Atlas Rush & Kasbahs Circuit – 3 Days from Marrakech

This is the short GSLine circuit, and it is arranged so that the three days are all riding rather than one day of riding wrapped in two days of transfer. The loop covers 670 kilometres in total on a mix of paved road and light to intermediate off-road trail, which in practice means the trail sections are there to be enjoyed rather than survived. GSLine grades the tour intermediate and states plainly that it wants experienced riders with a licence held for two years or more. The published sequence of stops runs Marrakech, Demnate, Imnifri, Boumalne Dades, Telouet, the Col de Tichka and back to Marrakech. That takes the group out through the olive country and gorges east of the city, over the mountains to the southern flank of the range where the kasbah architecture starts in earnest, and home over the highest paved pass in the country. Telouet is the interesting piece: the kasbah of the Glaoui family sits on the old caravan road that the Tichka highway made redundant, and the approach to it is one of the reasons this route is worth riding rather than simply driving. The package is close to all-inclusive. Two nights in accommodation the company picks itself, three breakfasts and two dinners, two drinks a day, a helmet, an expert bilingual guide, a support vehicle, airport or hotel transfer and round-the-clock mechanical and medical backup are all in the price. Fuel is not, nor is a final night in Marrakech, alcohol or the photo and video session. A refundable motorcycle deposit of 1,000 euro is held for the duration of the tour. Pricing is by machine rather than by package. The 779 euro rate buys the BMW G 310 GS or the Royal Enfield 450; the GS 750, GS 850 and GS 900 step up in stages, and the R 1250 GS and R 1300 GS sit at the top. Group size runs between four and ten riders, and GSLine publishes fixed departure dates through the autumn and winter alongside a request form for custom dates.

Six hundred and seventy kilometres over three days, run as a loop out of Marrakech and built as a blend of technical mountain roads and light off-road trail. GSLine rates it intermediate and asks for experienced riders holding a licence at least two years old. The published route works east from the city through the Demnate country and the natural bridge at Imnifri, pushes on to Boumalne Dades on the southern side of the High Atlas, and comes back over the Col de Tichka by way of Telouet, whose kasbah sits on the old caravan road the modern pass replaced. Groups run four to ten riders. The headline price covers the smaller bikes, the BMW G 310 GS and the Royal Enfield 450, with the GS 750 through to the R 1300 GS available at published supplements. A support vehicle and a mechanic travel with the group throughout.