Klanky
Registered user
Sensible time to go weatherwise?
Morocco in January
- Thread starter Klanky
- Start date
AberdeenAngus
Registered user
Yup. Should be nice.
Pretty chilly in the mountains & take good wet weather gear.
Average daytime temps should be in the teens.
Bit like a summers day at hame!
I'm going to be there at the same time.
Think we cross into Morocco on the 3rd Jan.
Pretty chilly in the mountains & take good wet weather gear.
Average daytime temps should be in the teens.
Bit like a summers day at hame!
I'm going to be there at the same time.
Think we cross into Morocco on the 3rd Jan.
The days will be short and it can be wet with localised flash flooding
Marjorie Proops
Guest
We spent 6 weeks Dec 08 / Jan 09 there.
In short,
Uk was freezing rain / sleet when we left.
France was freezing rain / sleet when we passed through outbound.
We got stuck in several feet of snow in the Picos (N. Spain) outbound.
Southern spain was freezing rain.
Northern Morocco was the coldest place we had so far encountered!
We were snowed in at every pass north of Marrakech.
South of Marrakech the desert was warm by day / cold by night.
On the way back up we went for a weeks skiing in the French Alps - it was warmer than northern Morocco!
HTH
Steve
In short,
Uk was freezing rain / sleet when we left.
France was freezing rain / sleet when we passed through outbound.
We got stuck in several feet of snow in the Picos (N. Spain) outbound.
Southern spain was freezing rain.
Northern Morocco was the coldest place we had so far encountered!
We were snowed in at every pass north of Marrakech.
South of Marrakech the desert was warm by day / cold by night.
On the way back up we went for a weeks skiing in the French Alps - it was warmer than northern Morocco!
HTH
Steve
garfield
Registered user
..........Ardman
Registered user
Went last January and enjoyed wind, rain, snow and sun. What more could you possible wish more!!! 
Fanum
Toubab
I've been snowed in, and the roads closed in early jan 2006.
Klanky
Registered user
Thanks for the replies, guys.
The only chance I'll have to take a big lump of time off is looking like January 2010 (4-5 weeks)before the real world catches up with me, hence the query.
I'm not bothered too much if my destinations in Morocco are somewhat limited by the weather, it's more about getting away to get my head straight as opposed to seeing a country 'at it's best' so to speak.
Rain and low temperatures won't bother me, nor a reasonable amount of snow...and I've enough common dog to know my own limitations regarding mountain passes, weather, PNR's, possibility of flooding, next available help, etc...and when to simply say feck that.
So maybe aim for an extensive lowland tour with occasional forays into the mountains when conditions allow? Feasable for a solo rider?
The only chance I'll have to take a big lump of time off is looking like January 2010 (4-5 weeks)before the real world catches up with me, hence the query.
I'm not bothered too much if my destinations in Morocco are somewhat limited by the weather, it's more about getting away to get my head straight as opposed to seeing a country 'at it's best' so to speak.
Rain and low temperatures won't bother me, nor a reasonable amount of snow...and I've enough common dog to know my own limitations regarding mountain passes, weather, PNR's, possibility of flooding, next available help, etc...and when to simply say feck that.
So maybe aim for an extensive lowland tour with occasional forays into the mountains when conditions allow? Feasable for a solo rider?
Marjorie Proops
Guest
Yes, entirely feasible - my post wasn't meant to suggest that you shouldn't go - just don't expect automatic shorts & flip-flops as soon as you reach Arica (some do
).We had a fantastic time (again) - so will you
Steve
Fanum
Toubab
As Steve said, yes, feasible......particularly if you're ok sticking mostly to 'tarmac'.
Get in through Tangiers....Cueta is on the edge of the Rif and to go south, you either have to go high pretty quickly, or follow the coast road to Tangiers anyway.
From Tangiers, head towards Marrakech- you can ethere in 6 hours from Tangiers easily.
From there, there are several routes to get south of the High Atlas, which is where you'll want to be to get warmer weather and keep out of the most rain.....the Tizi N Tichka is kept open by a small army of workers and diggers because it's the main route over from Marra south for the big trucks....it can be closed for 24 hours but rarely more.
Now you're in Ouazazarte and you have more choice- West towards the coast then down and around to Tafroute for example, or Inland, East, along the valley of a thousand Kasbahs through Boulmaine dades and out the other side towards Errichidia and Merzouga.
From there you can go back west through Tata to the coast again (don't bother with Agadir, it's a shyte hole) or north up through the Gorges Du Ziz
I'd be happy to have a more detailed chat with you to suggest some more routes Klanky- You would have to be fairly flexible though as we've seen severe flash floods and 6 inches of hail on the ground on the road to Errichidia before now, so even that far south, it's still possible you'd have problems that you'd have to change your plans to circumvent.
HTH
Get in through Tangiers....Cueta is on the edge of the Rif and to go south, you either have to go high pretty quickly, or follow the coast road to Tangiers anyway.
From Tangiers, head towards Marrakech- you can ethere in 6 hours from Tangiers easily.
From there, there are several routes to get south of the High Atlas, which is where you'll want to be to get warmer weather and keep out of the most rain.....the Tizi N Tichka is kept open by a small army of workers and diggers because it's the main route over from Marra south for the big trucks....it can be closed for 24 hours but rarely more.
Now you're in Ouazazarte and you have more choice- West towards the coast then down and around to Tafroute for example, or Inland, East, along the valley of a thousand Kasbahs through Boulmaine dades and out the other side towards Errichidia and Merzouga.
From there you can go back west through Tata to the coast again (don't bother with Agadir, it's a shyte hole) or north up through the Gorges Du Ziz
I'd be happy to have a more detailed chat with you to suggest some more routes Klanky- You would have to be fairly flexible though as we've seen severe flash floods and 6 inches of hail on the ground on the road to Errichidia before now, so even that far south, it's still possible you'd have problems that you'd have to change your plans to circumvent.
HTH
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Like most places around the world the weather in Morocco isn't predictable and what happened last year or the year before doesn't make much difference. I've done Morocco several times in January (2006, 2007, 2008) and you need to be prepared to be flexible with your routes and to ask about conditions.
The major passes are cleared of snow within 24 hours of the snowfall stopping (snow plough attachments are kept next to the snow barriers). Minor roads take longer and bear in mind that roads through forested areas don't get so much sun so you can find patches of slush two weeks later. Pistes are not cleared at all and the locals put down branches for increased tractions which makes things difficult for bikes!
I normally ride with handlebar muffs and gaouchos in the winter which makes things a lot more bearable in the early mornings and late afternoons.
The major passes are cleared of snow within 24 hours of the snowfall stopping (snow plough attachments are kept next to the snow barriers). Minor roads take longer and bear in mind that roads through forested areas don't get so much sun so you can find patches of slush two weeks later. Pistes are not cleared at all and the locals put down branches for increased tractions which makes things difficult for bikes!
I normally ride with handlebar muffs and gaouchos in the winter which makes things a lot more bearable in the early mornings and late afternoons.
Deleted account 211025001
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Some intersting stuff here 
Klanky - the Calum's Rd Riders are gonna be setting off from Raasay on the 8th Jan and prob crossing into Morrocco around the 13th, if you wanna hook up at any time
Andres
Klanky - the Calum's Rd Riders are gonna be setting off from Raasay on the 8th Jan and prob crossing into Morrocco around the 13th, if you wanna hook up at any time
Andres
freeloader
Registered user
Some intersting stuff here
Klanky - the Calum's Rd Riders are gonna be setting off from Raasay on the 8th Jan and prob crossing into Morrocco around the 13th, if you wanna hook up at any time
Andres
Beat me to it. We don't want to bump into him by mistake.
OTOH Klanky, if you want to organise a Moroccan rideout for us, I'm in.
Klanky
Registered user
I'd forgotten about Calums' Road starting at the same time!
If I can pull all this together, it would be great to maybe have a day or two following you all down at some stage.
If I can pull all this together, it would be great to maybe have a day or two following you all down at some stage.
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