A new motorbike and sidecar tour in Marrakech takes you out of the city and into the desert, making for an exhilarating way to see the authentic side of Morocco.
The sights of the Medina
It may be winter at home, but Marrakech – just a short three-and-a-half hour flight away from the UK – is the ideal spot for shrugging off the cardigans and basking in some rays. While getting lost in the city’s medina, wandering through its palm-tree gardens and sharing mezze in the rooftop restaurants should all be on your ‘must-do’ list, it’s also worth seeking out a different perspective on this intriguing destination.
Clothes dyes on sale on one of the stalls
Adding an element of adventure to a sun-drenched weekend break is Insiders Experience – a new travel company which aims to take visitors off the beaten track and away from the usual tourist trails. Led by locals, not only are its motorbike and sidecar rides deliciously unique, but they are also personalised, via a questionnaire before your trip, so the result is a bespoke itinerary.
And we’re off…
It’s early morning and our ‘insider’, Felix Mathivet, who has lived in the city for the past three years, is waiting for us outside of our hotel. Born to French parents, and having lived in various countries throughout his life, including Malawi, China and Ireland, he is a natural globetrotter with an easy charm.
Life on the open road…
We’ve chosen to base our itinerary around a desert trip so it’s helmets on and into the sidecar. We head out along the Route d’Amizmiz, leaving the ochre city walls behind us. Ahead, the Atlas Mountains cut into the sky – which even in January is a bold, cobalt blue straight out of a paint-box. The snow-capped peaks seem incongruous with the hot, dusty road we’re on, and soon the landscape becomes even more dramatic as it flattens out into the Agafay Desert.
Going under the skin of a place..
After twenty minutes of a gusty ride – make sure you take sunglasses and wear something warm – we pull off into the small town of Tameslouhte, known for its diverse artisan craft scene. Many of the handmade products are sold in Marrakech’s souks (if you know where to find them) but are actually better showcased at cheaper prices in the town’s Friday market (gloriously untouristy, it’s worth a side-trip for the market alone).
Ancient, sunny quarters
Today it’s quiet, however, and local children wave curiously as we tootle past – the burnt-orange retro motorbike and sidecar a clear source of amusement.
Moulay Hafid takes us for a tour of the old palace
We stop in a courtyard, punctuated by indigo and yellow-daubed archways, and take in the mountain views, while Felix chats to local resident Moulay Hafid. It turns out he lives in the nearby ancient Zaouia, a 500-year-old palace and religious school, which sits in the centre of the town and he agrees to show us around.
Stained glass in one of the inhabited rooms
It’s a vast, crumbling place, with cavernous rooms leading off one another, broken up with courtyards and stairs to many different levels. The building has a long history of being home to eminent religious scholars, but these days it is only their descendent Hafid and his immediate family who remain. A few of the rooms are richly furnished with Moroccan carpets, floor cushions and stunning stained glass windows, while others are deserted, flustered pigeons rising up as we pass through. It’s a rare insight into a world that would otherwise be hidden from view.
Time for mint tea
After sharing a pot of mint tea on the roof, it’s onwards to the desert and lunch in the great outdoors. We hare onwards, over vast swathes of the rocky desert, clambering over dunes to evermore impressive vistas.
Inside one of the tents at Scarabeo Camp
Next stop is the Scarabeo Camp, a small tented village, with stylised traditional tents, where you can sleep for the night overlooking the barren grandeur of the desert planes.
And it’s into the desert…
We’re just here for lunch, which is an endless array of freshly-baked breads and mezze-style dishes including zaalouk, a spicy aubergine, and taktouka, marinated peppers. Sweet pastries and fruit salad finish the meal, and it’s back on the bike, pit-stopping for photo ops along the route back to the hotel.
Scarabeo Camp
“I always try and give people more than what they expected to get out of the trip,” says Felix. “I want to reveal the city as I discovered it: the side-streets you wished you had more time to explore, the forgotten corners and those live encounters with locals you’d miss otherwise. That’s what an insider is.” It’s Marrakech’s best-kept secret.
The Desert Ride costs from 3000MAD (approx. £230) per sidecar, for more information visit: http://marrakechinsiders.com/en/
This article is also published on The Jewish Chronicle’s website
