Morocco: Highlights of the Medinas, Mountains and Dunes

Fourteen nights through Morocco from Malaga on a fully paved route, ridden self-guided with the route and the bookings arranged. Bikes are rented, or riders can bring their own.

Malaga starts it with a four-star hotel and bike collection, then the crossing and the run south. The Sahara is the first set piece: a night camped in the dunes under the stars, a camel ride, food round a fire with Bedouin hosts, and a rest day to walk the dunes or do nothing at all, which after several long days is a defensible choice.

The Todra Gorge follows, a fault line split through the High Atlas with walls three hundred metres high and a road along the bottom barely wider than the river beside it. Jebel Sahro and Ouarzazate come next, then the Valley du Dades with its snaking passes, which are the best riding on the itinerary.

The Tizi n’Tichka carries the route over the High Atlas to Marrakesh and a day off for the medina and a traditional hammam. The coast road then runs north to Rabat, the administrative capital, with the Mohammed V mausoleum, and on along the Atlantic to Tangier for a final Moroccan night before the fast ferry back to Spain and the short ride to Malaga. The price is quoted per rider. A paved route means any bike will do, and self-guided means the pace is the rider’s own, which on a fortnight this varied is worth something. Starting and finishing in Spain also keeps the flights simple and gives the trip two easy days at each end rather than an abrupt arrival in Africa.