Try it for yourself

Riding in the Sahara by yourself is obviously not an option, but luckily firms like Moto Aventures have plenty of experience of the region and can guide you through one of the most beautiful – and dangerous – landscapes on the planet.

They offer three tour itineraries with five, seven or nine days of actual riding. Shortest is the desert tour, which is the one you’ve read about here. As well as giving you the full desert experience, the longer tours also take in the stunning scenery of the Atlas Mountains, which are tall enough to be snow-capped even though they’re surrounded by desert.

Prices range from £1110 for the five-day run to £1575 for the nine-day tours. For this you get bikes (late-model XR400 Hondas), fuel, full enduro riding gear, back-up, hotels, meals – in fact, almost everything bar pocket money and flights. You’ll need medical insurance (with repatriation), a full bike licence and a £300 returnable damage deposit. Bear in mind that this is serious trail riding and not suitable for off-road novices.

There are typically around a dozen Moroccan tours per season, beginning in early October and ending mid-May (with a winter break from early December to late February). Full details of next winter’s tour dates can be found on the Moto Aventures website (www.motoaventures.com).

A road bike tour to Morocco, using the ferry from Portsmouth to Spain, is also planned for September 2001.

Moto Aventures, Casa Rosa, L’Aldosa,

La Massana, Andorra. Tel/fax: 00376-835472.

E-mail: motoaventures@andorra.ad