Rock Climbing in Morocco

Morocco is renowned as a holiday destination – a great place to go for winter sun.  What it’s less known for is its great climbing routes. There are climbing routes in the Atlas Mountains that have been there for decades.  The most well-known are in the Todra Gorge, and there are new routes being developed all the time in the High Atlas.

The easiest way to get there is to travel from Marrakesh by road.  You’ll go through the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and into the Dades Valley. Although the valley is lush and green, the Todra Gorge is a red rock gorge with rock walls 300m high.  The Todra Gorge divides the High Atlas from the Sahara.

In the gorge itself, the climbing routes are in forty sectors and there are nearly 400 routes to climb.  For novices, the Plage Mansour has several easy routes, wheras the Trainee Blanche is more of a challenge.

For the most experienced of climbers the Pilier de Couchant offers the most challenging routes to test out rock climbing equipment. It doesn’t get above a 6a+, though.  The last metres of the route are the trickiest, but you can catch your breath and relax at the top before coming back down to the gorge floor.

The Satanicos sector is often the busiest, as there are lots of tourists that gather there.  If you’re not so into the big climbs, you can still use rock climbing shoes to do some bouldering at Chaos.  More of a technical challenge is Can Güllich.

Finding a place to stay is easy – especially during the summer months. The best time to climb is between May and September. There are campsites all along the gorge. If you’re looking for a hotel, then there’s only one in the Todra Gorge village or you can find hotels at either end of the gorge.

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