Symplegades

Kalymnos, GR

Symplegades, an area of cliffs near the village of Kamari, includes the flagship Symplegades crag (two facing cliffs with unique formations) alongside sub-sectors Mystery (an interesting cliff with highly featured rock) and Ourania Cave (a huge cave with shade until late afternoon and worthwhile routes). Two additional smaller sub-sectors are only in the app: Pyramid (less than 10 routes) and Hump Piste (less than 20 routes). Two facing rock walls with a small plateau in between and heavily pocketed mid-grade routes. Sub-sector Ourania Cave adds pumpy harder climbs, plus some yellow walls, and a dozen steep, shaded new routes from 6b to 8b. __Busy__ 2/3 __Climbing__ A little bit of everything: technical, vertical, athletic, and pumpy. Check the details of each sub-sector to decide. __Conditions__ Generally cool and perfect for summer, especially the sectors Symplegades Main and Ourania inside the cave. __Shade (Exposure: various)__ Mystery: until 13:00. Ourania Cave: until 15:00 (inside the cave until 16:00). Symplegades Main: until 13:00 (left side), after 13:30 (right side). __Kids__ Symplegades Main is quite good. Mystery, so-so. Ourania Cave is not good: it is covered in goat poo. __Mystery__ is an interesting small west-facing cliff with highly featured red and grey limestone. Climbing is pleasant and technical on vertical or slightly overhanging rock. __Ourania__ is a massive cave with technical (yet pumpy and airy) routes. Some easier climbs can be found on the outer slabs and walls. In 2020/21, Simon Montmory added 18 mostly hard new routes. The routes still need some traffic, but they definitely bring substance to a previously underrated crag with long hours of shade. __Symplegades__ The main cliff of Symplegades is a perfectly flat plateau between two facing limestone walls with unique lace-like patterns. It is an unusual crag for Kalymnos, and a peculiar work of nature. In the past, locals called this area “the Castle,” suggesting it was used as such in the past. Remains of old dwellings can be found at the highest point of the north crag, and there is an impressive cave-like crack at the start of the route valery + thomas. It runs through the crag with two exits on the south face, and pottery shards inside the crack indicate that it was likely used as a hiding place a long time ago. _Climbing_ Very pleasant, on unusual fluted limestone full of creases and little holes. Beautiful lines on vertical or slightly overhanging well-featured rock, with holds almost everywhere. A perfect crag for gaining some confidence on leading routes, as the angle is not very steep and the bolting is friendly. There is plenty of potential for new routes, especially in the lower grades (4 and 5) on the northeast face, to the right of the route octana, with afternoon shade­—something Kalymnos still needs. _Kids_ Kids will be happy here. The plateau between the cliffs offers plenty of protected areas, and despite some steep parts along the path, the walk-in is short. _Conditions_ Cool and with lots of shade, great for hot days. Not good on very windy days, as the facing rocks channel and amplify the wind.
CRAG STATISTICS
88
Routes
87912
meters climbed
3907
Zlags
6b+
average grade

J F M A M J J A S O N D

Family friendly
Very safe
Parking
Slabs
Vertical
Overhanging
Exposition
170 m.
20 min.

GALLERY