Rock Climbing around Malaga and Marbella in Southern Spain
The rock climbing around Malaga is dominated by the world famous gorge at El Chorro. However there are many other excellent crags within the region that are also inland from Malaga, such as Desplomilandia near El Chorro, Torcal de Antequera and Archidona near Antequera, Turon near Ardales, and San Bartolo near Tarifa on the coast. Each of these crags offer 100's of bolted sport routes on limestone rock (except San Bartolo which is sandstone), and across a good range of grades.
Other rock climbing areas within Andalucia are El Chorro and Granada, both of which offer fantastic sport climbing.
Map of the rock climbing areas in Malaga and Marbella
| No | Crag Name | Grade Range | Total No of Routes | Single or Multi-pitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Chorro | 3 to 8c | 1,000+ | Both |
| 2 | Turon | 5 to 7b+ | 91 | Both |
| 3 | Las Cuevecillas. Sierra Ortegicar | 5 to 7b+ | 17 | Single |
| 4 | Desplomilandia | 5 to 8a+ | 300+ | Single |
| 5 | Torcal de Antequera | 4 to 8c+ | 130 | Single |
| 6 | Archidona | 5 to 9a+ | 104 | Both |
| 7 | Villanueva del Cauche | 5 to 8b | 54 | Single |
| 8 | Comares | 5+ 8a+ | 30 | Single |
| 9 | Mijas/San Anton | 4 to 8a | 107 | Single |
| 10 | Benahavis | 3 to 8a | 67 | Both |
| 11 | Benaojan | 4 to 7c | 60 | Single |
| 12 | Grazalema | 4 to 8a | 81 | Both |
| 13 | Benaocaz | 4 to 8a | 92 | Single |
| 14 | San Bartolo | 3 to 8a+ | 234 | Both |
Malaga rock climbing logistics and beta
It is possible to climb around Malaga from October right through to early June (the summer is just too hot), by choosing your crag carefully. Though the best time of the year to climb around Malaga is in the spring and autumn as it can be quite windy and therefore cold in the winter. As with most sport climbing in Spain at least a 60m rope is required and for some routes a 70m rope is ideal. Around 12 to 16 quickdraws will be sufficient for the vast majority of the routes.
There are various guidebooks that cover the rock climbing and sport climbing around Malaga and Marbella. These are as follows:
The El Chorro Rock Climbing guidebook is the most comprehensive guidebook for El Chorro and it also covers Desplomilandia, and Valle De Abdalají.
The Rockfax El Chorro Guidebook covers El Chorro, plus Mijas, Turon, Desplomilandia, Valle de Abdalajis, El Torcal, Villanueva de Cauche, Archidona and Loja crags.
The Andalucia Sport Climbing Guidebook covers many of the crags, around Malaga and Marbella including El Chorro. The guidebook describes over 3,600 routes, and it also includes the crags around Granada, Cadiz, and Jean.
The Malaga Sport Climbing Guidebook describes 15 crags in and around Malaga (excluding El Chorro) and is perfect for those climbers who are looking for local crags around Malaga.
The Rock Climbing in Southern Malaga Guidebook covers 29 sport climbing crags in Southern Malaga. It covers the coastal Costa del Sol area, crags around El Chorro (but excludes El Chorro itself), and inland mountain crags. Included are the popular crags of Desplomilandia, Pozo de la Mona, Turón, Mijas and Casares.
Buy all of these rock climbing guidebooks for Malaga and Marbella from our shop.