We provide rock climbing holidays on the sunny Mediterranean islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino. Good quality rock. Interesting variety of traditional, sport, multi-pitch, coasteering, deep water soloing and bouldering. Ideal for beginners, intermediate or experienced climbers. 25 years of local climbing experience. Small groups.

There are over 1,200 established rock climbing routes in the Maltese islands (Malta, Gozo and Comino). This is by no means exhaustive, as plenty of virgin rock still awaits. The various climbing crags are easily accessible. Any crag is no further than half an hour’s drive by car, followed by a couple of minutes walk which will bring one to the bottom, or top, of the intended climb. Also, there is no problem with crowding /queuing (only about 30 local climbers frequent the crags! The Maltese are football mad! ) The climbing is on limestone, which over time the Maltese elements have moulded into interesting and fascinating formations. One can choose whether to climb in the sun or in the shade, according to the respective season. Following a rainy downpour, the rock is usually dry after about an hour, due to the rock porosity and breezy conditions. No poisonous creatures inhabit the climbing crags. Regarding access and conservation, there are no seasonal restrictions and one can climb all year round.

Although Malta has no mountains – the highest point above sea level being 253 meters (829 ft.)- the variety and beauty of climbing scenarios are plentiful and stunning. The rugged coastline offers magnificent single or multi-pitch sea cliff walls, pleasant sea slabs, low level sea traverses (coasteering) or deep water solos, where one can drop into the clear blue sea to cool off in the hotter summer months. Inland are the picturesque valleys (widien in Maltese), the sides of which offer solid limestone walls of a single pitch. Also one finds interesting rock outcrops which are very often indented with caves. Some hard bouldering problems will even test the hardiest of boulderers! One can either climb traditional routes (leader placed protection) or bolted routes (sport climbs).

Our rock climbing holidays are run by Richie Abela. He is 43 years old, and has been climbing the local crags for the last 25 years. Richie is one of the pioneers in Maltese climbing, and has a couple of first ascents to his credit. He is also a qualified physiotherapist (any rock sport injuries, anyone?). A member of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), he is Single Pitch Award (SPA) qualified, which was attained at Plas y Brenin, the UK National Mountain Centre in North Wales. Currently he is co-authoring the new definitive local rock climbing guide book.

Malta has had climbing visitors of the likes of Patrik Edlinger, Stevie Haston, John Dunne, Crispin Waddie, Garry Gibson and Simone Moro! So whether you’re a novice, an intermediate climber or an expert rock athlete, there are various grades of difficulty for all. At present, the hardest grade that has been climbed is at E7 6c (French 8a, USA 5.13b, UIAA X) – for the uninitiated, all climbs are graded, in order to help climbers choose the routes suitable for them.

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