Rock climbing in Leonidio

The town of Leonidio is surrounded by high quality limestone crags that sit on the hillsides around the town.   Leonidio has become a major sport climbing area that is known for its well-bolted single pitch routes and fully bolted, long multi-pitch routes on excellent limestone rock.  As such Leonidio has been described as is the best place to go sport climbing on mainland Greece.

The crags that surround Leonidio are a mixture of red and grey limestone rock that is highly featured, offering great routes across a wide range of grades, from F3 to F9a+. Currently over 3,000 sport routes have been developed at Leonidio providing many different styles of enjoyable climbing.  These include tufa columns, steep crimpy walls, and caves with stalactites, to grey slabs requiring good balance.  The vast majority of the sport routes at Leonidio are single pitch that can be up to 40m long. There are also 49 of multi-pitch routes up to 280m long, with many of them around 150m to 220m long.

To get the most out of your trip to Leonidio it is recommended to take an 80m rope, since some of the routes are up to 40m long and require as many as 25 quickdraws.  However, it is possible to get away with a 70m rope and around 18 quickdraws and still climb the majority of the routes.  A helmet is also highly recommended.

Getting to Leonidio is relatively easy, fly direct to Athens and then it is roughly a 4 hour drive to Leonidio in a rented car.  No ferries or extra flights are involved.

The best time to climb at Leonidio is from the autumn through to spring (October to April), with the climate being typically Mediterranean.  Many of the crags face south providing ideal winter sun-traps, but shade can also be found. The winters are mild with many days of sunshine, and brief periods of rain.  Spring and autumn are warm with many days of sunshine, and occasional rain.  Summers are hot and dry with almost no rain. 

Being a coastal holiday location there are plenty of options for accommodation in the town of Leonidio.  The traditional town still offers a pleasant way of life and is the perfect place to visit a café or restaurant after a great day's climbing.

Many of the huge limestone cliffs that spectacularly tower above the town are all within walking distance from your accommodation.  Walk-ins vary from roadside to 45 minutes, with the majority of the crags being easily accessible within 15 to 30 minutes.  Nearly all the crags are helpfully signposted and waymarked to make finding each crag incredibly easy.

Kyparissi is located approximately 60km south of Leonidio, and this coastal village is surrounded by grey, red, yellow and bluish-grey limestone rock. There are over 400 well-bolted sport routes at Kyparissi and unlimited tufas. The largest crag is called Babala, with its huge cathedral of tufas, there are over 60 routes graded F8a and above. However, at Kyparissi has numerous crags offering fun and safe routes for the average climber, as well as many good routes for beginner climbers and families.

Many of crags at Kyparissi face east and have shade for long periods of the day.  Hence the best time of the year to climb at Kyparissi is from the spring through to the autumn, as there are crags for both morning and afternoon climbing.

The Leonidio rock climbing guidebook describes over 3,000 routes across 103 sectors at Leonidio and Kyparissi and is the most comprehensive guidebook available. It also includes 49 multi-pitch routes. This guidebook has been produced by local climbers, where a large part of the profit from these guidebooks goes back into the Leonidio bolt fund for the maintenance of existing routes and creating new ones.