Climbing / Zaghouan
Zaghouan - Kaf al Blida and Beraka Allah Fika
Climbing cragZaghouan
Zaghouan, Zaghouan
In season
The big north-west facing limestone band below the Jebel Zaghouan plateau, with long, demanding single-pitch routes, one 60 m overhanging test piece up to 8a and three multi-pitch lines of 110 to 150 m. Reached from a parking on the plateau by a faint path.
Good to know
- Point
- Plateau parking (GPS 36.366425, 10.090318 from the topo), beside a livestock pond left of the track; the crag is a 15 to 20 min walk down
- Access
- Continue 5.5 km past the Oued Delia parking up the track, which climbs in three bends to the plateau. From the parking, a canyon and a gap lead down to the foot of the face; the path is faint and has two short easy downclimbs
- Orientation
- North-west; Kaf al Blida gets full sun late in the day
- Kaf al Blida
- 3 long, well-bolted routes of 30 to 35 m, 6a/b to 6b/c
- Beraka Allah Fika
- One 60 m route on a huge bulging wall with tufa-like features: first section 7b, second 7c, linked 8a; lower off from a mid-way anchor with an 80 m rope
- Multi-pitch
- Ben Ali qu'a tort, 150 m, 5 pitches 4c to 6a+; Revolution en rab, 110 m, 4 pitches 5a to 6b/c; Printemps Arabe, 110 m, 4 pitches 5b to 6c. The first two are only partly bolted: bring nuts and cams
- Rock
- Jurassic limestone, partly dolomitised into red, pocketed, often overhanging walls; slabs and tufa-like columns in places
- Safety
- Young, little-climbed crags: rockfall risk is fairly high, wear a helmet and do not linger at the base. There is no mountain rescue service in Tunisia; carry water and a phone
- Rules
- Jebel Zaghouan is a nature reserve: no new bolting or vegetation clearing without permission from the authorities
- History
- Bolted in June 2012 by a 14-strong team from GUCEM (Grenoble) with the Speleo club of Zaghouan, to help start Tunisia's first climbing club
Climbing
- Routes
- 4 single-pitch routes and 3 multi-pitch routes
- Grades
- 6a/b to 8a single pitch; multi-pitch pitches 4c to 6c
- Height
- 30 to 60 m, multi-pitch 110 to 150 m
- ROCK
- limestone
- STYLE
- sport, multi-pitch (partly trad)
- APPROACH
- 15 to 20 min down from the plateau parking, faint path
Sectors
- Kaf al Blida
- Beraka Allah Fika
- Grandes voies: Ben Ali qu'a tort, Revolution en rab, Printemps Arabe
Getting there
36.3664N 10.0903E
Nearby trails
Sources
Photos: HalloulimedAmeur (CC BY-SA 4.0)