Always on the lookout for new places to discover, we head off to check out the Moroccan walls around Taghia, a village at 1900 meters above sea level hidden among the Berber mountains. We fly into Marrakech, where a minivan awaits to take us to the village of Zaouiat Ahansal—about 250 km in 5 hours. The road winds almost imperceptibly into the mountains, gradually gaining elevation over gentle slopes and passing over mountain passes above 2000 meters. In Zaouiat, we switch "modes of transport" to the true Berber 4x4: a mule, which carries our backpacks while we continue on foot toward Taghia. Mohamed (one of the many—everyone here seems to be called Mohamed) helps us along this stretch. He’s very friendly, and we chat with him the entire way. In about 1 hour and 20 minutes that fly by, we arrive at the gîte where we’ll be spending the week.

Mina and Mohamed (another one) welcome us with the typical Berber snack, which we’ll soon learn to love after every climb: mint tea, bread, oil, and honey. The evening is peaceful—dinner of vegetables, chicken, and couscous shared with two French guys. It’s raining outside as we flip through the guidebook looking at options for the next day.

Day 1:

The weather is cloudy, and although it’s mid-May, it's only 6°C outside—feels even colder with the wind gusts. We decide to climb a route on the Paroi des Sources, the most convenient wall just 15 minutes' walk from our lodging. We opt for the route Belle et Berbère, graded 6a-6b on paper, but it turns out to be a tough one. It’s our first route here, we’re climbing in windbreakers with frozen fingers, and it takes real effort to climb free in some sections. After about 4 hours, we top out on the first wall of our trip, then descend on foot via ledges and steep trails that give us a taste of the wild style of descents here.

We return mid-afternoon and begin a wonderful routine: snack, dinner, sleep, breakfast, climb.

Day 2:

The temperature is a bit more pleasant today, and the sky is clear. We head toward Taoujdad, one of the beautiful peaks visible from the village. The approach begins like yesterday, passing by the water springs, then turns up a gully on the right, which we ascend for about an hour. Today’s route is Au nom de la déforme, mandatory 6a (6c max), climbing up a beautiful red pillar to the summit. Among all the routes, this one stands out for its rock quality—super grippy and phenomenal!

Unfortunately, the route isn’t very long, but it’s absolutely worth it, especially since it gets us to the top of Taoujdad, where we can admire the wild and desert-like landscape all around. At the top, we take some time to relax in the sun and enjoy this incredible place, while checking out the descent route from the neighboring summit, Oujdad. Tomorrow, we’ll climb a route on its south face, and we snap a few photos of the descent line—not exactly your typical "CAI trail," to put it mildly.

Day 3:

Perfect weather today, and we go for the main objective of the trip: Baraka on Oujdad, with about 700 m of climbing. We start at 6 a.m., and in the early twilight, we hike the scenic trail toward the cliffs. Airy Berber passages take us to the base, where we meet two climbers from Trieste—Marco and Stefano—already on the first pitch, which is anything but easy. We end up doing the entire route and descent with them. It was great meeting you!

On paper, the route has a mandatory grade of 6b (with one pitch of 7b free), but we all felt it was at least one grade harder. That said, it’s a beautiful route—six long and vertical pitches on drop-shaped holds reminiscent of Sardinia or Verdon, followed by 10 more pitches in a more traditional style, requiring additional gear for cracks and corners. A solid 13-hour house-to-house day on an absolutely stunning wall! A cold beer would hit the spot right now, but alas—as you can imagine—in Morocco, especially in this small village, alcohol is hard to come by. We settle for liters of tea after dinner.

Day 4:

“Rest” day. We take it easy in the morning and head out around noon toward Paroi de la Cascade, clearly visible above the village. The days are getting warmer, and this wall goes into the shade in the afternoon—perfect. The approach is steep and rugged as usual but rewards us with yet another wall of perfect rock. We climb Haber oder Sein, one of the most repeated routes on this face, featuring skin-grindingly abrasive rock. Light and pack-free, we climb quickly and entirely alone, reaching another majestic plateau at the top. From there, we walk back to the village via the “Tire-bouchon” trail—you’ll understand the name when you hike it yourself.

Day 5:

Warm and windy today. Among the remaining walls, we decide to check out Timrazine, in the gorge facing the stunning north face of Taoujdad (a must-do for the future). We climb L’allumeur du Rêve berbère, right next to the famous Canyon Apache. Once again alone on the wall, we enjoy what will be our last route of the trip—some pitches turn out to be very beautiful and worthwhile.

Sadly, the climbing ends here—but this is certainly not goodbye. On the contrary! There are still many walls to explore, new lines to be bolted, the people are amazing, and the sense of calm and simple life here is hard to find elsewhere.

Goodbye Taghia—until next time!