Taoujdad – north face · Taghia · Morocco
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
Twelve long, sustained pitches up the shady north face of the Taoujdad: technical slabs and walls demanding precise footwork, with a few athletic overhangs. Sources agree it is hard for the grade, with 6c obligatory and several pitches of 6c+ to 7a. The most approachable line on this face, but still a big day.
Well bolted with equipped belays, but a 500 m ED at the top of the grade range, with stiff grades, spaced bolts on the easier upper pitches and an awkward retreat.
The route
Widi Azry takes the north face of the Taoujdad from the canyon that separates it from the Timrazine, right of Les Rivières Pourpres. It gives about 500 m of climbing in pitches of 35 to 45 m with almost no easy ground: the 6a+ first pitch sets the tone. Every party stresses that the grades are severe, and that you should be solid at 6c+ to 7a to enjoy it. It sits at the very top of this atlas's range and is a serious undertaking, graded ED overall. The reward is superb rock and a wild position in permanent shade.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a+ | 45 m | Slab, then a superb technical grey corner. Stiff for the grade. |
| P2 | 6c | 40 m | A sustained overhanging pitch on tufas, undercuts and positive holds. |
| P3 | 6c+ | 45 m | A very physical roof on big holds, then a vertical wall on tiny holds with a short crux near the belay. A 2024 party gave 7a. |
| P4 | 6c | 40 m | Varied vertical climbing, alternating technical moves and small rests. |
| P5 | 6b | 40 m | Varied vertical climbing with one hard slab move. A 2024 party gave 6b+. |
| P6 | 6c | 40 m | A slab on small holds trending slightly left, with a very fingery crux below the belay. A 2024 party gave 7a. |
| P7 | 7a | 45 m | Vertical wall on small holds: the hardest pitch. Camptocamp gives 6c+/7a; a 2024 party gave 7a/7a+. |
| P8 | 6c | 35 m | An overhang and a positive crack. |
| P9 | 5+ | 45 m | Straight up for a few metres, then a long traverse left. A pack cannot be hauled on this pitch. |
| P10 | 6c | 40 m | A slab move, then an overhang on sharp, rough rock. The rock needs some care. |
| P11 | 6b | 45 m | Varied climbing; the rock needs some care and the bolts are further apart. |
| P12 | 6a | 30 m | An easier last pitch. |
Getting there
From Marrakech go via Azilal to Zaouiat Ahansal: about 250 km and 5 to 6 hours, on tarmac throughout. From Zaouiat you walk up to Taghia or, since 2023, the gîtes can drive you up a track by 4x4. The gîtes in Taghia (Saïd's and Mohamed Amil's are the ones named in reports) offer half board and can arrange the taxi from Marrakech.
About 1.5 hours; parties who knew the way took 40 minutes and one that got lost took 2.5 hours. Go past the springs and follow the canyon between the Timrazine and the Taoujdad: easy but sometimes exposed scrambling (grade III steps with a few bolts), past the first jammed block and the Berber bridge to the second jammed block and its waterfall. Pass it on the true right by the 6a first pitch of Canyon Apache, which ends at a single bolt, and make a short abseil of about 4 m back into the bed; an Italian party preferred to squeeze through the hole right of the waterfall. Continue about 100 m up the canyon and climb about 10 m onto a grassy slope with trees on the true left. Do not go up the steps as for Les Rivières Pourpres. The route is on the right of this slope and starts up an obvious grey corner, opposite the Pikort corner on the other side of the canyon; the small overhang of pitch 3 helps to locate it.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Point from camptocamp waypoint 43127 (Taoujdad summit)
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: 31.78014, -6.06288 (crag)
Getting down
By the normal route of the Taoujdad, about 1.5 hours to the village. The route does not finish on the summit (two more pitches of about grade 4 lead there if you want it); a 2023 party notes that from the top of the route you reach the col directly and do not need the abseil of the summit descent. The way down then follows the gully between the Taoujdad and the Oujdad. Abseiling the route is possible, since the belays are equipped, but the pitch 9 traverse would make it difficult.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The belays are equipped and a 2023 party says all are well set up for abseiling, so you can retreat down the route. The route page warns that the long traverse of pitch 9 would complicate abseiling from above it, and any retreat ends with reversing the canyon.
Safety
Sun and weather
North face, from about 2,000 m to about 2,600 m, in the shade all day: cold and often windy on the upper pitches in April, pleasant in early November when the sunny walls were too hot. Climbing times of 7 hours (fast party) to 9.5 hours are reported, with 9 to 14 hours gîte to gîte.
Sun on the wall · N-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.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun (usual season) | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 8 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 10 |
| Mean daily low °C | −4 | −3 | −0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 1 | −2 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1927 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
Quickdraws and normal multi-pitch kit; the sources give no number of quickdraws or rope length, and the pitches are up to 45 m. A pack can be hauled except on pitch 9. Warm clothes: parties climbed in thermals and fleeces in April. 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 Widi Azry.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Morocco · Taghia
The friendly way into Taghia, starting at the water's edge beside the springs. Seven varied pitches, well bolted by Taghia standards. Go left around the unstable rock below the second belay; fragile blocks are marked in red. In shade until midday.
6b7 pitches270 m
Committing
Morocco · Taghia
The easiest bolted line at Taghia: three steep 5c walls linked by two long, easy garden pitches. Goes into shade around midday in April.
5c5 pitches235 m
Read the cautions
Morocco · Taghia
The classic first route at Taghia: steep, water-sculpted red limestone on the west face of the Taoujdad, with a 6c third pitch that is 6b until a short crux below the belay. It is better bolted than most Taghia routes and correspondingly popular, so some pitches are polished.
6c7 pitches300 m
Morocco · Taghia
Five pitches on new, very rough red rock just right of Au nom de la Réforme. The first three are steep, fingery and continuous with one short crux each; the last two are much easier. The original grades are 7a+, 7a and 6c+, now widely thought generous, and the cruxes are bolted closely enough to pull through.
6c+5 pitches200 m
Around 7a · about 12 pitches
Spain · El Chorro
A twelve-pitch line to the top of the Frontales face, starting right of the big Poema de Roca cave. The hard pitches are short, bouldery and athletic; the upper half turns to technical water-pocket climbing. One party found it less coherent than its neighbours but worth it for the summit.
7a12 pitches300 m
Read the cautions
Croatia · Paklenica
One of the best-protected long routes on Anića kuk. The hard climbing is all in the first three pitches, 7a, 7a+ and 6c+, which are bolted closely enough to pull through; the guidebook gives 5c/A1 for the aided grade. Above, nine pitches of 5a to 6b wander up the big north-west face on flakes, grooves, a corner and a chimney to finish near the summit.
6c+12 pitches385 m
France · Cerces
The classic hard route of the Tour Termier: ten steep, technical pitches on superb compact limestone at 3000 m, a short walk from the Col du Galibier road. It is never athletic but sustained at 6a+ to 6b, with a 7a pitch and a 6c move that both go at 6a A0. Cold, wind and thin footwork make it feel bigger than the numbers.
7a10 pitches320 m
France · Bavella
A sampler of everything Bavella granite does: a technical 7a wall, layback and jamming cracks, an off-width, a squeeze slot behind a tree, and three pitches of pure friction slab to finish. Bolted well enough to climb on quickdraws, which is rare here. The wide pitches are awkward and bruising if you are not used to the style.
7a10 pitches300 m
Read the cautions
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.