Desert, Lake & Mountain – One Day Ride from Marrakech

Agafay is not a sand desert. It is a stony, lunar plateau half an hour southwest of Marrakech, and the tracks across it are the reason this one-day tour has forty per cent of its two hundred kilometres off pavement. From there the route reaches Lac Lalla Takerkoust, the reservoir behind the barrage that has supplied the city since the 1930s, then climbs into the foothills through Ouirgane and Asni. Asni sits at the bottom of the road to Imlil and the Toubkal massif, so the day ends in genuine mountain country rather than on the plain. GSLine sells this as the quick option, and its own framing is worth repeating: a fast off-road ride with a chance to eat the tanjia that Marrakech is known for. It is not a beginner's outing, though. The company asks for a licence held at least two years, a medical report and prior experience, and states on the page that this is for experienced riders only. The bike list is the same as on the longer circuits, running from the BMW G 310 GS and Royal Enfield 450 at the 319 euro rate through the GS 750, 850 and 900 to the R 1250 GS and R 1300 GS at the top. A 1,000 euro motorcycle deposit is held and refunded at the end of the day. Included in the rate: the motorcycle, an expert local guide, riding gear in the form of a helmet, 24/7 mechanical and medical support, one airport or hotel transfer, a photo and video shoot and a gift from the company. Fuel and lunch are not included. One practical note the operator makes plainly on the page is that an assistance van is required for every tour and is charged separately according to headcount, so the per-rider cost of the support vehicle falls as the group grows. Anyone booking as a solo rider or a pair should ask about that figure before committing, and the company recommends checking availability rather than assuming a given date will run.

Two hundred kilometres in a day, split roughly sixty per cent road and forty per cent off-road, and arranged so that a rider passing through Marrakech can get a genuine taste of the Atlas foothills without committing a week to it. The published run of stops is Marrakech, the Agafay stone desert, Lac Lalla Takerkoust, Ouirgane and Asni, which is desert, lake and mountain in one loop and gives the tour its name. GSLine rates it intermediate, restricts it to experienced riders with a licence held two years or more, and asks for a medical report before departure. Groups run from one to ten riders, and the bike list is the same as on the multi-day circuits, from the BMW G 310 GS at the headline rate up to the R 1300 GS. Fuel and lunch are the only significant exclusions, and a photo and video shoot is included in the price.