Climbing in the Balkans

Climbing in Romania: Europe’s Best Kept Secret?

TheCragJournal8 Comments

Romania is a country we have wanted to visit for a long time and we knew there were a lot of amazing places to visit. We waited for the right time and it was definitely worth it, we had 6 weeks of fantastic climbing and almost perfect weather, it was everything we had hoped for and more. Romania is home to a vast swathe of the Carpathian Mountains and seems to have an almost limitless supply of rock. There are crags, canyons and mountains at almost every turn as well as some of the largest old growth forests in Europe. Climbing aside, we found Romanian people to be very friendly and kind, it was a real pleasure to be able to spend time there.

Climber chalking up on a tall vertical cliff on the left hand side of a narrow canyon. Between the two walls the view looks over a forested valley and another rocky limestone massif
Great climbing in an amazing position on ‘Pleasure Dome’, 6c+, Cheile Mănăstirii
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Scenic Sport Climbing in Montenegro

TheCragJournal1 Comment

POST UPDATED 2026

Montenegro is a small country, the 38th smallest in Europe, in fact. However, despite its small size, it has a huge amount of natural beauty and variety. From the stunning coastline to the inspiring high peaks of Durmitor and many, many canyons filled with beautiful cliffs, perfect for sport climbing! The rock quality is generally really good, and in recent years there has been more and more development of climbing areas and the bolting of many new routes. We first visited Montenegro around 5 years ago, and had a great trip, and we really enjoyed the climbing. We have since returned again in 2026, and had an even better trip! The quality and quantity of new routes was amazing and clearly Montenegrin climbing is going from strength to strength. We thought the climbing was excellent and we were so glad we were able to return for another trip, and we would go back for a third time in a heartbeat!

A climber at the far left hand end of a long band of orange limestone cliffs. The climber is chalking up on a steep section of the climb.
Soaking it all in on the excellent ‘Around the World’, 6b+
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