Rock
Climbing in Crete
The largest developed rock climbing area in Crete, is situated
around the village of Kapetaniana in southern Crete. Kapetaniana
is an isolated village away from the main tourist regions,
and therefore offers remote and peaceful rock climbing on
solid white limestone rock. The style is mainly sports climbing
but with some traditional climbing and covers over 120 routes.
However it is only 75Km from the capital Iraklio (Heraklion),
with its airport, and therefore is very accessable.
The routes are mainly single pitch on the many buttresses
around Kapetaniana but also includes some multi-pitch routes
on the nearby Mount Kofinas, which are up to 150m long. On
top of Mount Kofinas there are many breathtaking views of
the surrounding area and the sea.
There are other rock climbing areas within Crete, though
these are relatively undeveloped and no formal guidebooks
exist for them (unlike Kapetaniana). The main areas are around
Agiofarango and Aradena gorge near Loutro, both of which are
on the southern coast and Therissos Gorge near Chania. More
information about these other areas can be found on the ClimbinCrete
web site. Around Loutro there is also some deep water soloing
and great possibilities for opening new long sports routes.
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