UKC

Hey guys,

Having just come back from a climbing trip from Morocco, I thought I would write a blog about our efforts to find the best climbing guidebook, as well as avoiding being hassled and generally figuring our way around.

This may be useful for those planning to go to Todra for the first time, as a recent first-hand experience. Maybe you can avoid some of the pitfalls we didn't manage to avoid!

https://everywhereadventure.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/todra-gorge-the-quest-...

In reply to Vertical Souls: I loved it. Typical. I put up some photos of climbing there. But all those arm chair UKC photo critics gave them threes so I took them down.

In reply to jcw:

Oh no, that's very annoying! The photos are just a way of sharing the experience! They don't have to be professional. Did you do any multi-pitch routes while there?

In reply to Vertical Souls:

We were there in October and got in touch with adventure verticales, they are a little climbing company just outside the gorge, they do guiding but we didn't need that, we hired all our gear off them to save us taking it over, they were incredibly helpful and the guide book we got from them was really good.

In reply to Vertical Souls:

I enjoyed the Blog - I always knew there was a reason I had never been there!


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Thanks! I think despite all that though, I would definitely go back again. I just know how to act and what to avoid now!

In reply to Vertical Souls:

We spent three days there in 1997. No guide book got some info off a French guide I knew there. Mostly sports climbing but did one multi pitch, I think it was called Couchant, three good vertical pitches, 6a ish. Good place. Well worth a visit with some interesting places to see in the environs. But now popular Tafraoute is better with a much bigger range of climbing.

In reply to Vertical Souls:
Hiya.

Sorry to hear about the trouble you've had at Todra - I'm currently there now with a couple of mates and our experience couldn't be more different...!

We also have the little spiral bound guidebook by Oxford Alpine Club which seems to have enough information and certainly enough routes for a winter jolly in the desert. Route lengths would be useful though as it does indeed say 60/70m will do while many routes are 35+m...

We looked around the hotels at the gorge entrance and then headed to the next village (2km south toward Tinghir from the gorge) called Tizgui and found a real gem of a place called La Belle Etoile. This is next door to another decent looking place called Le Petite Gorge which was a little pricier. We have ended up paying 300MAD (30EUR!) for bed and breakfast between three people, with hot water and wifi plus the best hosts I have come across in any hotel in years. Brothers Aziz and Hassan speak excellent English (and French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese!!!) and couldn't be more helpful, genuine and - crucially - non-pushy. Hassan (evidently not the same Hassan who you met) used to climb in the gorge for a while too until he witnessed an accident there... Their food is excellent and a big dinner is 70MAD each - I haven't eaten a bad meal in two weeks in Morocco! This place is about a 20minute lovely walk to the gorge and goes past the Adventures Verticales shop (can't miss it when it's open!). Perfect! I'd make it my Todra climbing base again in a flash. No idea why anyone would bother staying in Tinghir.

Shame about the hassle you experienced but I'm afraid it is just a fact of Moroccan travel in certain parts. I know it's easy to say but you really just need to learn to politely stand your ground and you use your wits when you get chatting in order to judge when something is too good to be true. Same anywhere really. We had a couple of blokes try to befriend us and sell us climbing stuff/carpets/swap clothes (?!) but it's not hassle like in Fez or Marrakech at all and certainly hasn't affected the trip.

We've had a fantastic time trad climbing in Tafraoute (highly recommended) and now really enjoying the huge range of unpolished and long sport routes on offer in Todra. The weather, climbing, food, landscapes, people and culture have combined to make this a really unforgettable and exotic climbing trip and I would hate to think that people are put off visiting such a great country with epic climbing potential by a story of totally avoidable misfortune such as yours!

H

In reply to badgerjockey:

Thanks for sharing your experience, that's really valuable information and it will really help us the next time we go!

And I'm sorry if my post came across as trying to put people off going to Morocco - I actually really enjoyed my time there, and I have been before, so I knew what to expect. I wrote it more to help others avoid the mistakes we made. To be honest, they make for a funny story anyway, and this has not put me off going again. I would definitely return to this area, the climbing was really wonderful!