About Climbing In Malta

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There are over 1,300 established rock climbing routes in the Maltese islands (Malta, Gozo and Comino) in about 30 different climbing areas. This is by no means exhaustive, as plenty of virgin rock still awaits. The various  climbing  crags and cliffs 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 50 local climbers frequent the crags! The Maltese are football mad! ) The climbing is on limestone, which over time the Maltese elements have molded 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. There are no seasonal restrictions, so 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, sea level traverses 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). 

Malta has had climbing visitors of the likes of Patrik Edlinger, Stevie Haston, John Dunne, Crispin Waddie, Garry Gibson, Simone Moro and Katie Brown! 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. 

When to climb in the Maltese islands / weather

Rock climbing in the Maltese islands is possible throughout the whole year due to a typical Mediterranean climate. Winters are mild with January/February averaging daily temperatures of 16 ºC. The best time for a full blown rock climbing trip to the Maltese islands is anytime in Spring, Autumn and Winter. Due to hot and humid conditions, a summer climbing trip would have to be extremely well planned, like climbing in the earlier part of the day (6.00am till 11.00am) and the latter part (5.00pm till 9.00pm). It is dark by 9.00pm in summer. Climbing then would have to be restricted to the shady crags, which would be rather limiting as a lot of the crags are south facing (sun all day!). However, a great way to cool off during the hotter months is by deep water soloing and sea level traversing and falling into the clear blue Mediterranean sea. For more about the Maltese climate click here.

Climbing equipment

The rock type in the Maltese islands is limestone, so for trad climbing a rack suitable to this kind of rock is required. A pair of 50 metre half ropes should be sufficient. Plenty of different sizes of slings are useful, dyneema better than nylon, as the Maltese rock abounds with natural threads. A 'threader' (a stiff piece of wire fashioned into a hook) is useful for getting slings through the narrower threads. Nuts are the staple of protection. It is usually a good idea to have a set of Wild Country Rocks (or similar) as most cracks are curved and also a set of DMM Walnuts (or similar) to deal with curved jagged cracks. Micro nuts are useful on smooth slabs. Hexes are extremely useful too, Wild Country Rockcentrics (or similar) being good placements for the wider cracks. Camming devices are not used very frequently due to the curved and jagged natures of cracks. However a small assortment of friends can be useful. A half dozen or so of locking carabiners are needed, especially in rigging up anchors at the tops of climbs. Most route tops do not have abseil points, so be prepared to leave a couple of old carabiners/slings/cord behind you. If you`re a bolt clipper, a single 60 metre rope should suffice and a dozen quickdraws. However, it is always wise to carry some extra protection, in order to back up suspect looking fixed gear. If you require to purchase any climbing equipment, you`ll not find much down here, so come well equipped!

Below is a list of publications, where you can find out all you need to know about rock climbing in the Maltese islands. 

Guide Books: