Sicily Guide

Summary:

J

F

M

A

M

J

A

S

O

N

D

Sazonalidade

Mostly Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 37.397407, 13.730142

sumário

Being an island in the very south of Italy, Sicily is an ideal climbing destination for the colder months of the year. It offers superb sport climbing on limestone, but also much more. https://climbingitaly.com/en/sicily/

descrição

Rope climbing areas:

San Vito lo Capo
- you can't talk about climbing in Sicily without mentioning San Vito. This is the number 1 climbing destination here, and a truly world-class area with amazing sport climbing by the sea, as well as few multipitches. What makes this place special is that there are interesting routes also for beginners and advanced climbers, not just for pros.
Palermo
lives a bit in the shadow of San Vito, although the sport climbing here is comparatively good. There is more focus on trad and multipitch climbing here
When it gets too hot at the coast, there are good options in the mountains - Parco delle Madonie being the prime example, but also the area around Etna
The south-east of Sicily is a bit of hidden gem - areas around the cities of Ragusa and Siracusa feature countless crags in the many canyons here. If you are an ambitious crusher, this is your place to be as the climbing tends to be on the harder side.

Bouldering:: not too many people heard about the bouldering in Sicily, which is a shame because there are two great areas here, and both on sandstone blocks.

Bosco Scorace
- new crag near San Vito with around 200 lines on the blocks
Bronte Blocks
- blocks under the slopes of Etna with around 300 boulder problems

Equipment needed

The minumum needed is a 60m rope and 15 quickdraws as that's sufficient for most routes here, but it's better to bring a 70m rope and 18 quickdraws so that you can climb almost everything. For multipitches you will need extra trad gear and slings

Guidebooks

The best source is La Roccia di Sole which covers the whole Sicily (some minor crags were left out). The San Vito area has it's own guidebook which is regularly updated, Sicily-Rock - which is available for purchase in the El Bahira camping.

Paid topos are availble in the app ClimbAdvisor - on Google play and Appstore. ClimbAdvisor covers most of Sicily including the bouldering areas, but leaves out the south-east unfortunately.

Rest day tips There's plenty to do in Sicily, even if you didn't want to climb at all.

north-west

Erice - nice historical village with great view
Zingaro national park - ideal for hiking or staying on a beach, but as of 2020 still closed due to a local fire
Hot springs - they are a bit further from San Vito, but definitely worth it. For free.
Palermo - nice city centre if you have the driver skills to survive getting through the traffic.
Tempio di Segesta - ancient temple and archeological area
Monreale - historic town near Palermo with a famous cathedral

south-west

Parco archeologico di Selinute - nice archeological site
Scala dei Turchi - impressive cliffs above the sea
Vally of the temples - famous archeological site near Agrigento

north-east

Etna - unmissable volcano, although during the climbing season might be very cold and requiring winter gear
Taormina - nice historical city with great view of Etna

south-east

Three historical cities, each of them a gem - Ragusa Ibla, Noto and Siracusa
Cavagrande del Cassibile - Sicilian Grand canyon, great for hiking
Pantalica - canyon with a large necropolis, a nice hike as well

central sicily from north to south

Cefalù - nice historical city
Parco della Madonna - impressive mountain range with endless hiking posibilities
Enna - nice historical town with great view over a large part of Sicily
Villa Romana del Casale - famous Roman villa with impressive mosaics

acesso

you can fly to Palermo, Trapani or Catania. It's advisable to rent a car, as public transport in Sicily isn't the best. If San Vito lo Capo is your only destination, it's possible to manage without a car.

onde ficar

Plenty of campings, guesthouses or airbnb's are available all around Sicily. As climbers come here from October to May, the prices are generally lower since it's outside of the standard tourist season.

Summary:

Mostly Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.121036, 12.750131

sumário

World-class limestone crag with every type of climbing you could possibly ask for. The long and interesting routes on cliffs by the sea are unique in offering grades of every dfficulty from 2a to 9a

descrição

Main overview

San Vito Lo Capo is by far the most popular climbing area in Sicily with more than 1200 routes. The routes are very well bolted, and while there were problems with it's quality in the past, nearly all have been rebolted with high quality material.

The climbing season here is from October to May, in the summer it gets too hot. Conditions are usually very good for climbing, but they vary day to day - sometimes humid, sometimes rainy, and on another day the wind can be so strong that it makes it hard to climb.

The rock is limestone in all shapes and forms, featuring big overhanging walls, slabs, caves, tufas, jugs, crimps.

Guidebooks

See guidebook section on the sidebar. Sicily-Rock (which covers only San Vito) is the main guidebook here and it gets regularly updated. It's available for purchase in the El Bahira camping.

There is also the La Roccia di Sole guidebook which covers the whole Sicily including San Vito. You will find some new nearby crags in this guidebook, such as Point Break or Antro dei ciclopi.

Last but not least, theCrag information is very well maintained here and you will find plenty of topos.

Equipment needed

The minumum needed is a 60m rope and 15 quickdraws as that's sufficient for most routes here, but it's better to bring a 70m rope and 18 quickdraws so that you can climb almost everything.

Route character: Majority is single pitch sport climbing, although there are few routes separated in two pitches. If you are a fan of trad climbing or long climbs over 100m long, check out Monte Monaco which has many routes that go to it's top.

Rest day tips

Erice - nice historical village with great view
Zingaro national park - ideal for hiking or staying on a beach, but as of 2020 still closed due to a local fire
Monte Monaco - if you won't climb on it via one of the multipitches, why not do a hike to the top?
Monte Cofano* - a very nice hike to top with amazing views. It's also possible to do a round trip around the mountain.
Hot springs - they are a bit further from San Vito, but definitely worth it. For free.
Palermo - nice city centre if you have the driver skills to survive getting through the traffic. And if you realize there that you don't want to rest you can do some great climbing nearby at Monte Pellegrino.
Tempio di Segesta - ancient temple and archeological area
Monreale - historic town near Palermo with a famous cathedral

questões de acesso

To access some sectors you need to cross fences used for cattle - be careful to not damage the fences

acesso

closest airports are in Palermo and Trapani.

To get to San vito, best way is to rent car, although buses also exist (timetables ). Some accomodations may offer you transport from the airport.

Once you get to San Vito, to most climbing areas you can easily get by foot especially if you stay at the El Bahira camping, although it's recommended to rent a car for shopping and trips on rest days. It's possible to rent bikes at El Bakira

onde ficar

The camping El Bahira is right under the main cliff and offers a special discount for climbers in the climbing season. Staying in a tent is a decent cheap option here, as you have access to use the kitchen, showers and toilet.

There are also several guesthouses or airbnb's in San Vito and in Castelluzzo.

ética

As of 2020 it's forbidden to bolt new routes as re-bolting is still the main focus.

história

Bolting started here around 2005. The main developers are Scott Titt, Josef Gstöttenmayr, Daniele Arena and Jim Titt

Summary:

Escalada esportiva e Psicobloc

Lat / Long: 38.148392, 12.774670

sumário

Long cliff stretching from the road to sea. Featuring mostly hard climbing in caves, still with a lot of potential for development. There is also a Deep Water Solo sector Cala Firriato.

acesso

(38.146926, 12.765607), follow the steep dirtroad down and then you will see the cliff above you on the right

Summary:

Mostly Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.159163, 12.755971

Summary:

Mostly Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.160977, 12.728039

sumário

Long west-facing cliff with hundreds of single pitch sport climbs of all grades

descrição

A 3-km cliff borders the western shore of the peninsula. It runs with only a single interruption at Portella de Vacche (dirt road leading to sea) along the coast. Most routes range from 15 to 30 m in length with plenty of easier and moderate routes; most sectors are well developed. In many cases (but not all!) the grading seems to be a tad soft. The cliff is almost exclusively exposed to the west; shady routes in for the afternoon can only be found in some grottes or corners.

acesso

The beach is narrow and blocky in the northern half, thus all sectors north of "Fakiro's beach" are best accessed from north, all others from the south. Access is generally short.

for crags in the north:

Still on asphalt, ideal for rental cars (38.182917, 12.725818)

Closer to the rocks, but on dirt road (38.181620, 12.721803)

Even closer to the rocks, but the road is quite bad and rocky in some places (38.175634, 12.716612)

for crags in the middle (e.g Bunker): (38.157921, 12.731418)

for crags in the south: El Bahira camping or along the road towards it. E.g. (38.145101, 12.735661)

onde ficar

There are several guesthouses and a camping at San Vito. The camping "El Bahira" is located within a stone's throw of some of the sectors.

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.150416, 12.743317

sumário

Sunny crag on the slope above San Vito

descrição

Nice crag with routes across a large range of grades. Bottom of the wall is quite overgrown as of January 2023.

acesso

(38.1502992, 12.7386089), go 100 meters south and then follow the path east to the rocks. The path was heavily overgrown as of January 2023.

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.122247, 12.743234

sumário

Castelluzzo offers great climbing in the surrounding hills a bit further away from the sea. It's mostly hard routes here.

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.097272, 12.692305

sumário

Hidden climbing in the shadow, mostly in overhang on tufas. Topo https://allclimb.com/en/guides/sicily/san%20vito%20lo%20capo/fiamme%20gialle/

acesso

(38.105067, 12.692182)

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.083442, 12.664393

sumário

Custonaci belongs under San Vito but is separated by the mountains. It offers equally good climbing as other areas, especially for more advanced climbers

acesso

It takes around 25 minutes by car to get here from San Vito, but on the other hand the crag approach times are very short.

Summary:

Mostly Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.117841, 13.303775

sumário

The area around Palermo offers really good quality climbing comparable to San Vito, not only sport but also trad and especially multi pitch.

descrição

See guidebook section on the sidebar

Other sources are:

Allclimb
https://allclimb.com/en/guides/sicily/palermo/
Paid topos are availble in the app ClimbAdvisor - on Google play and Appstore
some topos of multi-pitch routes can be found on https://climbing-sicily.com/

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.210975, 13.310158

sumário

Long overhanging red cliff with excellent climbing on tufas

acesso

(38.212869, 13.306950)

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.212200, 13.322000

descrição

Compact limestone with overhangs and vertical walls

acesso

(38.212869, 13.306950)

Summary:

All Escalada trad

Lat / Long: 38.206165, 13.287655

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.200518, 13.298268

sumário

Small crag between Partanna Mondello and Tommaso Natale. Easy to reach

Summary:

Mostly Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.172729, 13.353900

descrição

The Mountain gives home to nine climbing sectors that offer climbing from single pitch to multi-pitch routes and from sport climbing to Trad climbing.

acesso

From Palermo Center heading north in the direction of Mondello.

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.175277, 13.123159

descrição

Recently discovered small amphitheater of rock, good for climbing in the summer

topo: https://allclimb.com/en/guides/sicily/aeroporto/uqbar/

acesso

(38.176931, 13.124193)

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 38.123223, 13.086746

descrição

Cave high above the sea, long approach

topo - https://allclimb.com/en/guides/sicily/aeroporto/terrasini/

acesso

38.122848, 13.079143, then zig zag uphill to the cave

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 37.936096, 14.008960

sumário

Most known for alpine and trad multipitch climbing, but there are also few sport climbing sectors

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.918394, 13.924321

descrição

Beginner friendly sector on the slope of Monte d'Oro

topo: https://allclimb.com/en/guides/sicily/monte%20d'oro/grotta.%20monte%20d'oro/

acesso

(37.9131145, 13.920979) then walk on the dirt road to (37.914142, 13.917504) where you'll se a paved road on the right. Open and close the gate behind you and walk on the path until you see the rocks

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.911976, 13.934145

descrição

Small sector on the slope of Monte Cucullo

topo: https://allclimb.com/en/guides/sicily/monte%20d'oro/right.%20contrada%20croce/

acesso

(37.912244, 13.933324)

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.819114, 13.893947

sumário

Small town surrounded by hills. Being 635m above the sea, this is the place to cool down if it gets to hot at the coast. Apart from apline climbs, there's a surprising amount of sport climbing too

descrição

topo: https://allclimb.com/en/guides/sicily/caltavuturo/

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 37.849581, 14.984340

sumário

Crags around the volcano Etna

descrição

Topo information for crags around Etna is best found in the fifth version of La Roccia di Sole which was published in 2022 and covers the whole Sicily including Etna.

Paid topos are also availble in the app ClimbAdvisor - on Google play and Appstore

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.700053, 15.053752

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.812175, 14.855113

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.841871, 14.713175

descrição

Unclear Access - owner may not be pleased with climbers on his property.

The crag is situated right next to the road SS 120 near the village Cesarò.

acesso

(37.84095764, 14.71413191)

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.869400, 15.282500

Summary:

Lat / Long: 38.074800, 15.462300

Summary:

Lat / Long: 38.033071, 14.583163

descrição

Historical crag with varied climbing and good boltng

acesso

(38.0325261, 14.5838861) and then through small cattle gate

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.861912, 15.296695

descrição

Legendary rock by the beach, you may see pictures from this place on many covers of climbing guidebooks. Hard overhanging routes with difficult starts. Best to climb on days when the wind blows from west to east

acesso

(37.8644644, 15.2962367) then go down the steps to the beach

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.681111, 15.036677

descrição

Climbing in an old crater for hot summer days

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.757404, 15.150673

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.722880, 15.144038

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.821773, 15.167900

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.764707, 15.014352

descrição

Developing crag on the east side of the volcano with two routes. For updated information ask at Rif. Citelli

Location only estimated

acesso

Long walk up

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.991771, 15.161235

descrição

Small crag high in the mountains

acesso

(37.9896344, 15.1593608), then a 15 minute hike to the rock

Summary:

Lat / Long: 38.005039, 14.728962

descrição

Huge slab with routes that shouldn't be underestimated even in easier grades

acesso

(38.0038330, 14.72704392) and then up the trail for 10 minutes

Summary:

Lat / Long: 38.017746, 14.712396

descrição

Small sector with overhanging rock. It's on private property, please be respectful

acesso

(38.0170317, 14.7112939) then continue uphill via a short staircase, then follow along the fence and just before an old ruined house climb the fence an go to the left

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 37.092090, 15.068819

sumário

Hidden gem in the south-east of Sicily, offering hard sport climbing in the many canyons around Siracusa. Canicattini Bagni is the most popular and quickly developing area here.

descrição

Siracusa topo information is best found in the fifth version of La Roccia di Sole which was published in 2022 and covers the whole Sicily including Siracusa.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.037932, 15.101275

descrição

Most climbers only know about San Vito in Sicily, but the community around Canicattini Bagni is working on changing that. This area is full of canyons with potential, and the bolters are constantly developing new routes and sectors. We are very lucky they are very active on this website too - Stefan Löw and Christoph Stahr.

apart from theCrag, topo information is best found in the fifth version of La Roccia di Sole which was published in 2022 and covers the whole Sicily including Canicattini Bagni.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.116009, 15.177116

descrição

South-east corner of Monti Climiti, not far from the exit Floridia of the highway Catania - Siracusa

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.141700, 15.030100

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.276675, 15.185872

descrição

This area has 10+ routes that range from 4c/5.6 to 7b/5.12b. The main wall is a vertical slab about 70ft of straight vertical crimper climbing. There are other routes scattered thought the canyon that are short and slightly over hanging and easy 5.6 climbing. All the climbing in this location is bolted sport - the whole sector was re-bolted in 2021

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.027700, 15.142600

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.136700, 15.130700

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.281231, 15.212980

acesso

(37.28271569, 15.212074756) Turn right at the end of Via Favignana and follow the path

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.164818, 14.910549

descrição

Lovely climbing sector with more than 60 routes. Wooden plates show the names of almost all the routes.

acesso

Parking for around 5 cars right next to the main road.

Short walk along the road until a cairn marks the approach to the sector.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.162861, 14.909917

descrição

Plenty of routen in different Grades, well bolted, all between 10 and 18 m.

acesso

Downhill

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.157100, 15.086600

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.140200, 15.028900

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.158051, 14.880509

sumário

Narrow canyon with a couple of vertical routes and a lot of harder, overhanging tufa routes. Approached from above.

descrição

Bolt quality here is a bit all over the place. Most bolts are mechanical anchors with hangers, the belay anchors are typically one bolt and one eyebolt, connected with a chain and maillon.

While most bolts look fine, some are very rusty and should be replaced. Some routes seem to have been rebolted recently (as of Jan 2024), others have very old material.

acesso

Park at (37.1588000, 14.8817900). The road there is not the best, so careful with low or very wide vehicles. The last portion up to the parking spots is better paved again. If above parking is full, you can park just a bit earlier at (37.1568798, 14.8826357) or here (37.1563854, 14.8831577).

From the first-mentioned parking above there is a trail going left, down into the canyon. It‘s marked by cairns. After the section that descends rock stairs, try to stay on the path that traverses slightly left rather than down. It‘s easy to miss as there are many wrong tracks.

onde ficar

The closest village is Buccheri. Otherwise, the Lo Zafferaneto hotel is located just next to the climbing sector.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 37.107694, 15.173703

sumário

A crag near abandoned query and the road. Routes are mostly vertical to somewhat slabby and sometimes overhanging.

descrição

Quick access is nice, but the closeness to the quite busy and noisy road can be a bit bothersome.

The upper sector gets sun at around noon, and the lower sector after around 1 PM.

acesso

Park on the side of the road (just before the road fence or even earlier). A few metres after the start of the fence there's a path leading right to the crag (less than 1 minute total).

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 36.837163, 14.758090

sumário

Just like the crags around Suracusa, Ragusa has many underrated places scattered all around, offering hard sport climbing

descrição

Ragusa topo information is best found in the fifth version of La Roccia di Sole which was published in 2022 and covers the whole Sicily including Ragusa.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.849700, 14.750709

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.768680, 14.798002

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.936100, 14.708600

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.880461, 14.750924

sumário

A nice east facing crag close to Modica.

acesso

Park at the side of the road and go to the start of the path a few meters further (36.8809841, 14.7504001). Follow the path, that makes one sharp right turn, to the crag. Approach time is around 5 minutes.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.833800, 14.745100

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.880522, 14.750496

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.896900, 14.716600

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.841300, 14.842700

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.838462, 14.947715

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.835800, 14.842500

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.802227, 14.899923

descrição

One of the best sectors here. Great Rock,lovely view and well bolted.

acesso

From ispica to moderna you take a right after the stadion towards the sector. Park in front of the door and walk through it. In total 20 min. Follow the road through the gate, at a stone man climb/jumb over the stone wall and follow the stone mans and the blue arrows.

Summary:

Lat / Long: 36.858700, 14.760900

Summary:

All Escalada esportiva

Lat / Long: 37.866333, 13.328328