Hiking
The island of Kalymnos has many paths. Some are well-trodden, typically Greek, ancient ways to churches and mountain tops. Some are stone-paved kalderimi. And some are tiny, almost hidden trails known only to the Kalymnian hunters and shepherds by the scratches of goats’ hooves.
Visitors to Kalymnos are slowly getting to know these paths on the mountains and along the cliffed coastlines. Some of the paths are quite easy and suitable for virtually all walkers, such as the route above Kantouni Bay to visit the beautifully positioned church of Saint Photis, or the paved trail known nowadays as The Italian Path which leads over the lower hills between the Vathy Valley and Pothia. More adventurous walkers will enjoy the steeper walk to the highest point of the island, Prophitis Ilias, at 676 metres above sea level. Other walks on the island will take you to remote chapels and monasteries, Byzantine castles and even older archeological sites, giant caves and collapsed dolines, mountain ridges and hidden beaches.
Climbing
Kalymnos, a small island located in southeastern Dodecanese archipelago, offers rock climbing and bouldering during the whole year.
Especially in September, you can enjoy pleasant climbing temperatures in combination with warm water for swimming. Climbers began drifting to Kalymnos in the mid-1990s as word spread of giant cliffs and seaside ambience. In a matter of a few years, the island became a climber’s paradise. Nowadays, there are approximately 200 walking distances in 77 climbing fields, including distinctive markings for the starting point of every trekking spot.
Rock climbing
Kalymnos is one of the most important climbing destinations worldwide, an island that has everything a traveling climber looks for: abundance of challenging rock formations but also simplicity and authenticity. Here, the potential for new routes and new areas is enormous; less than 10% is explored, even though on Kalymnos the rock climbing experience can last for a month: surrounded by some of the finest limestone crags in the world (the Grande Grotta cave forms a giant limestone amphitheater), the island provides a huge range of climbing on slabs, big walls, overhangs, and tufas to suit every level and style.
Suggestions
