Atlas and gorges motorbike loop

Marrakech · Aït Ben Haddou · Gorges du Dadès · Gorges du Todra · Imilchil · Ouzoud · Ouirgane

Ten days of bends from Marrakech: the Tichka and the Ounila track, the Dades and Todra gorges, the high road to Imilchil, the Middle Atlas lakes, then the Kik plateau and the legendary Tizi n’Test. For riders at ease on mountain roads.

Duration10 days
Distance1,360 km
DifficultyChallenging
VehiclesMotorbike

Start from this trip

Notebook from €890

Les parois des gorges du Todra

Highlights

The Tichka and the Ounila valley
The Tamellalt hairpins in the Dades
The high road Todra – Agoudal – Imilchil
Lake Bin el Ouidane
The Tizi n’Test pass

Day by day

The stages as Agnès drew them. Everything can change: one more night here, a detour there.

Day 1
Getting to know the bikes
Marrakech10 km · 20 min
Collect the bikes from the rental company in Sidi Ghanem: full briefing, adjustments, a check of the papers and insurance. A short ride to get used to Marrakech traffic, then an evening at Jemaa el-Fna.
Day 2
Tichka, Telouet and the Ounila track
Marrakech → Aït Ben Haddou200 km · 4 h 30
Climb to the Tizi n’Tichka on a fine, wide road, then turn off to Telouet. The Ounila valley, long a dirt track, is now paved but narrow, with gravel on the bends and a few fords. Arrive at Aït Ben Haddou for sunset.
Day 3
To the Dades hairpins
Aït Ben Haddou → Gorges du Dadès160 km · 3 h
Through Ouarzazate, then the road of the kasbahs via Skoura and Kelaat M’Gouna. At Boumalne, leave the main road and ride up the Dades gorge to the Tamellalt hairpins, a joy on a bike. There is a trusted mechanic in Ouarzazate if anything needs adjusting.
Day 4
The Todra gorge
Gorges du Dadès → Gorges du Todra90 km · 2 h
A short leg to catch your breath: down the Dades, through Tinghir, then up the Todra gorge, where the cliffs close in to twenty metres apart. In the afternoon, a walk through the gorge or a rest at the lodge.
Day 5
The high road to Imilchil
Gorges du Todra → Imilchil165 km · 3 h 45
Beyond the gorge, the road climbs to Tamtattouchte and crosses the Agoudal plateaus above 2,300 metres. The surface is decent but with some broken sections and strong wind: keep the group tight. You reach Lake Tislit in the late afternoon.
Day 6
From the high lakes to Ouzoud
Imilchil → Ouzoud260 km · 5 h 30
The longest leg: a twisting descent via El Ksiba to the Beni Mellal plain, then a climb back up to Lake Bin el Ouidane and its jagged shores. The last kilometres to Ouzoud are a string of fast curves. Take a proper lunch break.
Day 7
The falls, then Marrakech
Ouzoud → Marrakech160 km · 2 h 45
A morning on foot at the Ouzoud falls, before the heat. An easy ride to Marrakech for a rest evening; use it to have the bikes checked at the rental company before the passes of the last two days.
Day 8
Across the Kik plateau to Ouirgane
Marrakech → Ouirgane120 km · 2 h 45
Out of Marrakech towards Lake Lalla Takerkoust, then Amizmiz and the Kik plateau, a quiet ridge road with the Atlas as a backdrop. Drop down to Asni and the N’Fis valley to Ouirgane, a peaceful base for two nights.
Day 9
There and back over the Tizi n’Test
Ouirgane130 km · 3 h 30
Without luggage, the legendary Tizi n’Test road: the Almohad mosque of Tin Mal, then the climb in hairpins to the pass at 2,092 metres, looking down on the Souss plain. Lunch at the pass, then back the same way, which feels like a new road in the other direction.
Day 10
Back to Marrakech
Ouirgane → Marrakech65 km · 1 h 15
A last ride down the valley via Asni, with the Saturday souk if the day is right. Return the bikes to the rental company in the late morning, then head to the airport or a last night in town.

In practice

Duration: 10 days
Distance: 1,360 km
Longest drive: 260 km
Difficulty: Challenging
Vehicles: Motorbike
Regions: Marrakech and surroundings · High Atlas · Valleys, gorges and oases
Notebook from: €890

Agnès designs the itinerary and your notebook. You book and pay for accommodation and transport yourself, with her trusted addresses.

Price of the design of your itinerary and of your notebook. Accommodation, transport and activities are booked and paid for by you, directly with the providers.