7 Days Moto Tour from Ouarzazate to Merzouga

Seven days is enough to see the two sides of southern Morocco rather than picking one, and this itinerary does exactly that: the kasbah and gorge country north of Ouarzazate in the first half, and the open desert towards Algeria in the second. It starts gently. Day one is Ouarzazate itself: the film studios, Kasbah Taourirt, and Ait Benhaddou, the fortified clay village on the old caravan road that is on the UNESCO list and has appeared in more films than most actors. Day two turns north through the Skoura palm oases towards Mount M'Goun, the Rose Valley where the damask roses are distilled each spring, the Dades canyon and the Todra gorge, ending in a guesthouse at Tinghir. Day three runs southeast through Alnif, known for its fossils, and Rissani and its traditional market to reach Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes. The desert half begins on day four with the run to Tafraout through Ouzina and M'harech, along the frontier country where Berber villages are far apart and nomad encampments turn up unannounced. Day five heads for Zagora through the Valley of the Dinosaurs and the copper mines, dropping into the Draa valley and its enormous palm groves. Day six follows the Draa river back through the Anti-Atlas, stopping at the oasis fort near Agdez, and finishes in a riad in Ouarzazate. Day seven is breakfast and the transfer out. Included: the KTM 450, six nights of accommodation ranging from guesthouses to a superior riad, an experienced guide, all meals, fuel, a support vehicle with a mechanic, motorcycle insurance and bottled water. Excluded: personal travel insurance, flights, drinks and private expenses. Medical insurance with repatriation cover is mandatory, as is a valid motorcycle licence, and riders bring their own gear and hydration system. The operator rates the tour as suitable for intermediate to advanced riders and lists the terrain plainly: paved road, gravel, sand and some off-road. Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, are the recommended seasons.

A week on KTM 450 enduros looping out of Ouarzazate, and the operator's most rounded itinerary: it opens with the film studios, Kasbah Taourirt and the UNESCO-listed ksar at Ait Benhaddou before any serious riding begins. From there the route works through the Skoura oases, Mount M'Goun, the Rose Valley, the Dades canyon and the Todra gorge, then out to Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes, into the deep desert at Ouzina and M'harech near the Algerian frontier, past dinosaur fossils and copper mines to Zagora, and back up the Draa valley through the Anti-Atlas to close the loop. The operator rates it for intermediate to advanced riders and lists the surfaces plainly as paved road, gravel, sand and off-road. Minimum two riders, 18 and over. Six nights of accommodation, all meals, fuel, insurance, a guide, a support vehicle and a mechanic are included in the price.