Rock Climbing on Krabi

by Lena de Leon
(Manila)

Rock climbing in Krabi......honestly its great fun!

Krabi, Thailand is situated on the Andaman Sea Coastline. This popular destination is famous for its wonderful beaches and other natural attractions the province has to offer.

Rock formations, limestone cliffs, multi-tiered waterfalls, and trek trails in its lush tropical forest are additional reasons why Krabi is now a “must visit” tourist destination.

Krabi may be considered as one of the world’s top rock climbing place. The locals probably saw (and probably awed) at their first rock climbers back in the 1980s.

The backpackers and trekkers were impressed with the beautiful yet challenging limestone cliffs they found in Krabi. There are more than 600 bolted routes all classified according to their level of difficulty. The 5a’s are for beginners, multiple 6a’s are the classics and the 8c’s is for the extreme sport rock climbing.

The area around Railay beach and Ton Sai are the more popular areas for rock climbing. There are various climbing schools in Krabi. These schools have beginner lessons where a novice could “learn the ropes” of the sports in three days.

The bolted routes are safe and instructors take all precautions for the safety of their climbers.

It’s quite impressive to think the “bolting” of the routes had to be done by someone. That “someone” sure is one heck of a climber!.

It’s an unspoken rule in Krabi that all climbers, professional and extremes included should use at some point the services of a local climb shop.

The sport is safe even for children as equipment and methods used in each level of difficulty varies, and every aspect of the individuals safety is carefully considered & assured.

What’s so different in Krabi is rock climbing is not just starting off on flat ground and then working your way up the limestone cliff. The excitement of a Krabi rock climb is the different ways you can start and end your climb.

You can choose a route that starts at the beach and ends on top of the cliff. You can choose a route that you can start off a rolling boat or rappelling from a high tropical forest down to the cliff.

You can choose to end your climb by diving from the top of the cliff you just climbed. The numerous bolted sites have different routes and thrills that most rock climbing enthusiasts stay for weeks, even months to experience the thrill of rock climbing in Krabi.

Accommodation in Krabi and gear renting facilities are everywhere. If you are a seasoned climber, bring your shoes and harness as you can rent the rest of your equipment from the locals.

This sport is for everyone. All you need to possess is the sheer willpower to want to climb.

As you start to climb just take a look away from the cliffs even for a moment and look at scenery presented below and around you, then you justify your climb not to mention the added exhilarating feeling upon reaching the top!.

Its great fun once you get over the initial fear of climbing!....go on try it for yourself.