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.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
62 km from Ouarzazat to Ouarzazat, about 1 h 24 of riding. It goes by way of Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou and back through Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,800 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 33 km this is Tizi n'Tichka Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Ouarzazate is a town built where the High Atlas gives way to the desert, and the light there is so strong and clear that the film industry came to rely on it. It sits on a high plateau at the southern foot of the mountains, with the pale red earth and flat-topped hills of southern Morocco spreading out in front, and it has been the location for films such as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and numerous others. Huge studio complexes on the edge of town offer visits, with sets of ancient Egypt and Tibet standing in the dust, but the real attraction lies in the kasbahs.
Read the complete Ouarzazate write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Ouarzazate is where the day begins. Next is Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou.
Ait Ben Haddou rises from a hillside above the Ounila river like a sandcastle built by a giant, with towers and walls the colour of toasted bread. It is a ksar, a fortified village of rammed earth, and it stood on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech, where traders carried salt, gold and slaves over the Atlas. UNESCO listed it in 1987 as an outstanding example of southern Moroccan earthen architecture.
Read the complete Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou comes up 17 km in.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
34 km in you reach Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou. Next is back through Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, late in the day. Next is Ouarzazate.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ouarzazate write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Ouarzazate. That is the ride.
Ouarzazate → Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou → Ouarzazate is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.