Rock climbing in Malta and Gozo

Rock climbing in Malta and Gozo was started by the British RAF in the 1960's and 1970's and hence has a history of British trad rock climbing ethics (with the leader placing natural protection such as nuts and friends). During the 1980's and 1990's other European climbers (mainly Italian) visited the island and established many new bolted sport routes. Hence the islands offer a good mixture of sport and trad rock climbing on good quality limestone rock. This is something that is unique in the Mediterranean and offers rock climbers the best of both worlds. The climbing ethic is to have designated sport climbing crags and keep the traditional rock climbing crags bolt free.

There are many crags on the islands of Malta and Gozo, with nearly 1,500 routes across all grades on excellent limestone rock. Approximately 70% of these routes are on Malta with 30% on Gozo. The style of rock climbing varies from single pitch to multi-pitch routes, coupled with bouldering (mainly on Gozo); and many deep-water soloing (DWS) locations, ideal in the hot summer months! These routes are spread all across the islands from rugged coastlines, inland valleys, to caves and ridges.   Surprisingly the crags on Malta and Gozo are very quiet as there few local climbers! However this does mean there is virtually no polish and the crags are peaceful.

Undoubtable the best sport climbing area on Malta is Wied Babu, which has a good mixture routes across all grades, with Victoria Lines being another extensive crag. Malta has many excellent deep water soloing (DWS) venues, particularly Ghar Hasan. However not all of the deep water soloing routes on Malta are recorded, it's a case of go and explore.  The best sport climbing areas on Gozo are Mgarr ix-Xini and Ghajn Abdul, where you will also find trad routes alongside the sport routes.

Best time to climb

The islands of Malta and Gozo are the most southerly European country, which means they have become a classic winter sun destination.  Therefore it is possible to rock climb here throughout the year, with the ideal time to visit is from October through to May. The summer can be unpleasantly hot particularly on the south facing cliffs. However this is a good time to go deep water soloing instead!

Guidebooks

The only current guidebook available is called Sport Climbing in Malta and Gozo. This guidebook covers 21 crags, and describes over 500 fully bolted sport routes, across a wide range of grades up to F8c+. All the routes are shown on colour photo topos, with route lengths and French grades. Buy this guidebook from our shop.

Getting there

Flying to Malta is relatively very easy with regular scheduled flights and many charter flights from a large number of European cities to its modern international airport. For those who wish to travel overland, there is also a fast ferry service from Sicily. Getting around Malta is very easy providing you have a car and you can usually park within a 5 minute walk of the crag. There is no airport on Gozo, so the cheapest way to get there is via the car ferry from Chirkewwa (in Malta) to Mgarr in Gozo.

Accommodation

As Malta is a popular year round tourist destination there are plenty of options when it comes to accommodation. This ranges from plush 5 star hotels to self-catering apartments, which can be booked as part of a package or separately from your flight. There is also a campsite in the Mellieha area.