The 49th edition of the Dakar is planned for Portugal and Morocco from January 9 to January 23, 2027. This remains an officially announced schedule rather than a fully approved calendar: the dates are subject to approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council. That qualification remains essential until the governing body has issued its decision.
The relocation has been presented as an exceptional measure. Organizers attribute it to recent developments in the region where Saudi Arabia is located, while the verified information does not support adding further geopolitical specifics. The Dakar is due to return to Saudi Arabia in 2028 for its 50th edition, placing the Portugal-Morocco route within an announced temporary departure.
A return to Africa after twenty years
The Moroccan leg will mark the Dakar’s first return to the African continent since 2007. Both the FIA and the Associated Press describe the interval as twenty years. That historical dimension sets the 2027 edition apart, although more detailed operational arrangements and elements of the sporting format may still be refined before competitors take the start.
Both host countries already have established roles in contemporary rally-raid competition. Portugal has staged a round of the World Rally-Raid Championship in recent seasons, while Morocco hosts the Rallye du Maroc. The 2027 Dakar is also set to open the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship and, according to the organizer, serve as the opening round of the FIM championship.
From the Algarve prologue to the sea crossing
The announced sporting program consists of a prologue and twelve stages. The Algarve will host the prologue and opening stage, while Morocco will stage the remaining eleven. The route will begin in the Loulé-Faro area of Portugal and finish in Marrakech. This distribution places the substantial majority of the competitive program on Moroccan territory.
Preparations will begin before the timed competition. The service park is scheduled to open in Loulé-Faro on January 5, followed by administrative and technical scrutineering from January 6 through January 8. Competitive action starts with the prologue on January 9 and the first special stage on January 10, before an overnight Mediterranean crossing toward Nador.
Eleven stages across Morocco
After arriving in Morocco on January 11, competitors are scheduled to transfer to the first Moroccan bivouac at Bouarfa. The announced route will then head south from the Oriental region, passing through Zagora before reaching Agadir. The rally’s rest day is due to take place in Agadir after this first southward phase of the Moroccan itinerary.
During the second week, the route is planned to continue through Smara toward the Dakhla area. It will then turn north, pass through Smara again and follow the Atlantic side before the final finish in Marrakech. This framework identifies the main stops and direction of travel, but it is not yet a complete stage-by-stage roadbook.
A route covering 7,824 kilometres
The announced route totals 7,824 kilometres, including 4,341 kilometres of competitive special stages. Six bivouac locations will be used along the way. Organizers also say that most special stages are expected to measure between 350 and 500 kilometres, providing an initial indication of their scale without disclosing the precise course or profile of each competitive day.
Those figures establish the planned sporting architecture, but they do not provide the full alignment of every special stage or a spectator-access plan. The verified information therefore defines the rally’s overall scale and its extensive presence in Morocco without supporting assumptions about exact roads, local arrangements or potential revisions made before the event begins in January 2027.
What is established and what still needs approval
The announced framework is clear: a start in the Loulé-Faro area, a prologue and opening stage in the Algarve, a crossing toward Nador, and eleven Moroccan stages leading to Marrakech. Morocco’s central role, the overall distances and the principal geographical stops are established in the reviewed material, as is the exceptional nature of the relocation.
Two layers of caution remain necessary. First, the January 9 to 23 dates await approval from the FIA World Motor Sport Council. Second, operational details may change before the event. The next authoritative references should be communications from the Dakar organizer or the FIA following that approval and the eventual publication of more detailed stage information.
The relocation also extends to several programs associated with the event. The organizer says the Dakar Classic, Dakar Future Mission 1000 and Dakar Saudi Next Gen program will follow the 2027 move. This confirms a broader adaptation of the Dakar structure, although the verified material does not provide additional schedules or specific operating arrangements for those programs.
