Travel

Useful Tips for Climbing and Travelling in the Caucasus

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The Caucasus region is an amazingly diverse area, sandwiched between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It is truly transcontinental, with an enormous amount of culture packed into a relatively small area of land. The ‘heart’ of the Caucasus consists of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. To the north is Russia, with Turkey in the west and Iran in the south, just adding to the areas impressive cultural diversity. The region is famous for mountains, climbers can find almost anything in the Caucasus, from peaks over 5000m to stunning canyons and abundant cliffs. We spent 10 weeks in the Caucasus and we genuinely loved it, it is one of our all time highlights – for the people, the culture and the climbing.

Silhouette of a climber on a pinnacle protruding from the left hand side of the tall sided canyon which is made from dark volcanic rock with long crack feautres.
Exposed climbing in Noravank, Armenia

In this article we will discuss hints and tips for travelling in the region to help you get the most out of your trip. Below is a map of the all the different crags we visited during our trip to the Caucasus region, as well as our favourite rest day activities. If you would like to read more about specific areas, please visit our individual posts about Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

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Useful Tips for Climbing and Travelling in South East Asia

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South East Asia is a fantastic region to visit as a travelling climber. The rock is amazing quality, there are areas to suit everyones taste, there is a never-ending amount of culture to learn about & experience and the food is delicious! We decided to write this article to help give climbers an idea of what to expect and how to make the most of their trip. The planning stage of a trip to South East Asia can be quite time consuming. Hopefully the many hours we spent planning before our trip, as well as our experiences on the trip, will yield some useful information and tips for other climbers.

Climber deep water soloing, hanging from only their arms on a steep overhanging roof section of limestone high above the turquoise blue sea.
Fantastic deep water soloing at Koh Poda, Thailand

Below is a map of all the different crags we visited during our 5.5 months in South East Asia. If you would like to read more about specific areas, please visit our individual posts on Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and The Philippines.

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Climbing in Romania: Europe’s Best Kept Secret?

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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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Climbing in Hungary: Europe’s Cultural Crossroads

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With 84% of Hungary lying less than 200 metres above sea level, the country isn’t known for being mountainous or craggy. However, you might be surprised at how much rock there actually is in Hungary, theCrag.com lists over 2,500 routes and several hundred boulder problems. When you combine this with Hungary’s excellent location, it makes total sense to spend some time here if you’re on a European climbing road trip. Hungary borders 7 countries: Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria – all of which have climbing and mountains of their own.

Climber making their way up vertical and horizontal crack systems with traces of chalk highlight the holds along the way. There is both darker rock and lighter rock
The brilliant pumpy crack of ‘Moha & Páfrány’, 6a

The options of where you could be going to or coming from are vast, but despite many climbers passing this area, very few actually stop and enjoy some climbing in Hungary. By not stopping, they miss out on lots of interesting things to see and do, as well as some good days climbing along the way. Travelling slower will allow you to enjoy Hungary and you won’t have to worry about losing your climbing fitness either, win win.

Looking out over rolling forested hills, with the sun making the sky a hazy pink colour
A beautiful sunset view from Kis-Gerecsei

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to Hungarian climbing. Rather, it is aiming to give an idea of what to expect if you decide to include Hungary on your climbing road trip.

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Climbing in The Polish Jura

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Poland is not a place that most people think of when planning a climbing trip in Europe, and those that do are probably headed to the Tatra mountains for long multipitch routes. It isn’t well known that Poland has a fantastic sport climbing area of its own, the Jura. The climbing is great, with thousands of routes across the grades and many beautiful & unique crags. The area sees a lot of activity from Polish climbers, who are known for being very strong, but sadly gets very little attention from international climbers. We have spent 2 weeks climbing in the Jura and throughly enjoyed it, the quality is very high and we never felt like we would run out of cool crags to visit.

Overhanging limestone pinnacle with black marking on. In the background there is a larger crag with a castle fortress built into it with a large drawbridge across.
The stunning Kaczor sector at Góra Zamkowa
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Climbing in Vietnam: A Journey through South East Asia

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Vietnam was a major stop on our trip in South East Asia and somewhere we had looked forward to visiting for a long time. It certainly didn’t disappoint, we loved the country and Hữu Lũng is a very strong contender for our favourite climbing area of the entire trip. We began our time in Vietnam by crossing the border from Cambodia at Mộc Bài and made the long and interesting journey all the way up to the north with the excellent train line, enjoying a few stops along the way. While we didn’t climb in the south, we really enjoyed experiencing the different culture and landscape on our way north, Vietnam is a country of great contrast. During our month in Vietnam we had a genuinely great time, not only was the climbing superb, the places, people and history were equally good and it was a definite highlight in every sense.

Large limestone mogotes, covered in white limestone cliffs and green vegetation rising up steeply from the flat flooded rice fields. There are many of them rising up in the distance. They are also in the reflection of the rectangular flooded rice fields.
Surreal beauty in Hữu Lũng
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Climbing in Thailand: A Journey through South East Asia

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Thailand has been well known to climbers for many years thanks to its stunning rock and tropical paradise locations. There are lots of wonderful climbing areas spread throughout the country, and there is definitely a lot more to Thai climbing than Tonsai and Railay alone. Climbing aside, Thailand is very popular with travellers and holidaymakers, being the most visited country in South East Asia. While some places can get overcrowded, what shines through is the warmth and kindness of the Thai people, who remain incredibly welcoming. We made our way into Thailand overland from Malaysia, and traveled up through the country before crossing the border into Laos. The climbing areas below will be discussed in the order we visited them, of course there are many other areas in Thailand we didn’t visit. We chose the areas we did based on the quality, quantity and location of the routes and we thought all of the areas we visited were really good.

Masses of limestone cliffs erupting out of the sea
Stunning rock and location near Koh Ya Wa Sam
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Climbing in Malaysia: A Journey through South East Asia

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Malaysia sits in a beautiful part of the world, with the country split between two areas, one on the Malay peninsula and the other on the island of Borneo. Malaysia is well known for its delicious cuisine and being one of the most culturally diverse countries in South East Asia. Rock climbing in Malaysia has been established for some time, with historical routes going back several decades. We chose Malaysia as the starting point for our trip to South East Asia, the country has a lot going for it and the climbing is high quality. As the next leg of our journey would take us northwards to Thailand, we spent all of our time in Peninsular Malaysia. Malaysian Borneo is famous for its mountains and is home to Mount Kinabalu, the countries highest mountain at 4,095 meters. However, the peninsular contains the greatest density of sport routes as well as many mountains of its own, with several over 2,000 meters.

Looking out of limestone cliff with tufas dripping from the steep roof. Looking out over the rice paddies with some jungle covered mountains in the background.
Amazing rock at Bukit Keteri
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Climbing in Freyr: Belgium’s Premier Forge of Fingers

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Most climbers won’t have considered Belgium as a destination for climbing, and many of those who have a vague idea of Belgian climbing won’t appreciate how good it actually is. There are many crags in southern Belgium and Freyr is the crown jewel, with several impressive walls close to the river and overlooking a chateau. Those who do know of Freyr will also know of the crags fierce reputation, nothing here comes easy. If you can climb a certain grade in Freyr, then you can climb it anywhere and although the routes are hard the rock is superb. Belgium is also famous for good beer, chocolate, waffles and fries, which is really a winning combination for us!

Limestone fins protruding out form the slow moving river. On the other side following the river is a road with green fields and forest.
The beautiful Freyr, seen from the top of ‘La Jeunesse’ sector
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Climbing in Berdorf: Luxembourg’s Sandstone Paradise

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Luxembourg is an interesting small country that sits landlocked between France, Germany and Belgium. In the east of the country is a village called Berdorf, which is home to some superb sandstone sport climbing. Berdorf could reasonably claim to be one of the best known crags of its type, owing its reputation to its quality. The crag is set in a beautiful forest, which is itself in the European National Protection Zone, due to the quality and abundance of rare plants in the area. The environment at Berdorf is very special and it should go without saying that climbers must treat it with the utmost respect.

Climber on steep overhanging red sandstone arête within a forest.
The steep and juggy Berdorf classic ‘Voleur De Spits’ 7a+
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