The Gorge of Oued-el-Abid is a 10 km long valley dug by erosion in the red sandstone of the middle-atlas mountains of Morocco. It runs between the villages of Ait-Attab et Ouzoud in the Province of Azilal.
The numerous cliffs on both sides of the canyon are between 30 and 80 meters high, some accessible from the riverbed, others from the canyon upper rims. The riverbed also offers a large numbers of boulders.
It all began in 1998 when David Guerin discovered Ait Attab and the gorges of the Oued El Abid, his wife Malika’s region. They travelled there from time to time until 2003, when the road infrastructure and tracks were only accessible by 4x4. In the same year, renovation work on the road linking Ouled Ayad to Ouzoud via Ait Attab made access finally possible and opened up the gorges.
As a climber and equipment fitter, David Guerin discovered an incredible potential for tourism and tried to convince those around him, but motivation remained timid, as Morocco was still too far away and plane tickets too expensive.
The trips will be less regular, but in 2015, accompanied by a former shepherd and Malika’s brother, a former soldier, they will cross the gorges from below to locate all the climbing potential. The following years saw the discovery of the first accesses to the cliffs and, with climbing companions from the Périgord, a few points were planted for abseiling descents.
The potential was enormous, and in 2017 the decision was taken to create the MYROCK association and to call on the climbing community through Arnaud Petit, a world-renowned climber.
That same year, Théo Denier learned of the appeal launched by MYROCK. He got in touch with David Guerin and went to the site in December. The first routes were equipped and this was the start of the development of the climbing site. The project team grew. Climbers not only from the Franche-Comté region but also from Burgundy and Switzerland came to discover the site and make their contribution. By 2019, the number of routes had risen to 70 and the first tourist trips had been booked by climbers from France, Germany and Morocco.
In 2020, the Covid epidemic put the brakes on the project for a few years. Nevertheless, Moroccan climbers discovered and familiarised themselves with the site. A number of new climbing routes saw the light of day during these years.
In 2025 moroccan and foreign climbers joined forces to give the site a real boost by creating the Zakoum Climbing cooperative.
