Pass · 0.4 km off the route
Tizi Oukhemmar
Gebirgspass in Marokko.
Fes to the Sahara at Merzouga
From Fes up into the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas at Ifrane and Azrou, over the high plateau to Midelt, down through the Ziz gorges to Errachidia and the palms of the Tafilalt, to the dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga.
- Distance
- 301 miles (485 km)
- Type
- Point to point
- Where
- Middle Atlas and Tafilalt
At 150 to 300 miles a day, this is 2 or 3 days of riding. Set your own daily distance and add rest days.
Plotted by us, not yet ridden
Book this tripCrossing ferries and the tunnelBeds from Fes, and each nightCover insurance and breakdownSee it all
Click a dot for details. White dots are the stops, each with a bed search. Yellow dots are places to see.
Main roads
RN6RN4RP5013RN8RR707RN13RR704RN10RN17RP7111RR702
From the map
- Longest gap between fuel
- 27 miles
- Fuel stations near the line
- 101
- Curvature
- 75 ° a mile
- Campsites within 2 km
- 33
- The longest stretch with no fuel station within 1 km of the line runs from mile 270 to mile 297. Check it against your range with the fuel range calculator.
- The twistiest 20 miles run from mile 49 to mile 69, at 159 degrees of turning a mile.
- Passes: Pass Jbel Habri (1,965 m, mile 70), Col du Zad (2,178 m, mile 103), Col Tizi N'talghaumt (1,907 m, mile 155).
- Countries: Morocco.
- 8 motorcycle shops are within 3 km of the line.
Measured on the route line from OpenStreetMap data, which can be missing or out of date. Curvature is degrees of turning a mile, measured every 100 metres. On our routes they run from 6 on the E19 to 701 on the SP638.
Before you go
- The Middle Atlas can see snow in winter, and Ifrane is a ski town.
- Sand drifts onto the road near Merzouga. Ride the last stretch slowly.
- Read the FCDO travel advice and our riding in Morocco page before you go.
On the way
- Fes
- Ifrane
- Azrou
- Midelt
- Errachidia
- Erfoud
- Merzouga
Split it into days
Pick the miles you like to ride in a day. Each day ends at the named place on the route nearest that distance, and you get a GPX file for each day.
This is your pace, not our estimate of how long the riding takes. Day lengths vary because each day ends at a named place.
Ready to ride it?
Plan it with dates in the tour plannerBook this trip
1Getting there
Most riders cross to Calais by Le Shuttle or a Dover ferry, or take a longer ferry nearer the route.
Compare every crossing2Places to stay
- Find a bed in FesWhere the route starts
- Find a bed in MerzougaWhere the route ends
Split the route into days above and each day gets its own bed search for where it ends.
Back to the days3Cover
Check your bike insurance covers riding abroad, get travel insurance that covers motorcycling at your engine size, and breakdown cover that recovers a motorcycle in every country on the route.
What to check before you buy coverThe country on this route
What GOV.UK says riders need for it, checked 05/11/2026. Rules change, so read the official page before you go.
Morocco
- Money
- Moroccan dirham
- Ride on the
- Right
- A 1968 international driving permit as well as your UK licence (the 1949 version is no longer accepted)
- A green card from your insurer, carried with you
- Your registration is recorded when you enter. You must leave on the same bike
- Any alcohol in your system can mean a fine or prison
- GOV.UK travel adviceSafety, road travel and local laws
- Entry requirementsPassport and visa rules
- Riding in MoroccoOur routes, passes and fuel gaps there
On every trip abroad: your licence, insurance that covers riding abroad, the V5C and travel insurance with medical cover. The tour planner turns all of this into a checklist each rider in your group can tick off.
Places to see on the way
Castles, passes, viewpoints and more within easy reach of the line, in the order you reach them. Yellow dots on the map.
Monastery · 1.0 km off the route
Tioumliline
Former monastery in Morocco.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Maxim Massalitin, CC BY 4.0
Pass · On the route
Foum Kheneg
Gebirgspass in Marokko.
Pass · On the route
Col du Zad
Mountain pass in Khénifra Province, Morocco.
Photo: Anja Disseldorp from Netherlands, CC BY 2.0
Pass · On the route
Foum Zabel
Gebirgspass in Marokko.
Pass · 0.4 km off the route
Foum Tarouzit
Gebirgspass in Marokko.
Place details from Wikidata. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each card.