Meknes to Moulay Idriss Zerhoun
About 60 kilometres there and back, ninety minutes each way, with climbs, proper scenery, and a spring above the town to fill your bottles before the ride home.
How the ride actually goes
A morning, not a whole day.
Ninety minutes out, and about the same back
This is the ride I do when I want a real outing without giving up the entire day. Here is the shape of it.
- It is about 60 kilometres there and back, and takes me 90 to 100 minutes each way. Call it three hours of riding, plus whatever time you spend in the town.
- The road has some climbs in it, but it is not climbing the whole way like the Ifrane road. What it does have is scenery - this is the reason to ride it rather than anywhere else.
- There is traffic on this road. It is not a quiet back lane, so ride it expecting cars.
- When I need a rest I do not look for a cafe. I sit down beside the road under a tree, which is all the stop you actually need.
- I ride into Moulay Idriss itself and have breakfast there in a cafe. That is the halfway point of the day.
- Then I climb up to a spring above the town, drink, and fill my bottles before riding back.
The spring is the part worth knowing about. It means you can ride home with full bottles rather than rationing what is left from the way out.
Moulay Idriss Zerhoun sits in the hills north of Meknes, built up the side of a slope under limestone cliffs. It is close enough to ride to before breakfast and far enough that getting there feels like it counted.
The shape of the ride
The road out of Meknes climbs in places rather than continuously. That makes it a very different proposition from the long haul up to Ifrane: you are not settling into one gear for an hour, you are riding rolling country with the hills of Zerhoun getting steadily closer.
The scenery is the reason to choose this ride. Olive terraces, cliffs, and open country, with the town appearing on its hillside long before you reach it.
Traffic
This is a road with cars on it, not a quiet lane. Ride it the way you would ride any road carrying traffic: a predictable line, well clear of the edge, and no assumptions about being seen.
Stopping, eating and water
There is no need to plan elaborate stops. If you want a rest on the way, sit down beside the road under a tree – that is what I do, and it is enough.
In the town itself, breakfast in a cafe is the natural halfway point. It also turns the ride into something more than exercise, which is most of why it is worth doing.
The spring above the town
Above Moulay Idriss there is a spring. I ride up to it, drink, and fill my bottles before heading back. If you only remember one practical thing from this guide, remember that: you can start the return leg with full bottles instead of whatever survived the way out.
How it compares to the Ifrane ride
- Moulay Idriss is about three hours of riding. Ifrane is about five hours each way for me, so a completely different day.
- Ifrane climbs almost continuously. This road climbs in sections and rolls in between.
- Ifrane ends in cedar forest at altitude. This one ends at a hillside town with a cafe and a spring.
- If you have a morning rather than a whole day, this is the ride.
What it looks like
Cliffs, olive terraces, and a town built into the hillside.
The town sits under the cliffs. The last part of getting there is not flat.
One of the climbs. The sign at the roadside is there to warn drivers about the gradient, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Questions people ask
About 60 kilometres there and back from Meknes. That is the whole ride, not one way.
Not really, not on the bike. You have to get off it to go in, and I would rather visit Volubilis separately, without a bike to think about. Treat it as its own trip rather than something to bolt onto the ride.
Related guides
Three more that pair naturally with this one.
Meknes to Ifrane
A long climb into the Middle Atlas, through the cedar forest at Ras El Ma.
Cycling in Morocco
Roads, drivers, water, heat and shops – what riding here is actually like.
The longer ride
If this one goes well and you want a full day instead of a morning, the climb from Meknes up to Ifrane is the next step.