Morocco · Anti-Atlas / Dades valley · Premium route guide
Dades & Todra Gorges loop
264 kilometres, two of the most photographed gorges in North Africa, and one of the great one-day rides of the Atlas — the Dades switchbacks, the Msemrir plateau, and the sheer 300-metre walls of Todra. Full route on the map, a GPX for your GPS, and the motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted at both ends.
- Distance
- 264.3 km
- Peak elevation
- 2,276 m
- Elevation gain
- 2,345 m
- Best months
- Oct–May
The route
This is the day everyone remembers from a Morocco trip. Two gorges, back to back, linked by the wide desert-highway N10 across the pre-Sahara plateau. The Dades switchbacks — the famous serpentine of red rock — are only 60 km from Boumalne; Todra is another 30 km east and completely different in character.
Pins are motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted — Boumalne Dades or Tinerhir are the two natural bases, or push up to a gorge-floor kasbah at Aït Oudinar or the Todra entrance for something quieter.
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Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route — how to load this into your GPS
What you're downloading is a GPX track — a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It's not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zūmo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner → new trip from track) if you want turn-by-turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive — it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it doesn't re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour — Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these don't read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX-capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line — pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~1268 m at the base to 2276 m at the top — 2,345 m of total climbing across the route.
Head up the Dades gorge first thing — the light is best from the east in the morning, and you'll have the switchback viewpoint largely to yourself before the coach tours arrive around 11:00. Push on to Msemrir at the top of the paved section, turn around, come back down.
Cross to Tinerhir on the N10 — fast, empty, straight, quintessentially Moroccan desert road. Then up the Todra gorge, through the narrows, to Tamtattouchte and back. The whole loop is 264 km and takes 7–8 hours with proper stops.
The road, honestly
The Dades and Todra gorges are two of the most photographed places in Morocco for a reason. The Dades switchbacks are pure geometry — a ribbon of tarmac folded back on itself half a dozen times against a wall of red rock. Todra is the opposite: a single narrow slot canyon where the walls close in to 10 m apart and 300 m high, with a river running under your wheels.
The tarmac is good on the main gorge roads and on the N10. The R704 across the plateau between Msemrir and the Todra entrance exists but is unpaved and rough — it's the classic ADV route but not something to attempt on a road bike or in wet weather. The loop above sticks to tarmac.
When to go, weather and heat
October–May is ideal. This is a hot-desert route — June–August, ground temperatures can hit 45°C on the N10 and even the gorges only cool to the low 30s. Winter is cold at night but the days are perfect for riding: 18–22°C, dry, empty roads.
Rain is rare but severe. Flash floods can close the gorges in autumn (October–November) with no warning. If it's raining, don't ride into either gorge — wait it out on the plateau.
Fuel and logistics
Fuel in Boumalne Dades, Tinerhir and (small station) at Aït Oudinar. Nothing at Msemrir or above the Todra narrows — top up before you leave town. Water is easy: shops and cafés in every village.
The Dades and Todra villages up-gorge (Aït Oudinar, Msemrir, Tamtattouchte) are quiet, friendly, and cheaper than the base towns. If you want a two-day version, sleep at one of the gorge-floor kasbahs and take your time.
What to see along the way
- Dades switchbacks viewpoint — The iconic serpentine. Layby on the R704 at km ~30, unmistakable. Ride down through it, park at the top for the photograph.
- Msemrir — Top of the paved Dades section. Small Berber village on a plateau, one café, panoramic views back down the gorge.
- Aït Oudinar — Bottom of the Dades gorge. Half a dozen gorge-floor kasbahs offering rooms — the quiet alternative to Boumalne.
- Tinerhir — Larger town at the mouth of Todra. Palm oasis in the centre, fuel, tyre-fixers, everything you need for another day on the road.
- Todra narrows — The 300 m walls — 10 minutes into the gorge from Tinerhir. Park anywhere, walk under the walls. Cool even in high summer.
- Tamtattouchte — Top of the paved Todra section. Small settlement in a wide open valley — feels like the end of the road, because in a way it is.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Dades & Todra Gorges loop
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Boumalne Dades / Tinerhir — change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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Rider-verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route — no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
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