Sicily is a pretty big island (it’s bigger than Wales and about 200x bigger than Kalymnos) so it’s not surprising that there’s a tonne of climbing! Whilst much of the development has been focused on the far North Western tip, around San Vito and Palermo (see the last three posts) there’s just as much counterbalancing this in the South East – around 40 crags and over a thousand routes.

There’s a huge contrast as you cross the island, with the seacliffs and rocky spires giving way to rolling green hills (leaving aside Mt Etna, which we only passed in clag, although we did catch a distant glimpse of the gigantic snow-covered cone – not close enough to witness the fresh lava spewing forth and making the BBC news). Prickly Pears transition to citrus trees and olive groves, and there’s an abundance of wild spring flowers.

In contrast to the western venues, the climbing is usually tucked away in river gorges, rather than standing proud on the skyline – you’ll typically find yourself on a bit of a mystery tour, walking down to the foot of the crag, which only reveals itself as you round a bend. The crags are quite spread out between the cities of Syracuse and Ragusa. We based ourselves near the coast (see the end for logistics), within striking distance of a bunch of crags, and barely scratched the surface in the course of a week. Here goes with a highlights reel – there’s so much more to explore!

Timpa Rossa – there are extensive crags lining the banks of the dry river that runs through the broad, shallow valley to the north of Rosolini, with seemingly new sectors being developed over time. Our first port of call was the original Timpa Rossa – our old guidebook suggested driving down a harum-scarum track, accessed immediately next to the road bridge.

This was definitely 4×4 territory – you could easily lose your rental Cinquecento down one of the holes – and we drew envious glances from a couple of Italian teams who arrived later (they just parked by the bridge, pretty much in the middle of the road, and walked the extra 500m).

On first acquaintance, we thought we’d stumbled into a land that time forget, with no evidence of paths to the crags, but we soon realised that it is just a manifestation of the fecund (watch out autocorrect) vegetation. The mild and sometimes moist climate just seems to make stuff grow (including thistles and brambles – now that is F#@… vegetation).

There are three contrasting sectors – a slabby righthand wall which doesn’t get a topo in the book, leading to a bit of head-scratching. Here’s Helen on the imaginatively named Senza Nome 27, 5a. Didn’t get a pic of her retrieving the draws for a couple of crestfallen youths on the adjacent Senza Nome 29, 5c

The obvious sector Grigio (grey) has quite fiercely graded 6as and bs. I quite enjoyed Ziccalu but it was no pushover.

The “destination” climbing saves itself for Sector Rosso (you guessed it – red), an extraordinary expanse of leaning pockety steepness.

Formica, 6a, takes the extremely unlikely central line on mostly big but reachy holds. One of the best 6as I’ve ever done, but could easily be 6b!

Having “warmed up” I skipped the obviously mega eponymous Timpa Rossa, 7a, and picked a more winnable battle with Bad Company, 6c.

We returned to the same valley a few days later, on a slightly less glorious day. Zona Rossa is about a kilometre to the east. You park, somewhat incongruously, in the middle of town at the Auditorium, and wander down through an old quarry-working into the river valley.

A couple of obvious caves mark the spot.

Stanza Singola was another desperate 6a sandbag. The adjacent El Martillo and Zona Rossa, both 6bs, were better and not much harder.

There’s another similar sized crag, Capra Rossa, another few hundred metres along the riverbed for another visit.

Pandora – another mystery trod through spring flowers. We parked here in a disused gateway: 36.765543° N 14.796537° E

… and by a weird coincidence (we’d barely seen another climber), a young Italian couple pulled up at the same time. We were all struggling to match the guidebook description to the terrain, and we followed them hopping over a wall, ploughing through flowers, and eventually finding a good trod to a short rock step (fixed rope) then a nice path traversing above the main cliff line to arrive at the crag (on our return we noticed that we could have avoided the wall hop by opening an unlocked gate into a field)

As the guidebook says, you’re only 5mins from the car, but you could easily chew up half an hour searching!

You certainly know when you’ve arrived! The main cave hosts a bunch of routes up to 8b…

… but beyond this there’s a pleasant slabby grey wall with about ten routes between 5a and 6b. The grading was probably amongst the stiffest I’ve encountered, and I came off second best with Liccarbriuni, supposedly 6a. Helen fared better, completing most of the 5s

L’Invasione delle Api was also an arse kicker – but at least it was a 6c kicked arse!

Left of the main cave is still super-steep but also endowed with at least some buckets. Piccola Peste is a great trip at 6b+, and Torello in Love is another step up (and too far!) at 6c+

Antro dell’Eco is one of a group of crags accessed from the same remote farmhouse. Again, the instructions are a little ambiguous, so here’s a photo from next to the farmhouse to get you started.

Once you’ve crossed the wall you skirt the edge of the field rightwards and soon pick up a trod, and the occasional cairn, and persistence is eventually rewarded with this sign.

Shortly afterwards you spot the rim of the canyon,

and as you drop down you hop over a wall on your left and a more obvious path leads through a small wood at the foot of a scrubby bit of the crag. This soon turns into something more impressive.

This really is a magical, hidden spot. Tucked away deep in the canyon, the outlook is magnificent and the tranquility is total, with just the hum of insects and chatter of birds to break the silence.

The climbing is pretty cool too, and it’s another “cave plus slab” crag, with just 30 routes giving a spread from 5a to 8a. Not that the “slab” routes are very slabby, nor easy – in fact nor are they probably 5s – Flint, 5a, set a new benchmark for sandbag of the trip…

… and La Roccia Immaculata was tough for 5b, but they are good.

The Love is Caper Juice, 6a, is an absolutely stupendous line through a series of overlaps – again, tough for the grade but really worthwhile.

Moving into cave territory, a couple of 6cs skirt the left side, with La Vita non e un Film, being a belter (and you won’t be surprised to hear, a tricky one).

The cave itself sits at an elevated level and you’d imagine would barely be worth a look for anyone not operating at an exalted grade, but you’d be wrong!

There’s a 6a+ up some very surprising ground, and L’Infausto Idillo, 6b, was one of the more amenable (and fun!) routes I’ve done at that grade on the trip.

Cava d’Ispica is a spectacular ten-mile long canyon through the Ibleo plateau, famous for its heritage and cultural history. It also has a bunch of crags, of which we only managed to sample one. Wild – is a recent development (not covered in our older guidebook but available on the I-climbing app – this is another well-hidden sector, a bit more of a traipse to get to, but with a well-marked path (at least by local standards). Regular cairns and the occasional painted blue triangle show the way, until finally you drop down into a side spur of the main gorge.

Hugging the left side, you skirt just beneath clifftop level until this sign announces you’ve arrived at “Belvedere Wild”

… and it is a beautiful view, and it is wilderness! The walk itself is absolutely gorgeous (gorge-eous) and would be worth the effort even without the climbing.

The path makes a sharp left here and you enter an ever-shady zone, with striking white walls rising to 30m. Warm enough to be comfortable on a good day at the end of February, it would be perfect in summer.

As well as the effort that’s been put into the path and signage, the foot of the crag “is like a garden” as the guidebook says, complete with a sturdy bench, and a sign asking you to keep it that way.

The steep walls are thankfully riddled with amazing slots and pockets, making for great long pitches. Helen had a great day on some loooong vertical 5s at the start of the crag, including La Natura non Muore Mai and Il Pianto della Natura, both 5c and near 30m.

Tramonti Rossi proved a battle at 6a+, and Anime Notturne a too-tough 6c.

Bunker – Not every crag in the region is tucked out of sight, with those on Monti Climiti being the exception. This rocky hillside contains a number of developed buttresses (with scope for many more!) Bunker is the most easily accessible, parking next to one cylindrical concrete relic…

… and climbing a few minutes walk away, next to another.

It’s a pretty spot, overlooking meadows bursting with spring flowers, with views out to the glimmering sea (slightly marred by an oil refinery). The wave-shaped wall results in steep starts, relenting to slabiness, before a leaning finale.

Helen enjoyed Siamo Fragali, 6a

… and La Bugie Dell’Amore, also 6a.

Curvona lurks just a couple of kilometres down the road. This is roadside cragging in the “Garage Buttress at Stoney” sense, with your vehicle abandoned to its fate in a scrape of tarmac just a few tens of metres from the first routes.

Like Stoney, this is a crag that’s become a victim of its accessibility, with routes polished to a sheen, however the plentiful supply of huge pockets and slots makes up for slippery feet and steep rock, and I quite enjoyed Andate a Scuola, a stiff 6a, in a masochistic way. Whether I’d have summoned the enthusiasm for another was moot as the heavens opened, but we barely got damp. That’s the bonus of a roadside crag!

Logistics – the climbing areas are pretty spread out, with a cluster inland from Syracuse and another nearer to Ragusa. We based ourselves on the coast at Lido di Noto at the charming Oasi Park Falconara campsite. Friendly and well-maintained, there’s even a daily visit from a breadvan and a truck with fresh produce. It’s a bargain at around £15 a night for two if you have an ACSI card and get a 7 days for 6 deal. All the above crags and a dozen others are within a 30 to 45mins drive.

Not a bad spot for a rest day either!

That marks more or less the halfway point in our Italian Job. Time to start drifting northwards, hopefully as spring arrives. Only 31hrs driving to home…