Rock climbing at Finale Ligure

The rock climbing at Finale Ligure offers fantastic, diverse sport climbing of great quality and character, with around 4,000 routes to choose from on white limestone rock. The rock climbing is situated in a succession of valleys in the hills behind Finale Ligure, and covers an area of 10 square kilometres. This huge deep green landscape can be harsh, wild, rough, and splendid and therefore not your "standard" sport climbing area but is a real adventure.

The rock at Finale Ligure is a marine limestone and the variety of rock climbing is huge, from slabs, smooth and pocketed vertical walls, to steep imposing overhangs and tufas. The style of climbing is technical, with the majority of the routes on vertical walls adorned with tiny pockets and crimps, demanding precise footwork and strong fingers.

The routes are mainly single pitch, though there are some bolted routes up to 3 and 4 pitches long. However, the exception is the Bric Pianarella crag, the so called “big wall”, where the routes are up to 250m long. The climbing at Finale consists of over 30 major crags that are split into over 200 different sectors. There are around 4,000 routes ranging from F3a to F8c+, usually with the crux near the end of the route. However, most of the crags have routes with grades between F6a and F7a.

Further along the coast is Capo Noli, which offers climbing some great sea cliff rock climbing that has a totally difference character to that of Finale. This area is also a very popular place for deep water soloing.

The photograph shows an unknown climber on Peace, F7a+ at Rocca di Corno crag, one of the more popular crags in Finale Ligure.

Travel - Getting to Finale Ligure to go rock climbing is very easy, with several major international airports close by. The nearest is Genova airport, which is only a 30 minute drive away. However both Turin airport and Nice airport (just across the border in France) are relatively close and very practical. The crags at Finale are spread out over a 10 square kilometre area, so it is advisable to hire a car.

Accommodation - Finale is a very popular tourist area and therefore there is a massive choice of accommodation, ranging from expensive hotels, budget hotels, self-catering apartments, B&B, to camping.  Climb Europe has information on some apartments in Finale Ligure that are suitable for rock climbers.

Climbing season - The best time of the year to visit to go rock climbing in Finale Ligure is in the autumn and spring, though it is possible to climb throughout the year if you choose your crag carefully. Generally, though it is too hot and crowded in the main summer months and in the winter a cold northerly wind can blow, though there are enough crags that are sheltered from this wind to make a trip worthwhile.  The best information is in the Finale Climbing guidebook, which at the start of each sector/crag describes the best time to climb there. This guidebook can be bought from our shop.

Finale Climbing Guidebooks - Finale Climbing is the comprehensive guidebook covering the rock climbing and sport climbing at Finale Ligure.  Published in 2022, it details 213 separate sectors and crags and describes around 4,000 routes.  Buy guidebooks for Finale Ligure from our shop.

Rest Days - There are many other activities to do in Finale other than rock climb. The area is also famous for mountain biking with many off-road tracks. Click here to find out more about mountain biking around Finale.  As Finale is located by the sea there are also great beaches and superb water sports, such as windsurfing to enjoy. For just lazing around then the historic village of Finalborgo offers quaint scenery, shops, and of course plenty of bars and restaurants.