Climbing in El Chorro

I spent 2 weeks towards the end of March 2025 in Spain, El Chorro. This was my first time traveling solo for climbing.

I wanted to go some place new I’ve never been before, where it was easy to find partners and easily accessible from Berlin.

I initially thought about going to EL ALTICO in Chulilla, Nannai Climbing home in Ulassai, Sardinia or El Chorro near Malaga, since they all had a ‘climbing hostel where I thought might make it easier to meet climbing partners. I ended up choosing El Chorro for its ease of access and easier routes friendly for beginners like myself.

Accommodation #

I booked a bed in the bunkhouse at the Olive Branch. I loved everyone I met there, it was too easy to find partners as most people came alone and were looking for partners, I also loved that they serve dinners every night for 12 EUR where I also got to chat with a lot of people from all walks of life. You can also order hot breakfast meals, and buy some homemade bakeries and snacks.

The bunkhouse had two rooms with 4 beds each, also had its own kitchen, a dining area and a bathroom. The wifi was also good enough to do work on rainy days and phone reception was pretty good everywhere around El Chorro compared to some places I’ve been to. Good water pressure with warm water which is always a plus!

I extended my stay for 3 nights at Finca La Campana, which is another climbing hostel next to the Olive Branch. They have a dorm with 14 beds but everyone was very respectful and very quiet at night so I managed to sleep ok. It has a much bigger common room than OB which I liked. But they only have one kitchen which is really well equipped but got busy at times. They don’t serve dinners but have pizza nights and serve burgers, also a store with basic essentials at the reception. Wifi in the common room wasn’t the greatest though, but manageable.

I was too lazy to cook during the last few days so I went up to the OB to have dinner there instead even while staying at Finca.

Getting there #

It was only a 3h30 flight from Berlin (direct, 50-100 EUR + luggage one way), then a 55 minute train ride to El Chorro station, and a 20 minutes walk up the hill to the accommodation, one of the most accessible climbing hostels I’ve been to.

I did feel guilty about flying though, and if I had a bit more time maybe I would’ve taken train/bus. In that case, I guess I could do Berlin - Paris - Montpellier - Barcelona - Valencia - Malaga - El Chorro or through Madrid.

Rental cars seem very cheap (100 EUR for a week?) and it is quite handy to have one if you need to travel to a crag with more shades or for doing groceries. I felt a bit uneasy driving so didn’t rent one this time but luckily met some people who gave me rides when I needed them.

Groceries & Rest day activities #

The town El Chorro itself doesn’t have much (there’s a tiny shop that’s rarely open), so you would have to go to Alora (a town 10km away) or Malaga to do some grocery shopping. Finca has a little store at reception where you can get some beans, grains, pasta, sauces, snacks and some basic veggies and eggs (if they don’t sell out).

Some people were doing the Caminito del Rey hike which you need to book in advance, or took some day trips to nearby cities like Seville, Ronda and Granada. Might do that if I come back next time.

El Chorro has some amazing trails that’s perfect for running (not too steep, clearly marked) so I loved it for that as well.

Weather #

One of the reasons why I chose Spain was for the warmer sunnier weather in March but it turned out that El Chorro was experiencing one of the rainiest few weeks in the past decade or so, causing flooding and landslides. It was raining so much that I didn’t get many days of full-day climbing, and had to climb on a lot of wet rocks. It was also pretty cold (I’m glad I brought my sleeping bag since I found the nights to be too cold with the blankets they provided.)

Meteblue seem to be the weather app of choice around here. I would check the weather a bit more in advance before booking a trip next time.

Despite the terrible weather, the people I met there made my stay very much worthwhile.

Climbing & some personal notes #

This part is more a note to self.

The crags I went to were all within a 10- to 30-minute walk from the accommodation.

My favorite spots have been:

around the Tooth in Arab Steps, beautiful view of the whole valley
some long routes on Momia in Frontales
Bedees - a small cozy crag with short but nice slab routes
hike up to the Arab Steps from the back (via the road behind OB and Finca towards B&B)

Some memorable routes:

Prominent Flake 6c+ at Bedees felt impossible at the beginning which turned out to be not so impossible after multiple tries. Happy I sent my first 6c+!
Blank Slab 6c also at Bedees, terrified of the runouts but managed to reach the top in one piece mentally - a bit proud of that.
Blade Runner 6a, simply enjoyable.
Momia: Seco y Pedro Right (50m) looked very cool which I didn’t get to do but maybe next time. Would love to try Insomnio de equipmento on lead and redo the first pitch of Seco y Pedro (6b+), very nice long routes.

Some personal notes for future self:

Stop top-roping on 6s
Do a little fall training at the beginning of every session (not falling = negative mileage)
Feel more confident leading a route at my limit (even if going bolt-to-bolt)
No negative self-talk on the crag
Don’t spread my leg too wide, smaller steps, stable hips, hip closer to the wall, trust my feet more, look at my feet more, read the route before going up blindly, don’t over-grip, breathe more

By the end of two weeks, I felt good about warming up on a 6a/6a+ and leading 6bs (although not always able to send). All the moves on most 6cs felt do-able and sent my first 6c+ after multiple tries. I top-roped a 7a and learned how to jam my feet and hands into cracks (crack gloves are amazing!)

The thing I love about coming to a place like this is that I get to meet so many people from all over the world where I can ask for recommendations about other climbing spots they’ve been to. So here are a few more things to add to my todo list:

visit Norway/Sweden for climbing (ice-climbing around Oslo!?)
creative approach to a crag (e.g. canoeing, biking)
trad-climbing in Ireland
climb on other types of rocks (since so far, I’ve mostly climbed on limestone)
explore Germany for climbing while I live here

This trip was all about regaining the confidence to travel alone again. From climbing with different partners every day, I got to learn so much from everybody, from watching how they approached climbing, how they climbed/projected and how they spent their days around the crag or planned their day in general.

It felt good to put myself out there a little bit. So grateful to everyone I met on this trip!