Rock climbing at Datca

Datca is a peninsula in southwest Turkey with the Aegean Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.  The Datca peninsula is craggy with pine covered hills, hidden ravines, sweeping bays and deserted beaches.  Located in these hills are several tufa-rich limestone crags offering just over 320 sport routes on good quality rock.

The sport climbing at Datca is very varied with routes ranging from F4’s to F9b.  The style of the climbing varies from slabs, vertical walls with pockets or small crimps, to overhangs with tufas, and monster overhanging caves. 

The main Crag is called Indian Man that accounts for two thirds of the routes around Datca, and there are literally all styles of climbing and grades to choose from.  Indian Man consists of various sectors, including its impressive main cave called Can Baba. Can Baba has lots of tufas and is the heart of the hard climbing at Datca, with the majority of the grades between F7b and F9b.  Another impressive sector is called Uzak Zurafa with its many long and mostly easier routes.  Here there are some 3-pitch routes with the majority of the grades ranging from F5c to F7a+.

Opposite Indian Man are several smaller crags including Karain (another small cave offering hard routes) and the multi-pitch crag called Karina Yola. Karina Yola is a big pinnacle that currently only has 2 multi-pitch routes (150m and 220m long) though there is plenty of scope to add many more trad, mixed or fully bolted routes.  Hizirsah and Balik are 2 other smaller crags that offer an excellent day’s climbing.

On the north side of the peninsula is a crag called The Canyon with several sectors facing both east and west.  The sector Les Frouzes is amongst one of the most impressive cliffs at Datca, and the potential for developing new routes in the area is almost endless.

Most of the routes are single pitch but are longer than 30m so at least a 70m or even an 80m rope is required, with some routes requiring 17 to 18 quickdraws. The main climbing season is between mid-October and May when the temperature is a reasonable 10 to 20 Celsius.  However, it is possible to climb at Datca throughout the year as the various sectors face all different orientations making it possible to chase the shade or sun.

Getting to Datca is relatively easy with the closest airports being Dalaman or Bodrum, where it then takes around 2.5 hours to drive to Datca. Alternatively if you are on holiday at either Bodrum or Marmaris then it is feasible to spend a few days climbing at Datca as part of your general holiday. There is a direct ferry from Bodrum to Datca that takes 1.5 hours (check dates and availability at www.bodrumferryboat.com), whilst Marmaris is only 70km away by road.

There are plenty of places to stay in Datca during winter, including a camp site run by climbers called Datca Base Camp, who can be found via Facebook.

The Datca rock climbing guidebook is the only comprehensive guide and topo describing 322 routes (ranging from F4’s to F9b) around Datca, and is available to buy from our shop.