CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Chefchaouene it runs 334 km to Chefchaouene; allow about 7 h 07 of riding. It goes by way of Medina of Tétouan, Gorham's Cave Complex, back through Gorham's Cave Complex and back through Medina of Tétouan. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Morocco into Gibraltar - carry ID and check the toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Chefchaouen sits at the foot of two peaks in the Rif Mountains, in northern Morocco, and it is famous for being blue. Nobody is quite sure why the old town was painted in shades of sky and indigo. Some say it started with Jewish refugees in the 1930s, others that the colour keeps mosquitoes away or cools the houses, and local explanations vary. What is certain is that the effect is extraordinary, with stairs, doorways and walls washed in blue and fresh paint going on every spring. The town was founded in 1471 as a small fortress by Moulay Ali Ben Rachid, to guard against Portuguese raids from the coast, and it later received Muslim and Jewish refugees from Andalusia, whose influence shows in the architecture.
Read the complete Chefchaouen write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Chefchaouen is where the day begins. Next is Medina of Tétouan.
Tétouan wears its Andalusian heritage in whitewash. After the Christians conquered Granada in 1492, thousands of Muslim and Jewish refugees crossed the strait to North Africa, and a good number settled in this city beneath the Rif mountains, which had been rebuilt a few years earlier by a former Granadan commander, Sidi Ali al-Mandri. They brought music, cooking and architecture, and the medina they created is a maze of narrow lanes, tiled fountains, courtyards and carved wooden doors that still carries the memory of Spain. UNESCO inscribed it in 1997, and it is among the best preserved of Morocco's old cities, and one of the least touristed.
Read the complete Medina of Tétouan write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Medina of Tétouan comes up 36 km in.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Medina of Tétouan write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
72 km in you reach Medina of Tétouan. Next is Gorham's Cave Complex.
Gorham's Cave is a hollow in the east face of the Rock of Gibraltar, opening toward the sea on the far side from the town, and it is one of the last known refuges of the Neanderthals. They lived in these caves for many thousands of years, hunting ibex and rabbit and gathering shellfish on the shore, and excavations have found hearths, tools, and even bird bones that show cut marks, along with a cross-hatched engraving in the rock that some researchers think was made deliberately. Dates suggest Neanderthals may have survived here later than anywhere else in Europe, perhaps until around 40,000 years ago or later, though the exact timing is debated. The cave complex is protected as a UNESCO site, and the cave itself is closed to casual visitors.
Read the complete Gorham's Cave Complex write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Gorham's Cave Complex, about halfway.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gorham's Cave Complex write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Gorham's Cave Complex sits at 144 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gorham's Cave Complex.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gorham's Cave Complex write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Gorham's Cave Complex comes up 180 km in. Next is back through Medina of Tétouan.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Medina of Tétouan write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
216 km in you reach back through Medina of Tétouan.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Medina of Tétouan write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Medina of Tétouan, late in the day. Next is Chefchaouen.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chefchaouen write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 334 km.
Chefchaouen → Medina of Tétouan is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Medina of Tétouan → Gorham's Cave Complex is 83 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Gorham's Cave Complex → back through Medina of Tétouan is 83 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Medina of Tétouan → Chefchaouen is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.