Greece
Kalymnos
Chalk-dusted hands on overhanging limestone where sponge divers' grandchildren turned an island into a climbing mecca.
Chalk dust on fingers, limestone under hands, the Aegean spreading blue below the overhang. The island that built its identity on sponge divers holding their breath at forty metres now hosts climbers from forty countries who come for over three thousand documented routes on the crags above the sea.
Kalymnos transformed from a declining sponge-diving island to one of the premier rock-climbing destinations in the world after Italian climbers began developing routes in the late 1990s. The limestone crags above Massouri, Arginonta, and Emporios now hold over 3,000 documented routes ranging from beginner to expert. The sponge-diving tradition shaped every aspect of island culture until the 1980s — divers reached 40 metres on a single breath, and the craft is still taught and practised. The Kalymnos International Climbing Festival in October draws competitors from over 40 countries.
Solo
Multi-pitch routes on the Massouri crags, the climbing community's open culture, and evenings in the harbour where the sponge-diving history is still visible.
Friends
Climbing together across the 3,000+ routes, deep-water solo sessions on the sea cliffs, and the festival atmosphere in October when the island fills with climbers.
- The island has over 3,000 documented climbing routes on limestone — including deep-water solos on sea cliffs accessible only by boat.
- The sponge-diving industry shaped every aspect of island life until the 1980s — divers reached 40 metres on a single breath, and the craft is still taught here.
- The Kalymnos International Climbing Festival in October draws competitors from over 40 countries when conditions on the Massouri crags are at their best.
- Caïques run climbers out to the sea cliffs of Telendos island every morning — the crossing takes 5 minutes across a 1-kilometre channel.
Mermizeli — the barley-rusk salad on every island table; O' Sfougaras in Vlychadia does it right.
Fila, the island's stuffed parcels, carry the sponge-fleet's home-cooking tradition.
Punta de Lobos
Chile
Long Pacific lines bend around a protected headland south of Pichilemu.
Gansbaai
South Africa
Seals bark beyond the kelp while open-ocean predators circle a working fishing harbour.
Ninety Mile Beach
New Zealand
Called Ninety Mile Beach and fifty-five miles long — still vast beyond argument.
Mount Olympus
Greece
Home of the gods — clouds swirl around 2,918 metres of limestone and myth.
Drakolimni
Greece
Alpine newts swim in glacial pools at 2,000 metres — the dragon lakes of the Pindos.
Sfakia
Greece
Rebel gorges and fortress villages clinging to cliffs above the Libyan Sea — Crete's wildest coast.
Samaria Gorge
Greece
Sixteen kilometres of vertical canyon walls narrow to four metres at the Iron Gates.