Morroco in November
 

Yes I know the days will be short, but the day time temp's will still be nice.

So three to four weeks in Morocco on my own bike a Honda CB500X

I'll get a green card on arrival, so I will need four weeks of travel insurance in case of a problem. Any recommendations for this.

Plus I picked this up somewhere

Cueta - Chefchaouen - Fez - Erfoud - Todra Gorge - Boumaine du Dades - Ouazazate - Marrakech - Tizi n'Test Pass - Taroudant - Agadir - Essaouira - Rabat - Tangier - Cueta

I will travel with a sleeping bag, mattress and tent, but would prefer to stay in cheap places with a room and bed.

Any advice will be welcome, I was planning to ride to India but my Iranian visa was rejected, and now I have other plans for later in the year and early new year.
I can speak perfect French and English and a few local words also which is handy.

Sounds like you are all set. Beware that many of the road numbers changed in 2018 and Google has yet to pull its corporate finger out and update its Maps product. Apple Maps and OpenStreetMap are up to date.

I always recommend getting off the RN (national) routes and instead travel on RR (regional) and RP (provincial) routes instead where possible.

This is a route plan starting in Fez and heading south through the Middle Atlas that incorporates lakes, karst scenery, 'little Switzerland', volcanos, wild monkeys, cedar forest and a massive river formation, finishing at Khenifra.

The altitude varies between the 400m of Fez reaching 1750m at Ifrane and ending at 1000m in Khenifra. Despite being a route through the mountains the Middle Atlas is very much a plateau highland with no steep ascents and few dropoffs. The route map is at https://tinyurl.com/fez-khenifra

From Khenifra travel east towards Midelt and then on to Erfoud. Alternatively head south for Imilchil and Agoudal where I have stayed several times at Auberge Ibrahim. All these routes are sealed and easy riding on quiet roads.

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Leave Fez on the RN4, there are some cave houses that you *could* visit in Bhalil but they are not easy to find as most have house-like outbuilds at the front which makes them look like ordinary houses. If you are a fan of Itchy Boots you will see what they are like in this video.



Sefrou is the cherry capital of Morocco and has a medina with crenulated walls, good place for your first coffee stop. As you climb slightly from Sefrou towards Annoceur you might spot huge kilns on the right of the road which is where the local limestone is 'cooked' with the local cedar wood to make quicklime that it used for building cement. Quicklime was at one time used for theatre stage lighting, hence 'in the limelight' expression.

Past Annoceur take a right onto the RP5106 through an area of orchards with nets over the trees against the frost. Take the right fork at the next two junctions heading for Dayet Aoua (dayat is a seasonal lake, which might be full or empty). Pass by the left side of the lake, then when you reach the main RN8 road turn left for Ifrane (pronounced ee'fran), crossing a bleak karst limestone plateau.

You pass the beautiful university of Al Akhawayn as you enter Ifrane, lessons here are given in English and there are many foreign students as well as the children of affluent Moroccans.



Ifrane was built in the 1920s during the French protectorate very much in the model of the British hill stations of India, to give families somewhere to retreat to in the melting pot of summer. Ifrane can get heavy snow in the winter and the houses have steep roofs in the style of the French Vosges mountains which is why Ifrane gets referred to as 'little Switzerland'—but should really be called 'little France'!

I've then shown a little detour to the right to Ain Vittel (ain is spring, Vittel is one of the mineral waters of Morocco). On this detour you descend through a water meadow which is a popular picnic spot for locals, then end up at a (normally) impressive little waterfall.

Regaining the road you will pass the lion of Ifrane on the right (carved from a limestone outcrop in the early 1930s), carry straight on with what is now the RR707, you might then get a glimpse the King's palaces through the trees to the left. Fork right at the next junction onto the RP7231, driving through the cedar trees. After about 5km take a small road to the left signposted Michlifen and you will start to descend into the caldera of an extinct volcano which is used as a ski resort in winter months. You ascend via a separate road passing the King's ski lodge on the way.

As you approach the main RN13 you will probably make out other ski runs on the side of Jebel Hebri to your left, this is another volcano. Turn right (north) onto the main road and after about 4km you will reach a crossroads with souvenir huts where you are more or less guaranteed to see the macaca sylvanus monkeys (aka Barbary apes).



More to see and do around Azrou: In praise of Azrou and the Middle Atlas mountains

From the 'monkey crossroads' take the P7217 opposite the sales huts, this is a lovely quiet and relaxing drive through the cedar forest. It's very much a volcanic zone and you will see many volcanic vents that have plugged and filled with water (aguelmam).

When you reach the junction with the P7311 you could turn right/north for another coffee in Ain Leuh. Ain means spring, leuh is wood, and the 'spring of wood' name refers to the huge quantity of high quality cedar in the area. Otherwise turn left/south and after a while you will reach source of the Oum er Rbia (mother of springtime) river. Most of Morocco's rivers rise in the Middle Atlas which is known as the 'Tower of Water' and the Oum er Rbia is Morocco's longest river.

You need to park and walk gently uphill for about ten minutes until you see the river emerging, fully formed, from the rocks. There will undoubtely be a chance for more refreshments here, but probably steeper prices.



Regaining the P7311 route continue south with an optional detour to Aguelmame Azigza that in the summer months is a popular wild camping area for the locals and visitors alike. This video starts at Azigza, then shows the drive to Oum er Rbia.



Continue south to the junction with the P7306 where you turn right/west. You are still in the beautiful cedar forest but as you descend towards Khenifra the cedars give way to the evergreen holm oaks that are found at lower altitudes. I have waypointed the Atlas Zayane hotel which is an adequate but rather modern soul-less place, so if anyone finds somewhere nicer to stay I'd love to know.

Zayane is the name of one of the Amzigh tribes (the King's mother is Zayane). In 1914 the Zayane confederation won a large battle at Hebri, south of the town, against the French who lost 600 troops, more info at Wikipedia Zaian War

Thanks Tim, I PM'd you a few days back on UK GS ER, but guessed I would catch you here. much appreciated.

November weather can be a lottery, last year most of November was low 30’s, I’ve never had really bad weather in November.

Lac afenourir near Azrou has completely dried out since May, there’s also a big new reserve for wildlife between the main road and the lake. but there’s so many good little roads and tracks there’s always something to see

Ha... just seen your message on UKGSer.

Happy to help with any other advice. Mainly, get off the main roads and find the real Morocco. With good French you will have no problems.

Thanks
 

Thanks Tim for sharing all this experience.
I hope that I can use it i the future.
Even I can't go to Marocco now...it is on my wish list.
Then this will be very valuable
:thumbup1:

Thanks very much:thumbup1:

Hi Rowsi:

Tim has given you great advice in his lengthy post above, there's not much any of us can add to that.

Based on what you wrote in your first post (language skills, you understand the vehicle insurance requirement, etc.) it sounds like you will have no problems at all. Lodging in smaller villages is usually quite inexpensive so you should have no problem sleeping "indoors" if you don't want to pitch your tent.

You wrote "I will need four weeks of travel insurance in case of a problem." I'm guessing that you mean personal health & accident insurance. I think the easiest way to get that cover would be to buy it from a provider in your country of residence or your country of citizenship.

FYI, there are ATMs all over Morocco that accept bank cards (debit cards) associated with the Maestro or Cirrus ATM networks. So no need to travel with a lot of cash, you can always find an ATM nearby and suck some local cash out of it. Typically the ATMs charge a flat fee (maybe €2 or similar) for each transaction, so make just a few larger withdrawals, rather than multiple small withdrawals.

Have a great trip!

Michael

Thanks Pan, noted.

A little very gentle offroad experience.

Have a look at this map and you will see some round things. These are huge deep volcanic vents that litter the landscape south of Azrou. I am very much into plate tectonics, volcanos and earthquakes, so these fascinate me.

If you would like a little exploration, when you reach Jebel Hebri volcano, turn left onto the RN13 instead of right, then take a track on the right about 800-1000m further on. These vents are about 1.5km down the track.

In Itchy Boot's drone video below you can see an aerial view of Jebel Hebri on the right of the screen at 5:22. And then at 6:30 you see the track I mention above and also the volcanic vents.



More on the volcanic landscapes of the Middle Atlas. 'Ha' on the map is Jebel Hebri and the triangles are the vents.

ATMs
 

Attijarawafa Bank ATM limit is now 8000 MAD per day.

OK so a plan is formulating, boat to France in my Van mid October with Motorbike and Bicycle inside. Go to Belgium, then South of France for a weeks cycling, drive then to a brother in law who lives near Toulouse, leave van there and ride down to south of Spain where I will get the boat to Morocco, I will then stay 21 to 28 days riding around taking my time. Then boat back a few days back to Van and come home. I guess in total two months.

Moroccan road numbers
 

To quote the great Mark Harf: 'Ymmv' but...
Even before the 2018 change, in my experience road numbers had little value on the ground and not much more in the planning stage. Most travellers are looking for a destination name not a road number, and unlike UK and Europe, in southern Morocco road numbers rarely appear on road signs, be they at junctions or showing distances. Older mileposts do show, but many are barely legible now. The only place you'll find road numbers is on maps: old and new and online.
Knowing – or wondering if – you're riding the R504 now called the RN4 will be near impossible to ascertain from roadsigns and of little value compared to a sign saying 'Foum Zguid 87 [km]', for example. Or whether the road is asphalt or gravel – best done by scanning ESRI (Apple, Bing) aerial imagery.

In most cases the 2018 shake up only changed the prefix, so the 'N10' became the 'RN10' etc, but elsewhere if there was a new number, I am fairly certain no one has gone around Morocco updating mileposts and occasional road signs. Certainly not in the south.

Nevertheless, worth mentioning that since the 2019 edition, the popular RK-H map (2023 edition, imo barely changed) shows both old and new numbers which is probably the best way to do it. It would be good if Google did something similar, but it doesn't help that maroute, the state's official road incident/closure website/app uses Google mapping.

Uh, I think there is a flaw in your plan, and the flaw is that if you leave the van in Toulouse at the beginning of November, then spend a month or so riding down to Morocco & riding around Morocco, that then takes you into mid December for the beginning of your ride north back to Toulouse.

It might be awfully friggin' cold in Spain then. There is some pretty high ground between getting off the ferry from Morocco and arriving in Toulouse, and you might encounter some winter weather at higher elevations.

What you might want to consider instead is riding south from Toulouse to Morocco at the start of your trip, but instead of taking the short ferry from Tanger Med to Algeciras when you return, take the ferry that runs from Tanger Med to Barcelona. That way, you only have a 400 km ride to get back to Toulouse, instead of a 1,400 km ride, and you avoid the need to cross mountain ranges & high plateaus on the return trip.

The Tanger Med to Barcelona ferry is operated by GNV, an Italian outfit, and it runs twice a week (Mondays & Wednesdays). I've taken that ferry before, it's not exactly what I would call a "luxury trip" - the route caters mostly to Moroccan families resident in Europe who are visiting friends & family back home.

I do suggest you book a private cabin so you can enjoy some peace & quiet and get a decent sleep during the passage. Trust me on this, the boat is noisy & full of kids. A private cabin is not cheap, but it is absolutely worth the price.

NB I have also ridden south from Madrid to Algeciras in mid-March - roughly the same climatic conditions as mid-December - and froze my nuts off during the first two-thirds of the trip, despite riding a fully faired Honda PanEuropean with heated grips, a heated seat, and wearing a heated vest.

Michael

Point taken, I will see. Thanks, I am fairly used to riding in Northern Europe all year round. But yes a point well made.