Djebel Caïat – Paraguas sector · Akchour (Rif) · Morocco
Read the cautionsEasy to bailBolting confidence: medium
Five pitches through tufa columns, a leaning corner and a lichenous chimney on extraordinarily abrasive rock. The first pitch is a three-dimensional 6a+ on jugs between columns and the 7a fourth pitch is an athletic, well-bolted column climb. Two short passages on the easier pitches are run-out.
Bolted from bottom to top with an abseil descent, but with two run-out passages where a fall would be serious.
The route
A five-pitch route at the Paraguas sector of Djebel Caïat, named for the faults, stalactites and caves it passes through. The pitches are 6a+, 6c, 6b, 7a and 6b+, and reports put the obligatory grade at about 6b+. The rock is exceptional and the hard climbing is well protected, but this is not a uniformly sport-bolted route: one move above a ledge on pitch 3 and the finish of pitch 5 are committing. The first ascensionists mixed bolts with removable protection while opening it, which may explain the gaps.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a+ | 40 m | Jugs all the way up and between huge tufa columns. Go past the lower-off of the single-pitch route; the belay is on a ledge a few metres above it. Well bolted. |
| P2 | 6c | 35 m | Rise rightwards to an overhanging corner, follow it, exiting with a jam, then straight up a rough red wall to a terrace with an olive tree. A long pitch, well bolted. |
| P3 | 6b | 30 m | A bouldery mantel to leave the overhang above the belay, with the next bolt a long way off: thread a sling through the hole there, otherwise a fall lands on the ledge. Then a lichenous chimney, and left between the trees before climbing again. The least attractive pitch. |
| P4 | 7a | 25 m | Up the tufa columns to a terrace: athletic and sustained with few rests. Very well bolted; reports give about 6b+ obligatory. |
| P5 | 6b+ | 20 m | Delicate climbing on extremely abrasive 'broccoli' rock. The bolts are spaced towards the end, with serious run-outs where you must not fall. A 2023 party thought small cams (size 1 and below) could probably be placed. |
Getting there
Djebel Caïat is in the Akchour valley in the Rif, near Chefchaouen in northern Morocco. Parties in the reports worked from the Café Rueda in the valley; the first ascensionists drove from Europe and lived in a van below the wall. No source consulted gives public transport details.
As for the Kefi Shop sector: from the dam, find a path that leads up to the wall. The route shares its start with the single-pitch climb Slaby Wielblad, on the right-hand side of the sector, to the right of a big tree. No time is published.
Loading map
The point is approximate: it marks the area, not the crag.
Coordinates · area: approximate
Point from camptocamp waypoint 952164
Contains the route point. 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: 35.29084, -5.22223 (area)
Getting down
Four abseils down the route, using all the belays except R3. The line is not perfectly vertical, so you have to swing sideways to reach the stances; the 2023 party found little risk of the ropes jamming.
Retreat
Easy to bail
The normal descent is four abseils down the route from bolted belays, so retreat from any belay follows the same line. The abseils are slightly diagonal and you have to work sideways to reach the stances.
Safety
Sun and weather
South-west facing. A March party starting early stayed in the shade throughout; a December party climbed it from 14:40 to 17:15 in a vest top in warm sun. The best months are inferred from those dates and are not stated by any source. The first ascensionists lost days to bad weather and wet rock in February.
Sun on the wall · SW-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 (Moroccan time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Akchour (Rif) are not available yet
What to carry
12 quickdraws, 2×45 m ropes at least, and a sling or cord for the thread on pitch 3. Small cams are optional for the top of pitch 5. Helmet.
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 Spéléologie.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Around 7a · about 5 pitches
France · Ariège Pyrenees
The hard classic of the Calamès pillars above Bédeilhac: technical slabs, a well-bolted roof and a sustained 6c wall, capped by a short 7a slab pitch after a walk across a garden. Compact rock and close bolts make it a good place to try harder grades on a multipitch. The middle pitch is vegetated.
7a5 pitches180 m
Turkey · Aladağlar
Five pitches on very rough red and grey limestone ten minutes from the car park, with long 5c to 6a+ pitches on knobs and water-worn flutings. The only hard climbing is one physical 7a move on the last pitch, which can be aided. Recommended locally as the route to do on this wall.
7a5 pitches245 m
Read the cautions
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Steep, fingery wall climbing that starts with your feet almost in the stream at the gorge entrance. The 7a second pitch is hard for only 2 to 3 metres and can be swapped for a 6b pitch on the neighbouring route, after which three pitches of 6b+ to 6c+ on pocketed and edgy rock lead to the top. Abseil descent.
7a6 pitches200 m
Read the cautions
Croatia · Paklenica
A short, hard line high on the shady north face of Anića kuk: a steep 6a+, a 7a corner on razor-sharp small edges, a slightly overhanging 6c+ corner and a long finish up water runnels. The rock is sharp and superb from the first metre. Good as a half-day or combined with a neighbour.
7a4 pitches130 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.