The 2026 Morocco Desert Challenge will take place on April 9 through 18, about a week later than it did in 2025. Registration opens on August 1.

The 2025 MDC ran from April 3–12. The tenth edition, it started in Agadir and finished in Ouarzazate with 3,130 kilometers over eight stages.

For next year, race organizers plan to go in the opposite direction by starting in Ouarzazate and concluding in Saïdia. Nicknamed the “Door of the Desert”, Ouarzazate is the capital of the eponymous province in central Morocco.

Saïdia is located in the northeast of the country near the border with Algeria. It was last used in 2017 as part of the Libya Rally.

A specific route will be released later in 2025, though approximate locations are set in seven towns across eight stages and 2,800 kilometers. A statement from the MDC reads:

Every edition of the Morocco Desert Challenge guarantees a demanding course that not only gives drivers a tough challenge, but also requires navigators to be really attentive. Fast tracks, technical sections, vast African plains, many dunes, salt lakes, river beds and legendary Dakar tracks: almost all 8 stages start and end in the bivouac.

In 2026, the Morocco Desert Challenge will kick off in Ouarzazate. No more scrutineering in Agadir or beach start at Plage Blanche – the adventure now moves into the heart of Morocco. Expect more desert, more dunes, and above all: more challenge. After 8 demanding stages, we’ll reach the finish line on the Mediterranean coast, in Saïdia.

As always, we’ll wrap up with a spectacular closing party – this time once again in Saïdia, near the port of Nador.

Tentative 2026 Morocco Desert Challenge route

Stage	Start	Finish
Stage 1	Ouarzazate	Ouarzazate
Stage 2	Ouarzazate	Tissint
Stage 3	Tissint	M’Hamid
Stage 4	M’Hamid	Oum-Jrane
Stage 5	Oum-Jrane	Merzouga
Stage 6	Merzouga	Merzouga
Stage 7	Merzouga	Tendrara
Stage 8	Tendrara	Saïdia

Featured image credit: Magdalena Zajac