Why this ride
A forest corridor with low-density roads and continuous natural scenery. It links naturally to Cedar forests of the Middle Atlas.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ifrane Azrou and Khenifra
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 99 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 45
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
Editorial context
Coordinates are curated start-via-end route seeds. They are not a surveyed centreline or navigation geometry. Run road snapping, topology checks, access checks and a live-status review before publication.
Access context
Do not auto-publish. Snap to a routable road network, verify current closures, legal motorcycle access, surface, permits, border controls and local safety information.
Seasonal context
Mar-May; Sep-Nov
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ifrane
Ifrane looks wrong in the best possible way, like a Swiss resort that has been teleported to the Middle Atlas. The French built it in the 1930s as a mountain station for their officials, and the pitched roofs, red tiles, neat lawns and tidy villas still give it an Alpine flavour, quite unlike anywhere else in Morocco. At around 1,650 metres the air is cool even in summer, and in winter the town is regularly under snow, which is why Moroccans sometimes call it the Switzerland of Africa. Ifrane also claims a record cold temperature for the continent, set in the middle of the last century.
Read the complete Ifrane write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ifrane sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Azrou.
2. Azrou
The name Azrou means rock in the Berber language, and the town takes it from a large outcrop that rises above the centre. It lies at about 1,250 metres in the Middle Atlas, a market town where the roads from Fez, Meknes and Midelt converge, and it has an easy-going character, with a bustling souk, craft shops, and a scatter of cafés on the main street. The people are mostly Amazigh, and Azrou is the place in the region where you hear the language spoken everywhere.
Read the complete Azrou write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Azrou comes up 42 km in. Next is Khenifra.
3. Khénifra
Khénifra has the look of a working town that has seen a few battles, which it has. It lies on the Oum Er-Rbia river, Morocco's second-longest, at the south-western edge of the Middle Atlas, and its old quarter of red-brown buildings still bears the stamp of the Zayane Berbers, who held the area. Their leader, Moha ou Hammou Zayani, is remembered for resisting French forces in the early twentieth century and for the victory at El Herri in 1914, where his fighters inflicted a heavy defeat on a French column. His ruined kasbah stands by the river, and a statue in town commemorates him.
Read the complete Khenifra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
99 km in you reach Khenifra.