Bitard · Gorges de la Jonte · France
Read the cautionsEasy to bailBolting confidence: high
A four-pitch face route in the Bitard sector that starts easily and then asks for careful footwork on a traversing slab and a steeper wall of flakes. Freshly rebolted in 2022, but you still climb between the bolts. Very popular with groups.
New 12 mm glue-ins on every pitch, but spaced in the local style: a leader fell before a clip on pitch 2 in 2026.
The route
Le Jardin Enchanté climbs the face about 50 m from 'Vent Arctique' in the Bitard sector. The first pitch is an easy warm-up, the second weaves left then right across a slab where the holds are few and polished, and the third is steeper on flakes. It was rebolted in 2022 and has 54 logged outings. Recent parties agree the climbing is good and the bolts are new, and also agree that the spacing needs a steady head, even on the 5b pitches.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4c | Easy climbing on glue-ins. 'Deux têtards dans la mare' shares the first eight bolts and then leaves to the right on expansion bolts. |
| P2 | 5c | Traverse left, climb, then traverse back right before the next clip. Few holds, some of them polished, and the bolts are well apart; mind the second on the traverses. The printed guide gives 5b. |
| P3 | 5b | Start over an easy bulge, avoided slightly on the right, then come back left without hurrying. Good flakes all the way and fairly sustained; more physical than pitch 2. |
| P4 | 5b | A long pitch with a ledge half-way. There are small loose stones; take care not to send them onto parties below. |
Getting there
The Jonte gorge starts at Le Rozier, about 20 km east of Millau: drive via Aguessac and the lower Tarn gorge to Le Rozier, then take the D996 towards Meyrueis. The main car park is a few kilometres past Le Rozier, on both sides of the road beside an SOS phone post; smaller lay-bys further up the road are closer to the Bitard and Fusée paths. Spaces are limited, so park nose-in. Le Rozier and Peyreleau have campsites, gîtes, shops and a cash machine, some of them seasonal; Meyrueis has services all year. Wild camping is banned in the gorge.
Park on the D996 opposite the path up to the Roche Décollée. Walk a few hundred metres up the road, pass the sign for the Body Building sector, and about 50 m further take an unsigned path that leads straight to the foot of the route. The name is painted in red on the rock. A 2025 party on the shared start reports 25 minutes.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
D996 Cirque des Vases car park by the SOS phone post (camptocamp waypoint 187443)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 103408 (La Jonte - Bitard)
Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 44.19248, 3.23555 (crag) · Parking: 44.19222, 3.22556
Getting down
Abseil the route in four, one abseil from each belay; a May 2026 party did this on a single 80 m rope. Alternatively walk off: from the tree at the top go left, then rise rightwards to the footpath along the rim, follow it to the Cirque des Vases and go down the cabled descent, which starts close to the Vase de Sèvres. One party took a while to find the cables.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the normal descent, with one abseil from each of the four belays, so retreat is possible from any of them. A 2026 party abseiled from the third belay when rain started.
Safety
Sun and weather
South-facing limestone between about 550 and 800 m. The local club says you can climb here all year with some planning, but summer is very hot and the gorge is best avoided in a strong south-east wind.
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Gorges de la Jonte are not available yet
What to carry
Quickdraw numbers are not published; the neighbouring line on the same wall asks for 12. Two 50 m ropes for the abseils (a single 80 m worked for one party). Helmet: the last pitch has loose stones and the route is busy.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Le Jardin Enchanté.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
France · Gorges de la Jonte
Probably the most approachable multipitch in the Jonte: four pitches of grade 3 and 4 on excellent, juggy rock up the right side of a pillar, with solid chained belays where leader and second stay in sight. Vultures circle past by late morning. The walk-off needs a little care.
4c4 pitches100 m
France · Gorges de la Jonte
The pillar that gives the sector its name, climbed in four short pitches on grey, well-featured rock. The third pitch is a sustained vertical crack and the best of the route. It is the usual first multipitch for visitors because the bolts are closer than elsewhere in the gorge.
5c4 pitches100 m
France · Gorges de la Jonte
A recent five-pitch route with unusually generous bolting for the Jonte. A long, fairly vertical 5c+ wall is followed by a traverse, a gully and an optional squeeze through a horizontal slot to a belay in a cave. Shaded in the morning and again from mid-afternoon.
5c+5 pitches110 m
France · Gorges de la Jonte
Five pitches beside the Fusée monolith, built around a superb 35 to 40 m corner that ends under a big roof and escapes left across a wildly exposed but easy traverse. Rebolted in 2012 and better protected than most routes here. Rated a must at the grade by several recent parties.
6a5 pitches120 m
Around 5c · about 4 pitches
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
The best-known route on the Mallo Colorado. Two steep, juggy panza pitches have a well-protected boulder move, giving a short taste of real Riglos steepness at a friendly grade.
5c4 pitches150 m
Italy · Monte Argentario
Four pitches on the sea-facing wall of Capo d'Uomo: a featured slab, an easy linking pitch, and two vertical, athletic pitches on sculpted grey limestone to the crest below the old watchtower. The final wall is the highlight. The lower pitches need care with holds.
5c4 pitches110 m
Read the cautions
Slovenia · Osp
The easiest line on Osp's famous overhanging Big Wall, following an obvious right-slanting ramp, the only non-overhanging part of the face. It is in shade until about 11:30 in July.
5c4 pitches110 m
Read the cautions
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Four pitches of steady 5c up the needle beside the Pilier du Couchant, in the heart of the gorge. A short easy first pitch, a crux a few metres below the second belay, a crack pitch and an athletic finish.
5c4 pitches167 m
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.