Rekkam Plateau (4x4)
 

Worth a visit ???

Did a route from Figuig up to Oujda in 2012 it was interesting but I'm not in a rush to go back. Highlights were the old French buit railway and an old foreign legion fort.

The road along the med coast is pretty tedious

It's not as scenically impressive as places further east but I find it strangely compelling. Cold, windy and bleak, there are lots of little back tracks to explore if you look closely and you can be sure you won't get run over by a flotilla of pumped-up fourbies.

All you have to do is air down your expectations and avoid the fast transits. Looking forward to going back.

See Chris Scott's book. Not done them for a while.
There's a good long piste heading east from Debdou. Follow the main road from town to the top of the hill and take the first piste on your right just past the radio mast. It's marked fairly accurately on the OSM maps.
The piste west of Figuig to Mengoub station is good too.

Happy trails,

Peter

As you might expect from the name (plateau) it's fairly flat without much in the way of outstanding geological features. It's an area that was used in probably every Dakar rally in the later African years. I've done several traverses using a variety of routes. One of the easiest areas is south west of Ain Beni Mathar where there's a couple of Foreign Legion forts.

Thanks very much for your replies chaps.

We are looking to do something different this year so a few days in the 'empty quarter' could be good,it would be a nice change to get away from the 4x4 circus elsewhere.
But I`m just as guilty as the rest in our pursuit for adventure !