KALAMARKA – Rockclimbing Guidebook Slovakia

Kalamárka, with its amazing andesite rock, is one of the iconic climbing areas in Slovakia located above the town of Detva.

It’s a popular destination for climbers from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Czechia. From spring to fall, and especially on weekends, the parking area by the gamekeeper’s lodge is packed with cars. But don’t worry, there’s room for everyone. This guidebook contains 352 pages with detailed maps and photos of the 5 crags: Horné Skaly, Dolné Skaly, Južné Skaly, Boriakove Skaly and Melichova Skala, with the total of 649 routes. In the last couple of years, a large number of safe routes was added at Horné Skaly and Dolné Skaly, all with new permanent stainless-steel bolts and anchors. However, there are still many older routes for trad climbers who like to be challenged. New crags like Južné Skaly, the magical Boriakove Skaly and finally also Melichova Skala were put on the map.

The most extensive one is Horné Skaly with 24 sectors and 320 trad, mix and sport routes. Most of them are of lower difficulty up to grade 5+, but considering the great number of routes, more accomplished climbers will also have a field day. The climbing is mostly pumpy and even grade 5 routes can get gnarly. The second largest crag is Dolné Skaly with 13 sectors and 211 routes. It has both easy and hard routes and it’s also home to the hardest line at Kalamárka – SELECKÝ graded 10-, which has only two free ascent from 2011 by Martin Medviď and from 2012 by Jozef Nosáľ.  The other crags are much smaller. Južné Skaly has 4 sectors and 52 routes of lower to medium difficulty and up to 14 meters high.

If you don’t like crowds, head to Boriakove Skaly. Many get discouraged by the 25-minute walk, but the peace, coupled with great climbing, is well worth it. Its 4 sectors offer 46 routes of medium to high difficulty that are up to 25 meters high. The smallest, and also the latest crag made accessible to climbers, is Melichova Skala with a rich history and 4 sectors with 20 routes.

352 pages; 202 edition