Rock climbing in Slovenia
Rock climbing, bouldering and mountaineering are popular activities within Slovenia, and as such offers some imposing rock climbing areas. Slovenia is fast becoming a popular holiday destination, with its fantastic scenery and culture. Hence the rock climbing areas of Slovenia are perfect for; those who wish to combine climbing as part of their holiday; or those who wish to climb solidly for a week or 2. There are around 100 sport crags, and over 5,000 routes, within Slovenia, all of which are sensibly bolted and solid. A single guidebook is available that covers all of these crags, which can be bought from our shop.
The 5 main rock climbing and bouldering areas within Slovenia are:
The rock climbing around Osp is the most popular area within Slovenia and has over 600 routes across all grades. There are 3 main crags all within 4km of each other; Osp, Misja Pec, and Crni Kal. The rock climbing here is a mixture of single and multi-pitch sports climbing on well-bolted limestone rock. Rock climbing is possible throughout the year through the ideal time is the spring and autumn. Osp is close to the Italian border where there is also some rock climbing to be found at Trieste, and also just across the border into Croatia where there is some excellent rock climbing.
There is a single guidebook available, called Climbing without Frontiers, which covers the rock climbing around Osp, plus Trieste in Italy and Istria in Croatia, which is available to buy from our shop.
Situated in the north west of Slovenia within the Julian Alps, the rock climbing around Bledis the most picturesque and spectacular within the whole of Slovenia. Being a mountainous area and by a lake, the rock climbing here is ideal for those who wish to combine a general active holiday (such as walking, mountain biking, and canoeing) as well as being very children friendly. Between Bled and Lake Bohinj there are 14 crags and over 560 sport routes across a wide range of grades, with the majority in the F6a to F7b range. All the routes are generally single pitch, well bolted, and on compact limestone rock. The ideal time to visit Bled for rock climbing is from spring through to the autumn.
Situated around the town of Celje in north east Slovenia there are a number of excellent crags, with Kotecnik and Creta being the standout crags of the area. Between them there are over 550 sport routes on well bolted, limestone rock, across a wide range of grades. Both crags are situated within forests making them ideal rock climbing areas from spring through to autumn, and are very popular in the summer.
The comprehensive Slovenia Sport Climbing guidebook covers all the sport climbing crags in Slovenia, including Bled, Lake Bohinj, Celje, and Ljubljana. Buy this Sport Climbing in Slovenia Guidebook from our shop.
Bouldering in Slovenia
The largest bouldering area in Slovenia is at Trnovo Ob Soči, located in the upper valley of the Soča river in Western Slovenia. There are over 1,000 problems on excellent limestone rock that are located on the edges of the river, in beach areas, and in forests close to the river.
The other main bouldering area in Slovenia is around Pohorje in Eastern Slovenia. Here there are 5 main areas (Oplotnica, Jurgovo, Bistriški Vintgar, Ožbalt and Mislinja) offering more than 600 boulder problems on granite rock.
The Julian Alps along with the Kamnik and the Savinja Alps have many mountains over 2,000m including Slovenia’s highest mountain, Triglav at 2,864m high. These mountains along with meadows valleys and lakes provide many places to walking and hiking. Find out more about walking in Slovenia…