TRAVERSE Issue 48 - June 2025 | Page 11

TRAVERSE 11
There’ s a particular kind of freedom that only exists on two wheels. It’ s the wind against your skin, the steady hum of the engine, and the open road stretched like a ribbon into the unknown. In Morocco’ s Atlas Mountains, that freedom is layered with something deeper: the weight of history, the pulse of ancient cultures, and the raw, defiant beauty of the land.
The Atlas Mountains are not merely a backdrop, they are Morocco’ s spine, splitting the country into its lush Mediterranean north and the vast, sunburnt Sahara to the south. As you rise into the High Atlas on a motorcycle, the terrain transforms quickly. Arid lowlands give way to steep, winding roads carved into ochre cliffs. Snow may still dust the peaks even as almond blossoms bloom in the valleys below.
Riding here is a sensory onslaught. The scent of wild herbs crushed under your wheels, the call to prayer echoing from a minaret in a distant village, the sudden burst of frigid air as you climb above two thousand metres, every moment is rich and alive.
Leaving the village of Ouirgane, our start and finish point, a sublime retreat set amongst the neighbouring hills, a traditional introduction to Morocco. The route northwest begins a climb into the mountains, at first low hills scattered with villages and traditional cultures, Desert Rats’ High Atlas Mountains tour offers a
TRAVERSE 11