Below we are listing the official Granada climbing areas for you, ordered by distance from our house 😉
But there are more great climbing spots closeby, which officially belong to the areas of Malaga or Jaen and are also just a one hour drive away, which makes them definitely an option for a full day of climbing. There is for example the huge sector of Reguchillo, or the famous area of Villanueva del Rosario, which got worldwide attention thanks to it´s 82 meter long 9b “Chilam Balam”.
Legend
- - time to drive from Cogollos Vega in minutes (min) or hours (h)
- - time for approach from parking in minutes (min)
- - Best seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter)
- Wall orientation(s): East/South/West/North
- Max. height of sport climbs in meters (m)
- Percentage of routes up to 5+ (UIAA: up to VI)
- Percentage of routes between 6a and 6b+ (UIAA: VI+ to VII+)
- Percentage of routes between 6c and 7a+ (UIAA: VIII- to IX-)
- Percentage of routes between 7b and 7c+ (UIAA: IX to IX+)
- Percentage of routes between 8a and 9a (UIAA: X- to XI)
Cogollos (5 sectors / ~170 routes)
Our homebase and the climbing sector around the corner! It has amazing high walls with a lot of routes in the mid range grades. Since all walls are south facing, it`s the perfect winter climbing spot.
- -
- 5 - 15 min
- S
- 35 m
- 4 %
- 7 %
- 21 %
- 45 %
- 19 %
Alfacar (26 sectors / ~360 routes)
Alfacar is on the corner of Sierra de Alfaguara natural park and has a great view down to Granada. It is one of the biggest areas around Granada, the climbing is very diverse and offers all grades, but especially a lot in the lower range.
- 10 min
- 3 - 15 min
- E/S/W
- 30 m (+Multipitches)
- 23 %
- 48 %
- 14 %
- 11 %
- 1 %
Los Cahorros (25 sectors / ~280 routes)
One of the most scenic climbing spots in Spain! The amazing canyon with a river and waterfalls is also one of the top hikes in the area. Climbing is tough for the grades, but still offers around 30 routes up to 6a+.
- 30 min
- 15 - 30 min
- E/S/W/N
- 35 m (+Multipitches)
- 21 %
- 48 %
- 18 %
- 7 %
- 1 %
Moclin (6 sectors / ~140 routes)
The area of Moclin has two main parts: a slabby area, and a steep to overhanging area with a lot of great holes. Since that area looks like a swiss cheese, it is called “Gruyere” 🙂 Also there is a nice via ferrata.
- 35 min
- 2 -10 min
- S/W
- 30 m
- -
- 15 %
- 36 %
- 34 %
- 7 %
Peña Cabrera (6 sectors / ~60 routes)
This area also known as Diezma (the village) or El Naranjito, is one of the old school areas around Granada. You climb with an amazing view to Sierra Nevada and the rock offers diverse climbing styles and grades. Definitely worth a visit!
- 30 min
- 15 - 20 min
- S
- 30 m
- 25 %
- 30 %
- 23 %
- 8 %
- 3 %
Poloria (1 sectors / ~80 routes)
Poloria is a big cave on a private farm property. Since it`s very overhanging, the climbing is rather hard on crimps, slopers and Tufas. Here you can also climb when it`s raining.
- 30 min
- 5-10 min
- E
- 35 m
- -
- 6 %
- 16 %
- 31 %
- 42 %
© Ñaco climbing “Picasso” (7b) in Poloria
Nigüelas (10 sectors / ~100 routes)
A very shady climbing spot next to a river inside a canyon and therefore a perfect option for hot days. The climbing is technical on rather easy slabs.
It is also a beautiful area for hiking up from the village of Nigüelas.
- 40 min
- 15-20 min
- S (but shady!)
- 30 m
- 33 %
- 30 %
- 14 %
- 11 %
- -
Piñar (3 sectors / ~90 routes)
That rather hard sector that was mentioned in Desnivel in 2017, after it got rebolted. We recommend an ascent to the castle, to visit one of the most important monuments of the municipality.
- 40 min
- 5 - 15 min
- E/N
- ?? m
- 1 %
- 13 %
- 23 %
- 43 %
- 13 %
Loja (12 sectors / ~250 routes)
Amazing climbing spot with pretty diverse climbing styles – from crimpy slabs to overhanging Tufas and steep endurance climbs – there`s everything.
- No climbing in "Zorreras Altas y Bajas" between January and June due to endangered bird nesting.
- 45 min
- 1 - 14 min
- E/S
- 35 m
- 7 %
- 20 %
- 23 %
- 27 %
- 11 %
Los Vados (19 sectors / ~280 routes)
Los Vados is a huge canyon with stunning big walls on both sides! Being very close to the sea, it often has nicer weather than in other areas, that`s why also the locals use to go there on “bad weather days” 😉
Besides offering climbs in all grades, there are especially a lot of great multipitch and trad routes!
- No climbing due to endangered bird nesting in those sectors:
- “Tajo del Canal”, “Limbico” and “Carretera”: no climbing between 01.01. – 15.06.
- “Tajo de la Virgen”: no climbing between 15.11. – 15.06.
- 45 min
- 1 - 30 min
- E/S/W/N
- 40 m (+ Multipitches)
- 11 %
- 31 %
- 19 %
- 23 %
- 10 %
Lanjaron (4 sectors / ~35 routes)
A nice little climbing sector on the south of Sierra Nevada, with some shady parts inside a barranco for summer. A perfect option to combine some climbing with visiting the small villages of the beautiful Alpujarras.
- 50 min
- 10 min
- E/S/W
- 30 m
- 47 %
- 29 %
- 9 %
- -
- -
Rambla seca (1 sectors / ~10 routes)
Small area near the village of Dilar, with a few harder routes.
- 50 min
- 10 min
- S
- 15 m
- -
- 10 %
- 20 %
- 40 %
- 30 %
Lagos (6 sectors / ~60 routes)
A climbing area with a few sectors, one of them being a big cave with steep endurance climbs and some nice Tufas.
- 1 h
- 2 - 10 min
- E
- 25 m
- 2 %
- 7 %
- 34 %
- 38 %
- 20 %
Cerro Toro, Motril (4 sectors / ~40 routes)
This is an area close to the town of Motril, also known as climbing sector with that name. Motril is at the mediterranean sea, so we recommend a combination of climbing and going to the beach in Salobreña 🙂
- 1 h
- ? min
- ?
- E/S/W/N ?
- ? m
- 8 %
- 32 %
- 26 %
- 24 %
- 11 %
Capileira (4 sectors / ~40 routes)
A small sector high up in las Alpujarras, next to the beautiful white village of Capileira. Also known as Tajos de Aldeide.
- 1,5 h
- 5-10 min
- S/W
- 20 m
- 47 %
- 29 %
- 21 %
- -
- -
Missing information – help welcome!
We know of a few more sectors, about which we unfortunately don`t have any closer information.
Those are:
- Pinos del Valle
- Viznar
If you know something, feel free to contact us and let us know 🙂
How to behave – Do`s and Dont`s
Even if most climbers are quite conscious, in big groups you can quickly forget about the basic rules… and if we don`t respect the environment or the local conditions, at some point there will be restrictions, people will close access to walls on private properties, or things like that. None of us wants that.
- Please park on the recommended parking spaces and not as close to the wall as possible! You`re a climber, you can do 5 minutes more of ascent, right? 😉
- Leave no trace! Take your trash back home. You carried it to the place with content, it should be easier to carry it back empty, no? That includes also cigarette butts and food leftovers like banana peels etc.
- Use the proper path, even if it takes a bit longer! Find cairns and follow them, don`t enter prohibited areas, don`t walk through nowhere land and kill plants on the way. Please.
- If you need to do your business somewhere: go off-path, cover it at least a bit with leaves or soil and don`t leave toilet paper or tissues behind, but put them in a trash bag and take it back out.
- Respect restrictions on climbing in certain areas and times! They always have a good reason for example nesting of endangered birds. You can find the local restrictions for Granada sectors on the respective sectors in our overview.