Kalymnos has become one of the most famous sport climbing venues in the world. The quality of the limestone rock (the amazing calcific formations such as tufas, stalactites and tilted slabs that have formed over thousands of years),the relaxed island lifestyle and great weather makes this a unique climbing experience. Your only worries will be about where and what to climb, what fresh fish to eat and contemplating the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea!
Kalymnos is a small Greek island in the South Aegean Sea that belongs to the Dodecanese Islands close to Turkey. The island is mountainous with outstanding limestone: grey solid slabs, vertical red walls and in particular beautiful tufa and stalactite formations in caves and on steeper overhanging walls.
The traditional economy was, until the 1980’s, based on sponge diving. In the late 90’s a couple of Italian climbers on their honeymoon, couldn’t believe what they’d stumbled upon, not only falling for the island's beauty but also very quickly understanding the extent of unclimbed rock and how incredible the climbing and limestone looked. In less than 20 years, Kalymnos has become one of the most famous sport climbing venues in the world with more than 2700 routes to date.
Away from the main island is Telendos, a 15 minute sea taxi from the small village of Masouri. You’ll be dropped off ‘on the rocks’ and rewarded with a fantastic and adventurous day climbing on the many crags and longer multi-pitch routes really adding to the overall experience of climbing on these Greek Islands.
The sheer quality and variety of rock climbing on offer at the many crags here, the sea views from the crags, the outstanding smell of thyme, oregano and sage on the approaches, the swim after climbing by the Pirates beach bar and the great cuisine…all make your time on the island such a rich, rewarding and memorable experience.
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What the Course Covers
The week is very flexible and tailored to each individual's climbing grade and ability, so that everyone has a great holiday. This is easy to achieve in Kalymnos as there are so many crags and lots of routes on these crags. You will get a fantastic spread of routes and grades, with people climbing grade 5, grade 6c and 7a next to each other…...there’s something for everyone! It’s this spread of routes and choice of crags that allows us to really tailor the guiding and coach you at the appropriate level, developing your climbing at a pace that really suits you - there’s no rush!
We’ll meet on the Island of Kos and take the ferry to Kalymnos (about 1 hour). The boat will arrive in the capital of Kalymnos where we’ll catch a taxi to Masouri - the climber’s town. By renting small scooters we’ll have the chance to get around the island very comfortably. The accommodation will be in comfortable self-catering “studios” in Masouri.
Here’s some of the suggestions of our usual trips:
- The Grande Grotta, an outstanding huge tufa cave;
- The Kasteli Peninsula with ancient ruins of a Byzantine castle;
- “The Beach” the closest crag to the sea shore in the island;
- “Sikati Cave”: a giant hole in the ground full of tufa’s and stalactites;
- “Secret garden”: one of the shady crags that faces Turkey;
- One day of climbing in Telendos Island;
- One day of deep water soloing in the beautiful narrow fjord of Vathy;
- A motorbike tour around the Island;
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When to Visit Kalymnos and Costs
We can arrange trips to Kalymnos for individuals, pairs of climbers or teams up to six, throughout April and May and mid-June, as well as through the period from mid-September 'til mid-October. A one-week holiday is ideal but we are happy to arrange shorter or longer trips. We work out a 'Custom Course' price for you based on guiding rates similar to those we charge for our UK courses.
Kalymnos climbing trips are run by UIAGM/IFMGA mountain guides from our core team, and the routes and itineraries will be carefully tailored to suit your climbing standard and preferences.
