Off-Road 3 Day Tour: Desert Rush

Four nights from Ouarzazate to the Erg Chegaga dunes and back, guided, three days of riding, private groups only, with the price quoted on application.

This is the short, sharp version, offered by special request for groups of at least eight, and it exists for people who want the desert without the week.

Ouarzazate opens it, reached directly or by a four-hour minibus from Marrakech over the Tizi n’Tichka above two thousand metres, with the bike paperwork, the hotel pool and the town to fill the afternoon. The riding then runs south-west to Foum Zguid over 203 kilometres of rocky mountain trail, dried lake beds and sandy river beds. The second day is the one everyone comes for: out to Erg Chegaga for lunch among the dunes and back to Foum Zguid, two hundred kilometres with the towering sand of Chegaga at the far end. The third returns to Ouarzazate, with a tea break in the green valley at Agdz breaking up the ride.

The KTM 450 EXC or a buggy depending on the package, third-party insurance, all the fuel, GPS on every vehicle, airport transfers, twin-shared half-board accommodation, picnic or cafe lunches, drinking water in the support vehicle and a support truck with driver and mechanic are all included; flights, medical insurance with repatriation, gear and a returnable deposit of €700 for the bike, €2,000 for the Sport buggy or €4,000 for the X3 are not. The price is given on application. September to May is the season. A full biking licence is required for the bike and an ordinary driving licence for the buggies.