Kalymnos Sikati Cave

An incredible geological feature on the north side of the island. Sikati Cave is a huge hole in the ground 100m tall and 100m wide situated above a beautiful beach. Most of the climbing is in the upper grades, very steep on tufa formations. Except for a few warm ups, the routes stay in the shade all day. Because the cave is sheltered, the holds can be greasy on warm or humid days when there is no wind, and is best avoided in these conditions.

Region

Greece - Kalymnos

Rock Type

Limestone

Altitude

200m

Number of routes

Range of Routes

7a - 8c

Faces

North

Climbing Area

Kalymnos

Directions

Follow the road North out of Masouri and drive towards Emporios to reach Skalia village. At the far end of the village is a right turn that climbs steeply up through several hairpins to a col, from where there is a descent towards Palionisos. Park shortly after the 3rd and hairpin, next to a goat enclosure. Go through the gate and follow the track, down at first and then west for about 40 minutes until you reach the cave. The track is occasionally marked with cairns. Access into the cave is either by abseil (bolts available), or easier, by following a fixed rope down the north east side of the cave. The descent is grade 4, so wear a harness and use a sling to protect yourself. Despite the difficulty goats sometimes go down into the cave. Do not feed and encourage them, they have difficulty getting back out. Total time from the car about 45 minutes.

Sport and bolted routes

Topo Ref	Route	Sport Grade	Length	Quality	Description
01	BMW	6b	15m	*	A short introductory climb up the orange wall. Hard for the grade
02	B69	5c	15m	*	Slab climb left of the entrance / exit climb
03	Exit	4a	15m	*	The descent route at the north east side of the cave with a fixed rope
04	Abrazis	5c+	20m	***	To the right of the entrance / exit route is a wall with 3 short climbs that finish near the top of the cave. This is the left hand one
07	El choco loco	6b+	20m	**	The routes start to get more interesting here. This is at the left hand wall, on the wings of the ampitheatre
08	El chupodromo	6c+	25m	**	Just right of El choco loco
09	Les Pirates de Sikati	7a+	30m	***	Climbs the black streak
09a	Les Pirates de Sikati plus	8a	45m	***	The left hand extension to Pirates climbs the grey wall above that route
09b	Des dents de la mer	7c	40m	***	The right hand extension to Pirates traverses wildly across the lip. Good bolts to begin, not many afterwards.
10	Jaws	8c	50m	Gold	A mega pitch that starts at the back of the left hand cave and finishes at the top of the crag. Needless to say, long and hard.
11	Mort aux chévres	7a+	30m	***	A beautiful climb up the overhanging tufas left of the main cave
11a	Mort aux chévres extension	8a+	60m	***
12	Morgan	7b+	25m	***	The steep line of tufas has a sitting rest point before the final tricky moves
12a	Adam	7c	32m	***	The first extension to Morgan continues up the tufas
12b	Morgan Adam est une Andalouse	8a	75m	***	The second extension is a mega pitch. Use two ropes, clipping one for the first two pitches, and the second for the top pitch.
13	Por una Sociedad con Mujeres Satisfechas	7c+	30m	***	Another mega steep tufa line . . .
13a	Por una Sociedad con ... extension 1	8b	60m	Gold	. . . that gets steeper on the first extension . . .
13b	Por una Sociedad con . . . extension 2	8b+	75m	***	. . . and longer and harder on the 2nd extension. Use two ropes, one for the first two pitches, and one for the third.
14	Les arts du vide	8b	40m	Gold	The long single tufa
15	Lolita	7a	25m	***	The tough tufa has spaced bolts
15a	Super Lolita	7c+	45m	***	The extension to Lolita has a hard finish
16	Kalyrock.com	7c	70m	**	A three pitch route. 1) 7a 25m; 2) 7b+22m; 3) 7c 22m.
17	Little Bulbos	7c+	35m	***
18	Armata Sikati	7b	35m	***
18a	Armata Sikati extension	7b+	50m	***	More of the same, just a touch harder
19	Laurent...y'a quelqu'un	7c	40m	***	Yet more classic climbing
20	Ou est l'équipe	7b	25m	***	A hard finish
21	Dropzone	6c	25m	***
22	Happy boyfriend	6a+	20m	**	On the right side of the cave, a good warm up route,steep but on good holds and pockets.
23	Body buldeuse	7b+	20m	***
24	Kontrato	7a+	20m	**