The 2026 Morocco Desert Challenge will span 2,800 kilometers starting in Ouarzazate and finishing Saïdia.

Scrutineering will take place on Thursday and Friday, April 9–10 in Ouarzazate. Stage 1 on April 11 is basically the Prologue, bringing what race officials call a “introduction mix of technical and fast sections, gravel roads, and WRC tracks” to set the starting lineup for the next day. It is also one of just two days with a transfer section, taking place after the special to go to the bivouac in Foum Zguid.

Stage 2 goesi nto the Sahara, running along a new track parallel to the old route used by the Paris–Dakar Rally and past Iriqui National Park into Erg Chegaga. This goes into M’Hamid, which hosts a loop in Stage 3.

The fourth stage goes to Oumjrane with technical sections into a desert plain and mountains. Stage 5 includes dunes and pistes into Merzouga.

Stage 6 will serve as the “Queen Stage”, crossing the Erg Chebbi and Erg Znaigui.

The race then leaves Merzouga for Bouarfa, doing a ten-kilometer loop in Erg Chebbi before going through the Hamada plains and Rekkam Plateau.

Finally, the MDC concludes on April 18 with a WRC-style course along an old railroad line into Saïdia. Later that day will be the award ceremony in Saïdiz.

Route

Stage	Start	Finish	Selective Sections	Liaison	Date
Stage 1	Ouarzazate	Foum Zguid	75 km	175 km	April 11
Stage 2	Foum Zguid	M’Hamid	341 km	0 km	April 12
Stage 3	M’Hamid	M’Hamid	286 km	0 km	April 13
Stage 4	M’Hamid	Oumjrane	350 km	0 km	April 14
Stage 5	Oumjrane	Merzouga	310 km	0 km	April 15
Stage 6	Merzouga	Merzouga	295 km	0 km	April 16
Stage 7	Merzouga	Bouarfa	493 km	0 km	April 17
Stage 8	Bouarfa	Saïdia	187 km	157 km	April 18

Featured image credit: Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid