via Dades Gorge - MH4 - Nekob - Erg Chebbi (3 days)
• Erg Chebbi - MH13 + MH11 + MH2 - Khenifra (2 days)
• Khenifra - Fes - Chefchaouen - Tanger (3 days)

I've tried to pick out a good selection of routes from the book, but hopefully keep the days fairly manageable and being open to taking diversions around if routes are less inviting than I was hoping. My question is, is there anything in there that screams out "Oh you simply must go see ABC" or "Oh no, you want to avoid XYZ"?

Also, does anyone have any tips for parking a motorbike in Marrakech? I'm meeting up with my parents for a few days who are staying in the Medina. I don't know if using one of the compound car parks around the Medina would be better, or if parking a bit further out in Gueliz and walking in is a better option?

Thanks in advance,
Rory

Looks like a good start. Is 4-5 days from Tanger to Marrakech travelling time or including sight seeing? If its travelling cut it down and give yourself more time in the south. Tanger to Essaouira is doable in a day or day and a half if you slow down a bit. Take the old coast road from El Jadida, its a bit beaten up in places but mostly a great route except the industrial bit

In Gueliz you still pay to park on the pavements unless you're lodgings have options (rare in Marrakech, I find).

After Test pass loads more fun to turn left off the N10 at Sidi Ouaziz and follow that road over the top to Igli then down to the dam and left for MH7 up to Askaoun.

MH7 east of Askaoun may be a bit gnarly/abandoned on the high points.
Hope to drive it in Feb.

We stumbled midway onto MS9 the other month. Fun back route but pretty thin at times, may help to tracklog it off a sat map. Middle bit is even less used now.

For the tunnel route, I'd just nip up the 11km from the plain to a quick look, not do the whole loop which I imagine is even rougher now.

As Warden suggests, on a moto time spent in the south is never wasted.

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Morocco Overland 4 pre-order for Xmas • Trans Morocco Trail

Thanks for the tips. I had allocated some sightseeing on the way down the west coast, but might move a day or two from there into exploring the south. And will definitely check out the route you mentioned Chris from Sidi Ouaziz via Igli, just been checking out your MH20/MH21 pages on the website. My challenge is trying to balance making the most of the trip and exploring lots of fun routes with not completely overcommitting myself. I'd definitely be interested to hear what you find on the east side of MH7 if you manage to get out there in Feb.

Yes, I was thinking more of using MH13/MH11 as a more interesting way to go from Goulmima to join the MH2 at Ait Hani rather than doing the full tunnel loop.

I had been wondering whether Gueliz might have better options for secure parking than around the Medina, but if it's all of a muchness then being closer seems the better option and this place seems to get alright reviews - https://goo.gl/maps/ZNmGDxhL6AF8qyMPA

Rory

Bit of an update, aiming to be in Morocco from around the 6th to the 21st of March doing an anti-clockwise loop of the country. (Road closures not withstanding)

If anyone spots me, do say hi or message me if you fancy meeting up en route. I'm on a white Himalayan with a flourcescent orange helmet

I'll be crossing into Morocco on the 6th, blue landcruiser, might see you on route somewhere

I realise it's been a while since the trip, but I thought i'd add a short write-up of my experience incase it's of any use to anyone reading this in the future.

Note: All piste conditions mentioned were in March 2023, so not necessarily relevant after the earthquake.

- I rode the whole way from the UK to Morocco on the bike (RE Himalayan). I think I liked the idea of doing the whole thing purely on the bike, but next time i'd just take the ferry to Spain. Especially in March when France isn't much warmer than the UK.

- Riding down the west of the country via Rabat and Casablanca wasn't necessarily a bad choice, but having done the touristy bits I wouldn't do the ride again. The city traffic was as chaotic as you imagine, and finding places to stay with secure parking was more tricky. Essouira was a nice final destination on this leg though and much more my pace of life. Next I headed inland to Marrakesh and met up with some friends for a few days. After my parking worries, the Parking La Koutoubia (between the cemetery and the park) was the perfect spot to leave the bike.

- From Marrakesh I headed over the Tizi n Test to Aoulouz, before heading over the MH7 to Anezal. This was a brilliant first bit of Moroccan piste riding, and not having found the 'crux' in the gorge that Chris mentions in his book, I was loving life. Right up until I took a wrong turn towards the end of the route just before it joins the tarmac again (for anyone interested, the wrong turn was at 30°48'10"N 7°33'32"W, Google still shows the "main" road going down what becomes a goat-track, but Garmin seems truer to reality). This led me down a track into a river bed where I met a local shepherd who assured me the road was 'just over there' and not very far. Indeed checking the map it was around 1km and "all" I had to do was get the bike up the slope to the track on the other bank. Around 6 hours later and involving multiple times digging my rear wheel out where it tried to slip downhill off the goat track, picking my bike up far too many times, and walking ahead to reinforce the goat-track with rocks lest the soft earth giveway again, I finally made it to the tarmac. To his credit the shepherd did come and help carry my now-removed saddle bags as he made is way off the hill that evening, and I think made a joke about my slow progress!

- Having destroyed my body the day before, I re-evaluated the rest of my piste-based plans and headed to Ouarzazate on the smooth new tarmac of the MS14. About this time I realised quite how many miles I'd done getting down to Morocco and needed to do an oil change and valve check at some point, so headed back to Marrakesh on the Tizi n Tichka.

- Service complete, I didn't want to cover the same ground twice so headed further North and crossed the Atlas for the 3rd time on the MH12 bringing me back to Ouarzazate. This was a great ride meandering up through the mountains and villages. It was being sporadically surfaced with tarmac when I was there, but the logic of where did/didn't warrant it seemed very random.

- From Ouarzazate I headed to Nekob in order to cross over on MH4. Despite the now tarmac surface, it was a great ride. At Tinghir I headed up the Todra a ways for a look, turning around at the dam. Once back in Tinghir I rode west and up the Dades gorge on MH1. While staying in Agoudim I met two Moroccan bikers from Meknes who gave me a tip on a good road to hit on my way north again (P7306), a great road that at times could have been UK forestry track, and others alpine pasture.

- I concluded with a bit of sightseeing in Meknes and Chefchaouen before heading back to the port. While not quite the trip I had planned, the plan was always a rough idea and it was still a great trip. The only question left is when to go back...

Thanks for the report.
That crux is no more - a fine bit of piste widening.
I nearly made the same mistake as you in October.
Turned right at 30.79033, -7.5915 - the old way by the book – but very soon it did not feel right. This way, as you now know, is abandoned.
Left downhill at waypoint leads round the back of Amassine and the road to Anezal.

New edition long overdue - out in December.

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Morocco Overland 4 pre-order for Xmas • Trans Morocco Trail

I know exactly the point you're talking about. I actually went left initially before checking and deciding that despite looking like the less travelled route, going right was the "correct" route. I didn't want to cut the route short and miss out on any nice riding on the last section. Definitely learnt a good lesson that day on making judgments about when to turn back.

I'd be interested to know what the state of the track was if i'd gone left at my "wrong turn" point and whether it was any better than the loose goat track I found myself on.

Ooh, exciting, looking forward to the new edition

Left at your wrong turn would be the book way, bringing you to the road at 30.81366, -7.55118 in about 2km.
The way you went may have been the original way that preceded that, a very long time ago. Hence still on maps. A lot of old misleading crap remains on maps for ages I am finding (and in old guidebooks too ;-).

Up to where you went wrong, 'J5' (new name) is a great piste.

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Morocco Overland 4 pre-order for Xmas • Trans Morocco Trail

Yeah up until the river bed where the track ran out it had been a great ride.