Hiking Zaghouan: Rock Traverse

time: 4hrs

distance: 9km

altitude difference: 660m

difficulty: moderate / hard

notes: first part way-marked, last quarter difficult route finding

GPS Track

Park the car at the restaurant at Temple des Eaux. Hike for around 20  minutes up the mountain road until you see the sign Eco Rando on the left side. Hit this broad forest trail (which is actually the start). After 200 metres, just before the main trail bends left, there’s a smaller trail cutting back almost 180 degrees. Take this gradually ascending trail. There are way marks (white arrows painted on the rocks), but they point the opposite direction. It was marked from the top. The easy going trail stays clear and zigzags up. You keep the communication towers in view. Once you’re higher up you can start seeing the main ridge in southerly direction. You might be able to see the path that you will be taking. At the final bit of this trail section the path stays level and aims towards the bend in the tarmac road.

The first section of the trail with the route continuing on the flanks of the ridge in the distance 

Cross the road and turn right on the ascending, still clear trail. After around 600 metres the trail drops and roughens (a messy zigzag down). On your left are vertical cliffs. It still is a proper trail, but now and then it’s taken over by trees. After another 500 metres, when the landscape is more open, the path fades. One track goes down, the other aims for the big ridge wall in front of you. You should head for the end of the vertical wall on the right side. The path is now a network goat tracks, but these all lead up the broad top part of the ridge. Here you have two options. The easiest is to descend to the clear trail 150m lower. It’s a little bit steep, but the terrain remains quite open. Once you reached the trail, turn right (decending) and follow the trail towards the upper road, close to the marabout (see Zaghouan Pass hike, first section but now in reverse). The other option is to gradually descend, following the goat tracks. This choice is harder: the tracks fade and go occosionally go through shrub. But it’s possible! The route goes in northwesterly direction and leads as well towards the upper mountain road. For the final descent take the easy path from the marabout (description see Marabout Loop) to the lower part of the mountain road. Turn right towards Temple des Eaux.

Below: second section of the trail on the massif's main ridge

Scrambling: Northwest Ridge Zaghouan

Distance: 7.1km
Hiking up: 460m
Hiking down: 460m
Level: difficult, scrambling
Time: 4-5hrs
GPS Track

The route looking in northwestern direction

For those who are new to the word scrambling: It's essentially moving up and down rocky terrain, just using hands and feet (so no climbing equipment). Whilst the climbing should be safe and relatively easy without using a rope (otherwise it would become proper rock climbing), the terrain can be exposed with big drops. For safety, a helmet should be worn when there is a danger of rock fall.

The first section of the route, a bit of shrub to fight at the start

To get to the trailhead, drive up the mountain road from Temple des Eaux. As the road climbs, after 4km the road will make an almost 180 degrees turn (a dirt track continues along the ridge that you will tackle on this route). Shortly after there will be two switch backs. About 300m further you can park your car at a relatively flat spot. It's not an official parking but locals park their car here as well.

The start of the route is a bit hard. Hike in northwesterly direction. There is no path up the ridge. You will have to work your way through the shrub for the first couple of hundred meters. The actual crest of the ridge is quite clear and it's easy enough to avoid the bushes. The first bit of scrambling starts soon, with massive hand holds and good footing. Gradually the terrain becomes a bit more complicated, but there are usually more options to scramble up.

Using hands and feet and a helmet on the more vertical sections

The first sections have short scrambles up (and occasionally down too), maximum 3 metres. Halfway the upward part of the route there's a bigger wall, looking quite daunting but in reality is not very difficult. It starts at a dip in the ridge of about 8 meters. To get to the base of this wall, don't walk all the way to the end where the gap is. You will need a rope to abseil this as it is vertical. 20 metres before that, there's a way to descend. However, it is a little tricky and you will have to stay cautious.

The biggest but not most difficult obstacle on the route (find the hikers!)

The big wall (25-30 metres) is, as said, not too hard although it appears to be at first glance. You have to see it like a giant's staircase, with always a bit of flat ground underneath you. Just take the time to find your way up. Once you're up you'll find the crux (hardest part) of the scramble. A vertical bit of around 3 metres has to be tackled, with a bit of climbing needed. The hand holds are big though. Up this rock ledge it's pretty exposed so bring your vertigo pills! Just one more climbing section more, a lovely scramble, and you are up the summit plateau.

The crux of the scramble

The fantastic last section of the scrambling part of this hiking route

There is still no clear path on the summit plateau, but it's easy to find your way through grass, low shrub and a pointy limestone surface. As the plateau widens, you want to stay slightly on the left side as at some point you will meet a shepherds path. If you go to much to the left, the terrain becomes difficult again. It's worth the effort finding the proper trail. The trail leads to the upper part of a mining complex, where mainly the metal lead was excavated. The mine shafts are still open, but are not in use anymore. A track winds down, to the main complex. There is a small trail meeting up with a wide dirt track on the base of the mountain ridge. It's a bit hard to find. There is a little open space at what seems like a view point (overlooking the southern ridges and Jebel Zaghouan. From here, the trail zigzags down to the track. Turn left (going up) and climb almost 400m up to the main (tarmac) mountain road. Turn left here and find your car after half a kilometre.

This photo gives a good impression what the scramble is about

This is climbing DOWN a tricky section, performing the correct technique

Hiking Zaghouan: Sidi Medien Loop

Distance: 8.4km
Hiking up and down: 260m
Level: easy
Time: 3hrs
GPS data: note, the last 1.7km are not tracked

The mosque at Sidi Medien

The Sidi Medien hike is  great loop. The terrain is not difficult, views are fantastic and there are some interesting places en route. You can park your car near the mosque in Sidi Medien, which is about 25 minutes from Zaghouan. The first part of the walk is on the road that goes down towards Zaghouan. After 10 minutes there's a right turn-off into a small gorge. Follow the dry river bed (sometimes a little overgrown in places). Eventually you will hit the dirt track that winds up to the high road in the Zaghouan Massif. At the first sharp bend (180 degrees) there is a small trail going straight towards an small abandoned mine. Great place to get away from the sun if it's hot. From here a tricky, almost invisible path goes down to the right.

Weirdly shaped limestone rocks

In the next 1.5km is a bit hard to find the trail at times. The path is overgrown by scrub in places. Try to stay at the same altitude (you may have to bypass parts because of the vegetation). At some point you will have to descend through a 1.5m wide rock/gravel/mud trail to a good part of the route along a rock wall. Stick to the path that now goes into the direction of the massive Dolomite style rock walls in the distance. You will see the ruined mining settlement on your right and a shark tooth shaped rock in front of you. After having passed the tunnel it's 5 minutes to one of the ruins on a open pasture. From here it's only 20 minutes back to Sidi Medien. Beautiful hike!



Tunnel!

Hiking Zaghouan: the Farm Track

Farm Track Hike

Distance: 2.2km
Hiking up: 310m
Hiking down: 20m
Level: easy
Time: 45min-1hr
GPS track

This short hike gives you everything the Zaghouan Mountains have to offer: impressive walls, fragrant forest and excellent views. And it can be done in combination with the Climbers Canyon walk, which makes it a perfect 2-3hr walk.

You will start at the same car park as the Climbers Canyon hike. Leaving the car park, turn right and follow the road for 100m. At the first white building, turn left and follow the obvious wide path. After about 10 minutes you will cross a wide clearance. Just keep following the track, white arrows show you the way. The path gets a bit steeper at times, but it will all be very easy to walk. About half way you will have spectacular views over the plains north of Zaghouan. Once you have passed some impressive walls you will get to the farm estate and the road. This road connects the route with the Climbers Canyon walk (going up for about 20 minutes). The trail end on the top is not that obvious, look for a white sign on a big rock.

Hiking Zaghouan: the "climbers" canyon

"Climbers" Canyon

Distance: 2.5km one-way
Hiking up: 400m
Hiking down: 50m
Level: easy
Time: 1-1.5hrs
GPS track

Birds eye view image of the route in southerly direction

The "climbers" canyon hike is a wonderful hike through a forest, with big red limestone walls on both sides of the canyon. Rock climbers test their climbing skills here, hence the name "Climbers Canyon".

The walk starts at the big car park, marked on the map above. The path is marked all the way to the top with big white arrows painted on the rocks. The trail stays a little bit on the right side of the canyon as you go up. After 20 minutes you traverse to the left (passing a beautiful dome-shaped wall). After the traverse the climb steepens, but still very easy to walk on. There is a blocked off area with stones, just ignore this. As you get higher the landscape unfolds with stunning views towards the north. You will traverse to the right again, scaling a rocky section (take care, loose stones). 5 minutes later is a pasture where shepherds let their goats graze. The views from here are even better, with Tunis visible on a clear day. The trail continues up (find the arrow!), it's only 15 minutes more to the road. With this many arrows getting lost is almost impossible. You could go back the same way or hit the Farm trail down, which will be described in the next post.

On my way up!                                        Photo: Mark Oppe

Hiking trails in Tunisia

Recently I have spent a lot of time in the limestone mountain crags around Zaghouan. Besides rock climbing, there are many shepherd trails to explore. These trails are far from obvious and it takes a little bit of exploring. Which of course adds to the fun. Initially I wanted to dedicate this blog just for mountain biking. But I love exploring new hiking routes too, so I decided to make this blog a bit broader: hiking and biking in Tunisia!

The rugged western ridges of the Zaghouan mountains