The magnificent rooster has just crowed at the top of its lungs, seconds later, bang, down comes a hatchet. It was his last "cock-a-doodle-doo" as he headlessly wanders from the trader's hand into the customer's plastic bag. In the souks of the medina of Tétouan, the market alleyways of the old town, almost everything is sold, from live and dead poultry to exotic fruits, computers, colourful clothes, used taps and entire washbasins.
It smells of grilled food, spices, strongly of fish and sometimes of rubbish. People crowd into the cramped space as if Covid had never happened. And above all the babble of voices and bustle, the monotonous voice of the muezzin rises in prayer.
"This really is a different world to the one you know," my guide Hamid had told me. The medina with its souks, fascinating and strange, almost consumes me. As I stand in front of Bab Okla again, the gateway to the historic centre of Tétouan, I have to take a deep breath. The past two hours have been almost as exhausting as the four to five hours in the saddle the day before.
Morocco in autumn 2022
Because that's exactly why I travelled to the north of Morocco: to ride a road bike - inspired by a trekking bike tour across the country a few years ago. Back then, I cycled through blossoming landscapes with friends in March. But by mid-June at the latest, the heat in the centre of the country, with temperatures above 40 degrees, causes everything to wither, even in the north. My road bike trip was actually planned for spring 2020, before the pandemic changed the world. I'm not allowed to ride until autumn 2022, and I'm hardly surprised that the green has turned brown.
Morocco: Road bike tours through the land of the Berbers
The first location I chose was the legendary Tangier, which once magically attracted spies and crooks, but also artists from all over the world - the most north-westerly point of the African continent, where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet. The westernised city is a rather gentle introduction to the Arab world. My second location is to be Chefchaouen, one of the most beautiful cities in Morocco, located a hundred kilometres to the south-east in the western part of the Rif Mountains.
But even in modern Tangier, you ride through the neighbourhood on a racing bike like an alien. "Even I know that as a Moroccan, people are amazed," Jaouad Kanjaa from the Association Cyclisme de Tanger tells me. "Cycling plays no role at all here," he says, looking as if someone has let the air out of his tyres and scratched the frame to boot.
The question of why is not difficult to answer: there is no money. The boys from Tangier, Jaouad and his friends Hicham and Jamal, are amateur cyclists. Jaouad proudly tells me that his racing bike cost 5000 dirhams, the equivalent of 500 euros. I think it would be smarter not to tell them that new racing bikes in Germany often cost ten times as much.
In any case, they are delighted that my first planned route is virtually identical to their home route. A few tips on where to get the best tea along the way and I set off from Tangier, rolling past camels galloping across the beach and, before heading inland, I really step on the gas on a deserted road along the Atlantic that is as wide as a motorway.
Just a few turns of the pedals later and I am immersed in rural Morocco, where people live mainly from agriculture or are self-sufficient - if you own a cow or a few goats, you are well off. Berber women with colourfully decorated straw hats wander through the hills with their animals, walking for kilometres to fetch water from one of the few wells. The children often walk just as far to school and back - if there is a parental taxi, it is on a donkey.
Morocco is way ahead of Germany
Around a bend, I almost collide with one. A traditionally dressed girl is perched on the fully laden beast of burden, which is trotting leisurely along the road; she is engrossed in her smartphone. Most people here would probably have to work for years to be able to afford a racing bike, but almost everyone now seems to have a mobile phone. And in this respect, Morocco is far ahead of wealthy Germany: the mobile phone network works perfectly even in the most remote regions.
Otherwise, Morocco is an unfinished country. This can be seen in the thousands of ruined buildings around Tangier, planned on a grand scale but never completed. Since 1999, under the rule of King Mohammed VI, the country has been making its way into the modern age - and producing stark contrasts in the process. The omnipresent police are conspicuous. They leave me alone on my racing bike, but otherwise there are plenty of checks. It would make sense to have some kind of environmental police. Everything is simply dumped in the countryside, plastic waste piles up even in the centre of villages.
Prickly pears as a gift
It's quiet in the countryside, lonely. When, after two and a half hours in the saddle, I want something to eat in the market town of Anjra, there isn't much choice. There is meat or meat: chicken or minced lamb from the charcoal grill. Apparently the salad has just run out, and the meat is served with bread and the obligatory delicious tea with lots of fresh mint and even more sugar.
When I set off again, school has just finished. The girls pay no attention to me, the boys look over approvingly, some stick their thumbs up in the air. Jaouad and his friends had promised: "People will celebrate you." I am always amazed at the encounters along the way, which are characterised by great friendliness. I am given a bag of prickly pears and invited for tea.
Not far from Chefchaouen, I meet a young man on a rather shabby mountain bike, my first encounter with a cyclist on a country road in three days. I greet him and he greets me back in a friendly manner. When I meet him again on the way back, he smiles and puts his hand on his heart. But sometimes the encounters are also bizarre. Outside a café not far from Chefchaouen, a man asks me in all seriousness if I'll give him my racing bike - and doesn't seem to understand when I politely decline.
Chefchaouen is a pearl, the medina of the small town is as beautiful as a fairytale. Many houses are painted blue, the colour is said by the locals to help ward off the "evil eye". Others say that the blue colour creates a closeness to the sky and thus to God, while pragmatists claim that it cools the town. Chefchaouen means "two horns" in the Berber language.
This refers to the two two-thousand metre peaks of Djebel Kalaa and Djebel Meggou, which tower above the city. Even though there is no road over them, tours here are significantly tougher than in the Tangier region. The climbs through the hills and mountains quickly add up to 2000 metres in altitude on a 100-kilometre tour.
The greatest thing ever? If a Moroccan were to take part in the Tour de France one day. (Youssef Abou Ali)
Panting, I heave myself up one hill after another on the tour southwards. Olives mark the brown slopes below the barren peaks as green spots. At some point, green fields appear. From a distance, it's impossible to recognise what they are until this strange, sweet, heavy scent hits my nose: they are cannabis plantations.
According to estimates, I later read, half a million Moroccans live from growing "kif", as hemp is called here, which was legalised in Morocco in 2022 for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. While farmers had previously only received a fraction of the price of the end product on the black market, they are now to be significantly better off as a result of the law. However, the quantities that continue to leave Morocco illegally remain unclear.
Morocco: Hardly any money from the cycling federation
On another tour from Chefchaouen to the coastal town of Oued Laou, a scent also wafts into my nose. Long before I reach the Mediterranean coast, I imagine I can already smell the sea. However, the route first takes me through the wild and beautiful landscape of the Parc National de Talassemtane with its deep gorges, cedar and cork oak forests. At Oued Laou, the landscape is still green even in late summer. And lo and behold: on the flat coast, Moroccans even ride bicycles, boys and girls to school, men on their way to the market, laden with live poultry.
When I return to Tangier a few days later, I meet Youssef Abou Ali. However, the Moroccan runner-up in the individual time trial never had the dream of riding professionally in Europe one day. "No, everything is fine here," he says with a smile - and adds: "As long as I do my thing." However, the Royal Moroccan Cycling Federation is one of those things; even there is a lack of money. "If I wanted to take part in the Tour du Rwanda, for example, the federation would pay me seven euros a day in expenses; I don't have to have that," explains Youssef.
Morocco has already bid in vain five times to organise the football World Cup and in 2019 for the first time for the 2025 Road World Championships in cycling. This did not materialise either - Rwanda, which is much more enthusiastic about cycling, won the bid. "That's a real shame," says Youssef, "but, well, cycling in Morocco..." He doesn't even have to finish the sentence, his expression says it all. But he immediately beams again and says: "But you know what would be the greatest thing of all? If a Moroccan racing cyclist were to take part in the Tour de France one day."
Road bike tour character Morocco
The road conditions in Morocco's north are better than most people would expect. Nevertheless, road cycling in North Africa is not like cycling in the Allgäu or on the Baltic Sea. A gravel bike is a good idea, but not a must. A road bike with 25 or even 28 mm tyres - and one bar of air pressure less than usual - will get you around just fine.
The national roads in the interior of the country are mostly well tarmaced and traffic is limited. On the small provincial roads, you sometimes have to expect potholes and rough surfaces, as well as animals on the road. You don't have to climb higher than 600 metres, but almost all of the routes are peppered with steep climbs that can really hurt. Hardly any Moroccan drivers have ever heard of keeping 1.5 metres distance from cyclists, yet most of them are considerate.
Orientation in Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is located in north-west Africa on the Strait of Gibraltar. As the westernmost of the five Maghreb countries, it borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Algeria to the east. The country has 34 million inhabitants, the largest city is Casablanca (3.4 million inhabitants), the capital Rabat. After decades as a French colony - the north was under Spanish protectorate - the country has been independent since 1956. The head of state of the almost exclusively Muslim population has been King Mohammed VI since 1999.
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The metropolis of Tangier on the Strait of Gibraltar is the most north-westerly point of the African continent and one of our two locations. Chefchaouen, our second tour location, is situated in the north-western part of the Rif Mountains, around 100 kilometres south-east of Tangier. The town of 40,000 inhabitants lies at an altitude of around 600 metres and is flanked by the peaks of Djebel Kalaa (2050 metres) and Djebel Meggou (2123 metres). Chefchaouen is also known as the "Blue City" because most of the houses in the old town (medina) are painted in different shades of blue.
Four road bike tours in Morocco
Road bike tour 1
Between the seas
113 kilometres | 1200 vertical metres max. 14 % gradient
It takes barely a quarter of an hour to leave the hustle and bustle of Tangier behind you. The road leads up a hill, past one of the king's many palaces, to the point where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet. The rest of the coast is not always beautiful; sometimes military walls block the view of the sea, sometimes those of the holiday residences of various sheikhs. Inland, the home circuit of the Association de Cyclisme de Tanger initially passes through rather unspectacular pastureland, then the route leads along a reservoir and finally through a varied hilly landscape back towards Tangier; unfortunately, the last few kilometres are on fairly large roads.
Road bike tour 2
Windy lap
84 kilometres | 1450 altitude metres max. 16 % gradient
After a transfer to the coastal town of Ksar Sghir, the route initially heads westwards along the Mediterranean again before a road leads into the hills, through barren farmland and past poor villages. After passing under the motorway, a steep climb awaits before you continue below the numerous wind turbines on the mountain ridge towards Anjra. The wind turbines make sense there, as the wind in the Tangier region often blows at 5 to 6 force. After passing the Erraouz reservoir, you have to climb a few more kilometres before you can descend around 300 metres in altitude towards the Mediterranean on the wonderfully developed P 4701.
Road bike tour 3
Canyons and sea
109 kilometres | 2000 vertical metres max. 15 % gradient
Travelling a route there and back is usually a makeshift solution due to a lack of other options; ultimately, this is also the case with this tour between Chefchaouen and Dar Akoubaa. But the rest of the route through the Talassemtane National Park is so scenic that you could cycle it back and forth ten times - if you had the legs for it. It passes through wild and rugged mountain scenery, a gorge and a plain near the Mediterranean that is green even in summer. Oued Laou is reputed to have the best sardines in Morocco and excellent fish tajines. A little moderation is called for, however, as there are a few nasty ramps on the way back to Chefchaouen.
115.4 Target
Chefchaouen, Place Debnat Elmakhze
Road bike tour 4
Olive and marijuana plantations
113 kilometres | 2100 vertical metres max. 12 % gradient
From Chefchaouen downhill to the south-west and on the N 2 towards Al Hoceima. The road climbs moderately to Bab Taza before continuing along the slope from there, with the best views over a wide valley with olives, marijuana plantations and a few remote villages. After 40 kilometres, you turn off onto a small road that winds its way up and down. Sometimes it rolls quite well, but occasionally the surface is rough and poor; you have to concentrate, especially on the descents. After around 60 kilometres, the route continues on a kind of country road before rejoining the little-used national road in Bab Taza. After a descent of around ten kilometres, the final climb to Chefchaouen is about as long.
Morocco - general information
Journey
To enter Morocco, you need a passport that must be valid for six months at the time of entry.
You must also fill out a health form (Fiche Sanitaire du Passager) before travelling. The current corona regulations can be found on the homepage of the Moroccan tourist office.
Flight
Flights from Germany to Tangier almost always land in Madrid or Barcelona between (Iberia or Vueling). Return flights cost from 200 euros, transporting the bike is comparatively cheap at 50 euros each way. The racing bike must be packed in a suitcase or cardboard box.
Rental car
With one of the international providers such as Hertz or Europcar, for example, you can get a Dacia Dokker for a week for around 200 euros at the basic rate. A German driving licence is officially sufficient for Morocco, but sometimes local car hire companies require an international driving licence - so ask the rental company beforehand!
Car/ferry
The journey leads via Algeciras in Andalusia and from there by ferry to North Africa, either to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta or to Tangier. It is around 2500 kilometres from Frankfurt am Main to Algeciras. The return journey for the ferries costs from 150 euros for two people in a car. The crossing takes around an hour each way; the ferry port Tanger-Med is located 40 kilometres north-east of the city.
Best time to travel
Tangier is considered Morocco's coolest city: the annual average is 22.5 degrees, and in summer it rarely gets hotter than 32 degrees. The climate in Chefchaouen, our second location, is hot and dry in summer and mild in winter. Most of the rain falls from November to March.
The best time to visit is March to May, when everything is green, as well as September and October. Tip: Do not travel during the fasting month of Ramadan; from 23 March to 21 April 2023, almost all restaurants outside the tourist resorts are closed.
Accommodation
Tangier
Hotel Farah, telephone 00212/(0)5393/43550
The five-star hotel is located around seven kilometres west of the city by the sea in the Zone Touristique Ghandouri (taxi fare to the city: around two euros). If you fancy a beer after the tour or wine with your meal, you have no other choice, as alcohol is only served in the luxury hotels. Double room with breakfast from 120 euros. Cheaper alternative: the Hotel Continental, located in the city below the medina.
Chefchaouen
Riad Hicham, telephone 00212/(0)5398/82125
Located directly in the medina. It gets much quieter in the evening. The house with its courtyards and terraces is pretty, the rooms are large but not very tastefully furnished. Double room with breakfast from 80 euros.
Food & drink in Morocco
The national dish tajine, a traditional stew, is slow-cooked in a clay pot with a conical lid, served vegetarian, with vegetables and meat or with fish. Restaurants often also serve couscous, as well as harira, a soup with meat, chickpeas, lentils, tomatoes and various spices. This all applies to cities and tourist resorts; in the countryside, the choice of food is rather meagre and very meat-heavy, limited to minced meatballs (köfte) and lamb and chicken kebabs.
The former is always freshly prepared; however, the host may also put the feet of the lambs and the like through the mincer ... It is usually served with a simple salad. Moroccan biscuits and cakes are very tasty when travelling. The typical strong Moroccan green tea with fresh mint and lots of sugar is served everywhere. Alcohol is only available in the luxury hotels in Tangier and in the Supermarché Marrakech in Rue Nouvelle not far from Boulevard Mohamed V.
Restaurant tip
Oued Laou (on tour 3)
Restaurant Miramare, telephone 00212/(0)665060791
Located directly on the beach promenade. A speciality: grilled sardines and fish tajine with swordfish.
Info
Moroccan National Tourist Office, telephone 0211/370551
Do not miss
Medinas (old towns)
The medina of Chefchaouen is a total work of art and one of the most beautiful in Morocco. Simply drift through the alleyways of the old town, where most of the houses are painted blue. In the medina of Chefchaouen, things are civilised and the town is now geared towards tourists. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed medina in Tétouan, 65 kilometres north of Chefchaouen, is rugged and pure. Tangier is also worth a stroll from the Kasbah (fortress) down through the alleyways of the medina to the sea.
Bike service
Tangier
Mohamed Said Bike , Avenida Aicha Moussafer, phone 00212/(0)698179220
Amazingly well-stocked bike shop.
Marrakech
Morocco Bike Tours, phone 00212/(0)524447019
From 2023, the cycle tour operator will be offering a six-day road bike tour from Tangier to Nador along the Mediterranean coast, including accommodation and full board as well as an English and French-speaking guide. The trip will cost around 500 euros; those wishing to hire a racing bike from the organiser will pay 100 to 150 euros, depending on the model.
Maps
Maps of Morocco suitable for cycling tours are not available in Germany (the scale is far too small) or in Morocco. The best help is Google Maps: If you click on the places that are only shown in Arabic, the names pop up in Latin script.
Morocco - important information
Money
You can get just under 11 dirhams for one euro (November 2022); you can also change money at ATMs. You can rarely pay by card, not even in Tangier.
Mobile radio
The network works even in remote mountain regions. Due to the high roaming charges (1.99 per minute), we recommend a Moroccan SIM card (e.g. Maroc Telecom) - available at almost every kiosk. Internet for a week plus phone credit for two and a half hours costs 6 to 8 euros.
Language
In Tangier, many people speak French, in the countryside you can only get by with Arabic or "hands and feet". Spanish is also widely spoken in Chefchaouen.
Crime
Tangier and Chefchaouen are considered relatively safe. Drug-related crime around Tangier and Chefchaouen cannot be compared with that in the eastern Rif Mountains. Nevertheless, hashish is also offered to you in Chefchaouen. Hands off! "Kif", as hashish is called in Morocco, is omnipresent, but possession of drugs in Morocco can lead to several years' imprisonment.
