Rock Climbing in Granada
It’s not very often you can mix rock climbing and skiing in the same trip, but the rock climbing around Granada offers just that! With the Sierra Nevada Mountains rising to 3,500m above Granada this is a popular skiing resort. Around Granada there are 16 significant crags with well over 2,600 routes across all grades that from the autumn through to the spring offer some excellent winter sun sport climbing.
There are several excellent sport climbing and multi-pitch crags, most notably Los Cahorros and Los Vados to the South, as well as Alfacar, Cogollos and Moclin to the North, and Loja to the East. The relatively new area of Cogollos has amazingly high single-pitch climbing on excellent rock, with around 150 routes mainly in the mid to higher grade range. The majority of the routes are single pitch though a lot of crags do have multi-pitch routes, with the longest and best ones being at Los Vados, Los Cahorros and Alfacar.
Map of the Rock Climbing areas around Granada
| No | Crag Name | Total No of Routes | Popular Grade Range | Single or Multi-pitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cogollos | 220 | F7a to F7c | Single |
| 2 | Alfacar | 380 | F4 to F7b | Both |
| 3 | Peña Cabrera (Diezma) | 64 | F5 to F8c | Both |
| 4 | Moclin | 270 | F6a+ to F8b | Both |
| 5 | Poloria | 81 | F6c to F8c+ | Both |
| 6 | Piñar | 95 | F6b to F8b+ | Single |
| 7 | Los Cahorros | 384 | F5 to F8c | Both |
| 8 | Dilar | 47 | F5 to F8b+ | Single |
| 9 | Nigüelas | 94 | F5 to F6c | Both |
| 10 | Lanjaron | 34 | F5 to F6b | Single |
| 11 | Capileira (Tajos de Aldeide) | 38 | F5 to F6c | Single |
| 12 | Orgiva (El Castillejo) | 45 | F5 to F6b | Single |
| 13 | Los Vados | 404 | F5 to F8b+ | Both |
| 14 | Lagos | 108 | F6b to F8c | Single |
| 15 | Cerro Del Toro | 38 | F5 to F8a | Single |
| 16 | Loja | 245 | F5 to F8a+ | Both |
| 18 | Darro | 125 | F7a to F8c | Both |
| 19 | Montefrio | 94 | F6c to F8a | Single |
| 17 | Viznar | 30 | F5 to F8a | Single |
The best time of the year to go rock climbing around Granada is from the autumn through to the spring when these crags offer first-class winter sun sport climbing. Then for a rest day or 2 you can go skiing, or sightseeing in the beautiful city of Granada.
As the different crags are quite spread apart it means hiring a car is essential to make the most of the visit.
There are various guidebooks that cover the rock climbing and sport climbing around Granada. These are as follows:
“Granada Sport Climbing Guidebook” is the comprehensive covering the sport climbing around Granada. It covers 16 sport climbing areas and over 2,600 routes across a wide range of grades.
"El Chorro Guidebook" covers Loja and other crags to the west of Granada.
The “Andalucia Sport Climbing Guidebook” covers 9 crags, around Granada including Alfacar, Los Cahorros, Pena Cabrera, Los Vados, Lagos, and Loja. The guidebook describes over 3,600 routes, and it also includes the crags around Malaga, Marbella, Cadiz, and Jean.
Buy all of these rock climbing guidebooks for Granada from our shop.