DAY BIKING MOROCCOOurika Valley Day Trip

After breakfast, we drive from Marrakech to the Imlil Valley. We take the road to Asni, which has a weekly market, and then turn right towards Imlil, only 65 km away. Your ride begins in Imlil. Situated in the heart of the Toubkal National Park, Imlil is the principal trailhead village for treks up the highest peaks in North Africa. The village offers good infrastructure for people wanting a pleasant mountain base for a few days, but it is also an excellent place to start and/or finish longer, more linear hikes. Its accessibility from Marrakech (under an hour and a half by road) makes it an excellent choice to get a good feel for how rural Moroccans live their lives, and much of the surrounding area is home to a landscape of snow-capped mountains (in season), verdant valleys and earth-brick villages where life has changed little in centuries.

Once we get to the village of Imlil, we get our bikes and ride towards the pass of Tizi n’Tamatert (2,280 m). The first warm-up is on a good rolling road overlooking the deep valley below, with cultivated terraces contrasting with the arid flanks. We reach the track on the right-hand side and find a succession of superb Berber villages, clinging like beehives to the sides of the mountains, with the majestic, often snow-covered summits of the High Atlas in the background. After a superb descent through many Berber villages to Asni (or to Tahanaout, if you want more riding), we transfer you back to Marrakech, arriving at around 5 or 6 pm.