Off-Road 4 Day Tour: Mini Mountain & Sahara Desert

Five nights from Ouarzazate across the Atlas into the Sahara, guided, four days of riding on a KTM 450 or in a buggy.

The compact shape is the point. Four riding days is enough to cover mountain trail and open desert without needing a fortnight off, and the operator rates it seven to eight out of ten for difficulty, which is honest rather than flattering.

Ouarzazate is the start, with either a short transfer from the local airport or a four-hour minibus run from Marrakech over the Tizi n’Tichka pass above two thousand metres. The route then runs to N’Kob, on to Ouzina, back via Dades and round to Ouarzazate. Every bike and buggy carries GPS with the day’s route loaded, so riders travel at their own pace rather than in a line: the quick ones go ahead, the rest take their time, and the support truck with the mechanic sweeps the back and follows everywhere except into the dunes. The night at Ouzina is the one the operator singles out, at a hotel set high above the desert with the dunes laid out below it.

The KTM 450 EXC or a buggy depending on the package, third-party insurance, all the fuel, GPS, airport transfers, twin-shared half-board accommodation, picnic or cafe lunches, drinking water carried in the support vehicle and a support truck with a driver and mechanic are all included; flights, medical insurance with repatriation, riding gear and a returnable damage deposit of €700 for the bike or €2,000 for the buggy are not. A full motorcycle licence is required. September to May is the season, since the Sahara outside it is unmanageable. Luggage goes in a single forty-litre soft bag, which is worth knowing when packing.