Desert and Atlas Motorcycle Tour

This is the classic Moroccan figure of eight, ridden the long way round. From Marrakesh the tour heads north-east rather than straight for the desert, climbing out of the Haouz plain to the reservoir at Bin El Ouidane and the waterfalls at Ouzoud, so the first riding day is all mountain corners and lake views rather than a slog. Day three continues north through Zaouiat Cheikh and Khenifra into the cedar forests around Azrou, where the air turns cool and pine-scented and the resident Barbary apes make an appearance at the roadside. From there the terrain reverses itself. The run to Errachidia crosses the Middle Atlas plateau and passes through the tunnel cut by the French Foreign Legion, and the landscape empties out into stone, palmeries and the first real desert light. Merzouga is a short 125 km hop, which leaves the afternoon free for the dunes of Erg Chebbi, an optional ride to the abandoned mining village of M'Fis, or simply the pool. The night in a camp among the dunes, and the climb up the sand before breakfast the next morning, are the emotional centre of the trip. The return is the best riding. Merzouga to Boumalne Dades is a long, open day that finishes underneath the cliffs of the Todra valley; the following leg strings together the Dades hairpins and gives the group a choice between the hidden oasis at Fint on dirt or the UNESCO kasbah at Ait Benhaddou by way of Ouarzazate. The final stage is the one riders talk about afterwards: the Ounila valley, then more than a hundred kilometres of resurfaced switchbacks over the Tichka pass at 2,260 m before the descent into Marrakesh and a farewell dinner. The character throughout is fast touring rather than adventure riding: the operator rates the route as 99 per cent tarmac and pitches it at experienced riders comfortable with twisty roads and long days rather than at off-road specialists. Groups are small, a support vehicle carries the luggage once numbers reach five, and nights alternate between four- and five-star hotels and the Sahara camp.

Nine days based out of Marrakesh, seven of them in the saddle, on a loop that trades the High Atlas for the Middle Atlas cedar belt before dropping to the edge of the Sahara. Riding days run roughly 125 to 280 km and are almost entirely sealed, with only a token stretch of optional gravel. The route takes in the lake at Bin El Ouidane and the Ouzoud falls, the forests around Azrou and their Barbary apes, the old Foreign Legion tunnel on the run down to Errachidia, and the dunes at Merzouga, where the night is spent in a desert camp. Homeward legs link the Todra and Dades valleys, the kasbah at Ait Benhaddou and the 2,260 m Tichka pass. Wheels of Morocco run it with a guide on a bike, hotel accommodation, a luggage vehicle once five riders sign on, and a fleet spanning KTM 390 to BMW GS.