Rock climbing in South Western Mexico

The rock climbing and sport climbing found in south western Mexico is found around the large cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Guanajuato. Here there is a high concentration of sport crags, plus a number of trad climbing and bouldering areas.

Map of the main rock climbing areas in South Western Mexico

Map of the main rock climbing areas in South Western Mexico

Main rock climbing areas in South Western Mexico

NoCragNo. of routesTypical Grade RangeRock TypeStyle of Climbing
1Tapias Viejas100+5.9 to 5.14SandstoneSport and Trad
2Ixcatan100+5.9 to 5.14Basalt and RhyoliteSport and bouldering
3El Cuajo60+ 5.10 to 5.13Basalt and RhyoliteSport, Trad, and bouldering
4El Diente150+5.13d to 5.13dGraniteSport, Trad, and bouldering
5La Bufa and Calderones705.8 to 5.13bRhyoliteSport
6Pena De Bernal605.7 to 5.12+GraniteSport and bouldering
7Aculco1405.8 to 5.13BasaltTrad and bouldering
8Jilotepec1205.8 to 5.14cVolcanic tuffSport
9Copilco645.8 to 5.13aVolcanicSport, Trad, and bouldering
10Las Manzanas100+5.7 to 5.13dBasaltSport, Trad, and bouldering
11Calixtlahuaca1145.8 to 5.12cAndesiteSport and Trad
12El Oasis505.9 to 5.14aVolcanic Sport, Trad, and bouldering
13Chontacoatlan and Dos Bocas1005.10 to 5.14LimestoneSport

Rock climbing around Mexico City

Amazingly it is possible to rock climb just outside the heart of Mexico City at Los Dinamos. This fascinating climbing area is in such a fabulous, wild and beautiful natural setting on good quality volcanic rock. The climbing area is divided into several sectors combining excellent trad climbing (La Coconetla) to excellent bolted sport routes, with routes up to three pitches long.

Within an hour’s drive of Mexico City are the excellent crags of Jilotepec, Aculco and Las Manzanas. Jilotepec is a large sport climbing crag and was a location for 2010 Petzl Rocktrip. It has a large number of sectors on good conglomerate and has many fabulous routes. Aculco is one of best trad climbing areas in southern Mexico. It is a canyon with walls filled with cracked basalt prisms of all sizes. It has been described as a mini "Mexican Indian Creek", and is a great place to visit for jamming lovers. It also has some excellent bouldering. Las Manzanas is an excellent sport crag with high quality rhyolite, featuring many pockets, crimps and outstanding friction.

Further south of Mexico City in the state of Guerrero is one of Mexico’s top sport climbing destinations, called Chontacoatlan. Here there is stunning large cave full of giant and spectacular stalactites and tufas. The vast majority of the routes are of high quality, long and demand lots of endurance.

Rock climbing around Guadalajara

In the state of Jalisco is the city of Guadalajara, which has some excellent rock climbing areas. Ixcatan provides the best sport climbing in this area, with its solid reddish sandstone rock, providing many technical face routes. There are several highly developed sectors with enough climbing for many days. El Cuajo is a beautiful canyon with sport routes up to three pitches long. Access to these routes is via abseil (rappelling), which adds to the adventure. El Diente is a beautiful area with a huge concentration of granite boulders of all sizes. It has plenty of small sectors with mostly sport climbing routes, a few trad routes and excellent boulder problems all around. In fact it is one of the best bouldering areas in Mexico.

Rock climbing around Guanajuato

Average peak temperatures for Mexico CityLa Bufa and Calderones is an interesting sport climbing area attached to the beautiful colonial city of Guanajuato. The rock is a reddish/grey rhyolite and has numerous sectors on the rock band above the city.

Logistics for climbing in south western Mexico

Generally the best time to climb in south eastern Mexico is from November through to April. During this time there are very low levels of rain and the coolest temperatures.

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