When I told people we were going on a climbing holiday to Greece they all responded with an immediate “oh cool Kalymnos!?” While a totally valid response, as Kalymnos is one of the more well-known climbing meccas, our planned destination was Leonidio. A name that left most interrogators tilting their heads sideways as if waiting for some magical enlightenment from the climbing Gods above.
I will admit that when Yann (yes as in Gennoux the IFSC chief setter) and Evie (his partner – who is also a badass that manages a chain of climbing gyms in the UK), while visiting us on a recent trip to Rocklands in June, asked us to join them on their yearly pilgrimage to said Greek location the name didn’t spark even the vaguest neural activity. I had never heard of the place. However, I do know Yann and his psych and endless quest for the sickest hard sport routes, so if he was a return customer the place must be good. This knowledge, coupled with a swiftly delivered photo montage depicting steep limestone caves, idyllic Mediterranean fishing scenes (we are both nerds for fishing) and many photos of cats (because who doesn’t love cats), had Kate and I very quickly committing to this adventure into the unknown.
And so the next few months were filled with frenetic endurance training, countless YouTube videos watched, and endless online topos scoured through.
So where is Leonidio. Leonidio is a small traditional Greek town on the eastern Peloponnese coast about a 3-hour drive from Athens. Distance and time wise it’s a similar experience to driving to Rocklands from Cape Town (for those of us lucky enough to be familiar with this experience).
Kate was already on the European mainland due to a work visit to the Netherlands and so we planned to meet up at Athens airport on Saturday the 18th of October. After a marathon layover in Doha, I finally touched down in Athens in the evening. After finding Kate at her landing gate we picked up our car from Avis (which was upgraded for free from a Renault Clio to a Merc A-class – whoop) and drove to our overnight stay in Porto Rafti (a small coastal town very close to the airport). For those landing late in Athens, I would recommend this quiet neighbourhood for a pitstop stay as the morning coffee and walk alongside the serene Mediterranean port was well worth it.
The drive down to Leonidio is painless as the highway from the airport skirts around all the busy metropolitan areas. Once you reach the smaller coastal roads the hustle and bustle of cars gives way to beautiful sweeping hills dropping into clear Mediterranean water all the way into the town.
The roads at this point become very very skinny…and don’t forget in Europe you drive on the right-hand side of the road.
Leonidio has everything you need from grocery stores to chemists and petrol stations so no need to stock up on anything on your way in. Being a global climbing hotspot there are also a number of small but well equipped climbing shops and even a climbers bar named “Panjika” for those looking to find a holiday climbing buddy.
The town is the capital of the historic Tsakonia region and is known for its rich agricultural traditions, producing citrus fruits and the renowned “Tsakoniki Melitzana” eggplant (we ate a lot of this). Despite rising tourism, the town has a beautiful traditional Greek character, with a charming cobbled main street, local tavernas (restaurants), and distinctive historic architecture.
We shared a house with Yann and Evie for our two weeks stay. The town has many accommodation options in traditional styled houses all within walking distance of the town centre (the town isn’t very big).
On our first night we went out for drinks and met up with Mateo and Sylvester (friends of Yann joining from the UK) who would make up the rest of our motley crew. We would become inseparable for the next two weeks.
Climbing in Leonidios
As for the climbing, we followed a 2 days climbing then 1 day of rest sort of schedule since we were only there for 2 weeks.
Leonidio is surrounded by towering limestone cliffs and there are crags in every direction and up every valley. The terrain ranges from slab to cave and difficulty all the way from the 5a to 9a (14 – 36 SA grades). We visited the following crags in our time there:
Elona
Twin Caves
Nifada
We barely even scratched the surface of how many crags are at ones disposal and the myriad of options is mind blowing.
The variety of grades at each crag that we visited was also wide and looking at other topos, it seems this is the trend at most of the crags. The biggest contributor to this seems to be the bolting of the area. Almost all of the long routes had mid chains or multiple anchors. For example, this means that a route that was 8c+ by the very top had a first chain that was 7a and a second chain that was 8a. This way instead of one super hard route you get a route that is accessible to three different levels of climber.
At Elona, all of the routes on the main part of the wall were bolted in this way. This was great as our party consisted of varying levels, ranging from 7a to 8c+, and every crag we went to had more than enough grade variety to keep our crew well occupied.
The locations of the crags we visited blew my mind. Elona on the precipice of a cliff, Nifada tucked away in the highest most secluded part of the valley and Twin Caves perched high above the town just out of sight of the ocean.
We were there well into the first half of autumn which we discovered meant perfect climbing days if the wind blew moderately and perfect beach days if it didn’t blow. We had a coupe days of rain when we arrived which is apparently unusual for this time of year, but apart from that this seems like a great time of year to visit.
Top Climbs
Kate and I did a few cools climbs while we were there and picked up a couple of cool projects for our next visit. Being our first trip and only two weeks long, we decided to not project anything really and instead moved from route to route quickly to maximise the experience. That being said, below are a few of the cool things we did and would recommend:
Elona:
- White Rabbit 6b
- At Tension 7a
- Paranihida 7a+
- Hanuman 7c
- la Venganza del silencio 8a
Twin Caves:
- Avgi 6b
- A pig in the roof 8a+
Nifada:
- Fronapropen 6a
- Stelli Mantritsch 6c+
- k3 climbing 7c
Leonidio’s Charm
As far as non-climbing activities are concerned there are a few to choose from as long as a slow pace of life is what you are after. Yann and I spent some quality time fishing in crystal clear water.
The beaches are pebble lined and the water beautifully warm.
Aaaaand cats…there are LOTS of cats in Greece, so if you love fur babies there is an endless supply to stroke and feed.
Mostly, we spent our down time walking through the streets taking in the sights and sounds, stroking cats and living among the people of this vibrant town. I really believe that the true allure of this place is the town and its people. Its history and their warmth are really what makes this destination special.
We also happened to be there over Oxi Day (also spelled Ohi or Ochi Day), a national holiday celebrated on October 28th. To our delight we found ourselves in a street festival with a live band and danced the night away with the locals.
We spent most nights eating out at the various local restaurants each with its own unique charm and speciality dish. Food really is a culture here, and our crew took great joy spending time together immersing ourselves in the vibe of the town each night.
For climbers out there who enjoy a slow pace of life, a trip to Leonidio should be high on your bucket list. After only a few days there we had already made plans in our head to return. Leonidio is a magical place, don’t miss out.
Until next time Leonidio.
