Anatoli

Crag Summary

The pros of this crag were: overlooking beautiful Karathona bay, super easy access (you park on a road which looks like it was part of an abandoned development and is not populated with bee hives and sadly rubbish… perhaps houses were planned?). There are cute little easy climbs on the far end perfect for the kids to climb at the same time and technical, vert, long lines in the 5s and 6s. The cons were: it was super hot! We thought that climbing in the sun at the end of November would be fine, but it would have been worth waiting for afternoon shade (morning shady climbing can be had within the same bay at the crag Karathonas on the opposite side of the bay, or Kato Kosmos in a little shady canyon). At least we could easily cool off with a swim after!

• Style: single-pitch sport
• Parking: 37.54954, 22.81570
• Topo and Approach details:
  • Write-up of some of the crags near Nafplio town including Anatoli on Olympus Mountaineering
  • The Crag has descriptions and route names
  • Routes also names painted on the rock
• We visited on: Friday, 22nd November 2024
• Who else was there: we had it to ourselves

Nearby

We managed to climb at one other little crag in the immediate area: Karathonas, on the opposite side of the bay. There are so many more little crags nearby which we had to miss, see below.

The crag sits right above Karathona bay which is a beautiful spot for a swim. There is a footpath from the beach that takes you all the way to Nafplio town along a scenic coastal path (and a couple more crags on route: Neraki and Palamidi – which we didn’t climb but looked kid-friendly and would be shady in the morning/sunny in the arvo).

Right next to Anatoli itself there is an interesting mini-canyon crag Karo Kosmos which we also didn’t climb but looks super fun to explore and also shady. Further to the east there is another scenic little crag which we didn’t manage to fit in: Kondyli Beach. So plenty to come back for!

Nafplio itself is a vibrant and scenic town and would make a great base for exploring all the little crags in the area. This really is a perfect spot for exploring diverse, uncrowded, scenic and kid-friendly crags alongside culture and beaches – it is also known to be the driest/warmest part of the Peloponnese so perfect for winter sun. The only thing missing would be HARD climbs, so if you’re looking for that, head on over to the next peninsula for famous Leonidio.

One other worthwhile side-trip is the Archaeological site of Mycenae – impressive gate and beehive tombs, incredible to stand among structures over 1500 BC.