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Graphic showing the Dakar 2027 stage plan from Loulé/Faro to Marrakech

Dakar 2027 moves to Portugal and Morocco: the route at a glance

Published by Thomas Menzel on 31. October 2026

Series: Dakar 2027

The 2027 Dakar Rally starts on Saturday 9 January 2027 in Loulé, Portugal, and finishes on Saturday 23 January 2027 in Marrakech. A prologue is followed by twelve stages covering a total of 7,824 kilometres, of which 4,341 kilometres are special stages. This was announced by the FIA on 30 October 2026. One caveat remains: the dates still have to be approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

The 49th edition is thus being moved out of Saudi Arabia as an exception. It was originally planned to take place there from 1 to 15 January 2027. According to the FIA, the Dakar is returning to Africa for the first time since 2007. A return to Saudi Arabia has been announced for the 50th edition in 2028.

Why the Dakar is moving

The organiser A.S.O. and the FIA give “recent developments in the region” as the reason for the move (translated from English). Franceinfo, citing the news agency AFP, names the increasing attacks on Riyadh by the Iran-backed Houthi militias from Yemen as the background. According to Rallye Infos, Dakar Classic, Dakar Future Mission 1000 and the Dakar Saudi Next Gen programme are moving too.

The 2027 Dakar opens the season of the FIA and FIM World Rally-Raid Championships (W2RC). For the motorcycle classes, it is therefore the first world championship round of the year. Dakar director David Castera said, according to Cycle News, that 350 participants have entered so far. He did not give a breakdown by class. Despite the short preparation time, they have designed “a real Dakar” (translated).

Start at the Algarve Stadium

The starting point is the Algarve Stadium in Loulé/Faro. According to the FIA, the service park opens on 5 January, and administrative and technical scrutineering runs from 6 to 8 January. The prologue and the first stage are held in Portugal. The participants then cross the Mediterranean overnight to the Moroccan port of Nador. On 11 January, the liaison stage to the first Moroccan bivouac in Bouarfa follows.

Graphic showing the stage plan of the Dakar 2027 from 9 to 23 January 2027 in Portugal and Morocco
Stage plan of the Dakar 2027 as a graphic. The distances of the special stages and daily stages match the list published by Rallye Infos. The 590 kilometres of the liaison stage on 11 January are not shown there. Graphic: Cross Country Rally News, Facebook

Eleven stages in Morocco

From Bouarfa, the route leads south via Zagora to Agadir. The rest day is there on 17 January. In the second week, according to the FIA, it continues via Smara towards Dakhla, before the route turns north along the Atlantic coast and passes through Smara once more. The finish is in Marrakech. Six bivouacs are planned in total. According to the FIA, most special stages are between 350 and 500 kilometres long.

The stage list from Rallye Infos gives only the name “Refuge” for the bivouac in the south. Where exactly it is located is not clear from the sources consulted. The longest daily stage is, according to that list, the eleventh from Smara to Marrakech at 1,035 kilometres, and the longest special stage is the seventh at 500 kilometres. The finale in Marrakech features just one special stage of 22 kilometres.

The stages according to Rallye Infos

Each entry gives the length of the special stage (SS) and the total distance for the day, including liaison stages.

  • Prologue, Saturday 9 January: Loulé – Loulé, SS 29 km, total 129 km
  • Stage 1, Sunday 10 January: Loulé – Loulé, SS 100 km, total 300 km
  • Monday 11 January: liaison stage Loulé – Bouarfa, no special stage
  • Stage 2, Tuesday 12 January: Bouarfa – Bouarfa, SS 390 km, total 490 km
  • Stage 3, Wednesday 13 January: Bouarfa – Bouarfa, SS 410 km, total 490 km
  • Stage 4, Thursday 14 January: Bouarfa – Zagora, SS 490 km, total 750 km
  • Stage 5, Friday 15 January: Zagora – Zagora, SS 365 km, total 540 km
  • Stage 6, Saturday 16 January: Zagora – Agadir, SS 365 km, total 760 km
  • Sunday 17 January: rest day in Agadir
  • Stage 7, Monday 18 January: Agadir – Smara, SS 500 km, total 790 km
  • Stage 8, Tuesday 19 January: Smara – Refuge, SS 355 km, total 525 km
  • Stage 9, Wednesday 20 January: Refuge – Smara, SS 390 km, total 625 km
  • Stage 10, Thursday 21 January: Smara – Smara, SS 470 km, total 560 km
  • Stage 11, Friday 22 January: Smara – Marrakech, SS 455 km, total 1,035 km
  • Stage 12, Saturday 23 January: Marrakech – Marrakech, SS 22 km, total 240 km
Motorcyclist kicks up a plume of sand over a desert dune with the sun low in the sky
Archive photo: Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC) on stage eight of the 2026 Dakar near Wadi Ad-Dawasir in Saudi Arabia, 12 January 2026. Photo: © A.S.O./F. Gooden/DPPI, dakar.com

Familiar hosts

Neither country is new to rally raid. According to the FIA, Portugal has hosted a W2RC round, the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, for three seasons, supported by the national federations FPAK and ACP. Morocco is also represented on the world championship calendar with the Rallye du Maroc and has already been part of earlier Dakar editions. The Dakar left Africa after the 2008 cancellation, ran in South America from 2009 to 2019 and then for seven editions in Saudi Arabia, as franceinfo summarises.

Sources and image credits

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