Kalymnos - Secret Garden

Go to Skalia village and take the road over the col toward Palionisos (as for sectors Sikati and The Beach). Drive past the parking spot for Sikati and continue down the winding road; park as for The Beach sector (where the paved road intersects a short dirt road on the left leading to a small clearing). Walk down the dirt road to the clearing and continue NE to the col. The path is clearly visible and marked with cairns and blue paint. Go over the col, then down and rightwards into a small ravine. Don’t worry if you can’t see the cliffs yet. Keep following the blue paint around the hill and to the right. Once you get around the small escarpment on your right, the cliff reveals itself down to the right. The path is very good and the area beneath the cliffs is flat and comfortable. Total walking time: 25 min.

One of Secret Garden’s greatest assets is that the cliff is in the shade most of the day: in the spring and summer the sun comes at 18.00; in fall and winter there is shade all day.

The main equippers Aris Theodoropoulos, Claude Idoux, Luca Salsotto, Simon Montmory, and George Kopalides started to put up routes in November 2010.

The existing routes at Secret Garden have already been climbed quite a bit, so they are relatively free of sharp and loose bits; however, as always, wear a helmet and don’t stand below a person climbing as loose bits may still come off. Also, please don’t feed the goats! They will stop at nothing and won’t hesitate to steal food straight from your bags. Don’t encourage them. Last but not least: Pick up after yourself! Bring a bag to collect poop, papers, wrappers etc. Please!

Kalymnos rock climbing in Greece

GETTING TO KALYMNOS
By boat
Kalymnos can be reached by boat from the island Kos. Once you have landed in Kos, take a taxi to the port at Mastichari and catch the next boat to Kalymnos from there. Mastichari is 10 minutes by taxi from Kos airport and the taxi ride costs €12 - €15 euro in total. Regular ferries and smaller speed boats make the Mastichari – Pothia (Kalymnos) route regularly. The ferry ride takes approximately 45 minutes and costs €4; the speedboat takes approximately 25 minutes and costs €6.00. When you arrive at Pothia (the main port in Kalymnos) you will find a number of taxis waiting. A taxi ride to Massouri costs between €10-15, depending on the number of passengers and luggage. Alternatively, you can rent a scooter or car, or inquire about the public bus schedule departing in front of the City Hall. There is a tourist information kiosk at the port exit.To check the Kos – Kalymnos ferry timetable, go to www.danae.gr and enter ‘Mastichari’ and ‘Kalymnos’ in the respective fields.  You can also call the Port Authority of Kos for an automated timetable message in English on the following number: +30 22420 26594. In the unlikely event that there is no taxi waiting at Pothia, call the taxi station on the following number: +30 22430 50300.

By plane
In high season Olympic Air flies Athens - Kalymnos regularly and a return ticket costs approximately euro 200.

Further info
Full info on getting to Kalymnos here: www.climbkalymnos.com/?page_id=2628

Kalymnos Rock Climbing Guide – 2016 Edition. Aris Theodoropoulos. 3000 rock climbs, English