Motorcycle travel Morocco: following in the footsteps of the Paris-Dakar Rally

After landing in Marrakesh, you will be picked up at the airport and receive your motorcycles. You can spend the rest of the day exploring the streets of Marrakesh, packing your motorcycles, and preparing for the upcoming tour.

We meet the participants of the Legendary Paris 2 Dakar in Asni at the foot of Jbel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa. Together we continue to the pass height of Tizi n'Test. Even though the kilometers are not too many, it takes almost a day to reach Taroudant on the other side. On the single-lane road, you can encounter everything from donkeys to 40-ton trucks.

We go through a beautiful valley full of almond trees towards Tafraoute. The road winds continuously along the valley wall and makes the motorcyclist's heart beat faster. The first dromedaries will be seen, and slowly the desert begins. Upon arrival in Tafraoute, we can stock up on supplies for the next days and admire the gigantic monoliths that look as if they were created by human hands.

The first major off-road stage lies ahead of us. Through the western foothills of the great Sahara, we will drive for two days towards the desert city of Smara. On the way is the disputed border between Morocco and the former colony of 'Spanish Sahara,' where there are only limited petrol possibilities with exclusively leaded gasoline. You can still sense that in the mentality of the locals and the language. While French is very widespread in Morocco, you suddenly get by with Spanish here.

We travel along a dusty track by the Saguia el Hamra River, which carries water most of the year. The day's destination El Aaiún is not far away, and there will be time in the afternoon to stretch our legs or take a dip in the sea.

For two days we will take the N1 about 500 km to Dakhla. To our right is the blue Atlantic, and to our left stretches the endless expanse of the Sahara. We will have time to stop repeatedly at the beautiful coast and ride off-road along the beach. Optionally, we can also accelerate and chill on the beach of the surf city Dakhla.

While Morocco is known to everyone, Mauritania, despite its size, is rather unknown. From Dakhla, we drive to the border and cross the no man's land. Then we will spend the rest of the day dealing with the entry into Mauritania. There it is said: Europeans may have invented the clock, but we invented time. We will set up our campsite after the border in the idyllic dunes.

We follow the route of the iron ore train off-road to Atar. The route is challenging, and we will need two days to reach the oasis. Atar was once an important city in the high culture of the Moors, who are the namesake for the country.

We drive back to the sea and will be on the road half on and half off-road in the Sahara one last time before the Sahel zone begins. We will overnight on the beach, and whoever has even a thread will be successful at fishing. The sea off Mauritania is considered one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.

Before the road was built in 2006, the official way to Nouakchott was along the beach. Due to the tides, it is smooth, and one can still progress better than on the road. Our day's destination is the capital Nouakchott, where half of the Mauritanian population lives.

Anyone who doesn't know Fech Fech will get to know it today (very fine powder that often forms in deserts due to deflation). We head towards the border of Senegal along the Senegal River on overdrawn tracks. There are trees on the road again and significantly more animals. Our path takes us through a bird protection national park where our European birds winter. The day's destination is Saint-Louis. The city is on an island in the delta of the Senegal River and has a very beautiful colonial city center.

We leave Saint-Louis in the morning and will reach Dakar by noon. Like the Paris Dakar, our journey ends on the shores of Lac Rose, the pink salt lake on the outskirts of Dakar. We spend the last evening together, and with a good meal, we celebrate our arrival.

Today is unfortunately the official end of our dusty and sandy expedition. After we have handed over the motorcycles at customs for shipping, we will board the plane fresh and free from sand and dust and begin our journey home. Those who haven't had enough but have enough time can still explore Senegal and Gambia with us for a few more days on the motorcycle.