Friouato Caves, Morocco in Atlas Obscura

I've been to Friouato Caves or Kef Friotato twice, in 1976 and 1981. Friouato is located in the Taza area of the Middle Atlas in Morocco.

 In Feb 2019 I cam across this article on Friouato Caves in Atlas Obscura , "Friouato Caves
The true depths of these stunning Moroccan caves are unknown".

Gouffre de Friouato, Morocco used for BBC Prized Apart game show

BBC game show Prized Apart used Gouffre de Friouato in one of the episodes. Friouato is in the Middle Atlas mountains in Morocco. I went to this enormous cave in 1976 and again in 1981 on the Cerberus Spel. Soc expeditions.

The programme was shown on BBC TV in England in July 2015. It was episode 3 that has the caving segment. From the BBC www:

Gouffre de Friouato

Up into the mountains to the north east of Fes lies the immense Friouato cave system, which includes North Africa’s largest cave.

By the time the adventurers reached the cave for the third Survival Challenge it was mid-February, and the entrance to the cave was covered in snow, which fell steadily from the cave roof down into the 150 foot chasm below. The adventurers had to descend hundreds of steep steps to make their leap into the darkness...

When we were there is was hot as it was summer.

"Better to make a challenge at the top of a cave than the bottom

The leap of faith challenge in Episode 3 required our adventurers to jump from the top of the cave and grab hold of a trapeze, holding on for as long as possible. This meant bringing a huge amount of equipment down hundreds of narrow stairs in the dark. We had to bring down a weighted jib (a type of crane that you can attach a camera to), five cameras, a wooden beam, power tools, six rolls of camo netting and drapes, a gallery of six monitors and cabling, a lot of safety equipment - along with over 30 people. But was it worth it to capture the amazing footage of our adventurers as they dropped to the bottom? Absolutely!" [BBC www]

You can see the video here, the caving part starts approximately at 26 minutes.

Morocco 1981 Cerberus SS Expedition

The Cerberus Spelaeological Society had a second expedition to Morocco in 1981, the first one was in 1976. On both expeditions we drove from England to Morocco where we were based in the Middle Atlas mountains near Taza. Taza is located near the top right of this map.

Here are a few photos from the 1981 expedition. This was our transport -





 The next few are of the gorge to Bab Bou Idir -



Oleanders on the track to Kef Chara -

 An awkwad bend before Kef Chara camp site -

 

We finally get underground in Kef Chara,. The divers getting ready-

 

This was the walk to Kef Chara -

This was the walk to Kef Roadi -

and looking down into the cave, note person on right -

 

Another cave, Kef Oudjil -

A view of the Chikker Basin from Kef Friouato -

Friouato entrance shaft -

and Chikker entrance -

Gouffre Friouato is one of the largest cave systems in northern Africa. It is open to the public as a 'basic' show cave. The entrance shaft has steps and is 100 m deep. Below are large passages that end in a sump.

Gouffre Chikker entrance is surrounded by a dam. It drains the Chikker basin.

See more on The Friouato Caves on the Morocco tourism site.

Morocco 1976 Cerberus SS Expedition

I participated in 2 caving expeditions to Morocco, in 1976 and 1981. These were organised by the Cerberus Spelaeological Society. We went to the Middle Atlas Mountains, near Taza. Taza is at the top right, see arrow -

In 1976, the first expedition organised by the Cerberus SS,  we focussed on the major cave systems of Gouffre Friouato and the Grotte du Chiker.

Here is a video posted by an expedition member, Peter Glanvill.

I don't seem to have many photos at all of the expedition -

 A view of Taza -

and the countryside around Taza -

 

 The entrance to Frioato -

Gouffre Friouato is one of the largest cave systems in northern Africa. It is open to the public as a 'basic' show cave. The entrance shaft is 100 m deep. Below are large passages that end in a sump.

See more about Friouato on the Moroccan tourism site. And more photos by Pete Glanvill.

See - The 1981 CSS expedition.