Climbing in India

Climb outside in India

A free guide to the rock, the roads and the people. Every area is marked by its road distance from the nearest big city.

Find an areaNew to outdoor climbing
Climbing areas
66
States
17
Months in season
12
Guides, topos and links
112
New DelhiRings: distance in a straight lineMajor areaOther area

Ten areas to start with

Each stone gives the road distance from the nearest big city, the season and the kind of climbing. They are in order from north to south, and each one opens a page with the road there, places to stay and people to ask.

Photo credits are on each area page.

Five kinds of country

India is not one climbing place. The rock, the season and the way people climb change with each region.

  • 36 areas · Delhi NCR, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh

    The Himalaya and the Aravalli

    Granite and gneiss boulders in high valleys of Himachal and Ladakh, and greenschist in the Suru valley, from about 2,500 m to above 4,000 m, climbed from spring to autumn. Spiti has frozen waterfalls in winter. Far below, the old quartzite of the Aravalli hills gives Delhi its crack lines and winter boulders.

    GraniteGneissQuartziteIce

    Areas in North India
  • 12 areas · Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan

    The Sahyadri

    Basalt cliffs, pinnacles and hill forts in the Western Ghats, near Mumbai and Pune. The rock is kind to the hands and often loose. This is club country, with sport routes, long routes and a season that starts when the monsoon ends. Goa has boulders on its beaches.

    Basalt

    Areas in West India
  • 11 areas · Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

    The Deccan

    Granite domes and fields of boulders on the Deccan plateau: Hampi, and the crags around Bengaluru. Badami is different, with red sandstone cliffs and bolted routes. Hyderabad and Chennai have granite boulders of their own. Winter is the season.

    GraniteSandstone

    Areas in South India
  • 5 areas · West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam

    The eastern hills

    The low hills of Purulia and Bankura are where Bengal's clubs have taught rock climbing since 1965. Long bolted routes on the granite dome of Bansa Hill are new. Sikkim and Assam have rock that few people have written about.

    GraniteGneiss

    Areas in East India
  • 2 areas · Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh

    The middle of the map

    The least recorded part of the country. Pachmarhi has sandstone, and Deshdekha in Chhattisgarh opened to the public in 2023. There is more rock here than there are topos.

    Sandstone

    Areas in Central India

Seventy years on Indian rock

Clubs in Bombay and Calcutta, hard cracks near Delhi, visitors on the Hampi boulders, and now a generation of Indian climbers who open their own lines. Most dates link to an outside source.

  1. 1954Girivihar, one of Mumbai's oldest hiking and climbing clubs, is founded in Bombay.
  2. 1970sClimbers of the Climbers and Explorers Club, led by MS Bawa, start climbing at Dhauj.
  3. 1985In December a team led by Vasant Limaye makes the first ascent of the south face of Kokankada. It takes 17 days.
  4. 2003The film Pilgrimage, with Chris Sharma in Hampi, comes out and puts its granite boulders on the world map.
  5. 2010Elie Chevieux, Fred Nicole and Bernd Zangerl find the Baspa valley's boulders.
  6. 2013Ajij Shaikh climbs The Diamond in Hampi, the first 8A boulder by an Indian.
  7. 2016The first Suru Boulder Fest is held in Ladakh.
  8. 2025Arlo, aged 11, climbs Premium Gravity (8A) at Rakchham.

Read the whole story

The people who built it

Every area exists because someone found the rock, cleaned it and told other people.

  • we had a strong ethic to only lead the routes, no top roping

    Mohit Oberoi, Dhauj. Delhi climbing pioneer since the 1980s; author of the first Delhi guidebook (2001).

  • The '80s and '90s were the golden years of climbing in Bangalore.

    Sohan Pavuluri, Bengaluru. Founder of the Bangalore Climbing Initiative (BCI).

  • The point is to involve local people

    Nand Kishore “Johnny” Negi, Rakchham. Rakchham local who helped start the Rakchham Mountaineering and Adventure Club (RMAC).

Meet more of them

When to go

India has something in season in every month. The high valleys are for summer, and the south and the plains are for winter.

The climbing season for each major area by month, with the average day high in degrees Celsius
AreaJJanFFebMMarAAprMMayJJunJJulAAugSSepOOctNNovDDec
Suru valleyBouldering · 2,922 m-7°out of season-5°out of season-1°out of season4°out of season9°out of season16°half season22°in season22°in season19°in season11°half season1°out of season-5°out of season
SethanBouldering · 2,497 m4°out of season, wet6°out of season, wet9°half season, wet13°in season, wet17°in season20°in season20°out of season, wet20°out of season, wet19°in season, wet15°in season10°in season, wet7°half season, wet
Spiti valleyIce, single and multi-pitch · 3,833 m-9°in season-8°in season-5°in season-1°half season4°out of season11°out of season18°out of season19°out of season15°out of season7°out of season0°half season-6°in season
RakchhamBouldering · 3,138 m-3°out of season-2°out of season2°half season6°in season11°in season17°in season19°out of season, wet19°half season17°in season12°in season6°in season1°half season
DhaujTrad (lead), bouldering · 212 m19°in season24°in season29°half season36°out of season39°out of season38°out of season34°out of season, wet32°out of season, wet33°out of season32°half season27°in season22°in season
BelapurSport, bouldering · 184 m30°in season33°in season34°half season35°out of season34°out of season30°out of season, wet27°out of season, wet27°out of season, wet28°out of season, wet31°half season33°in season31°in season
SinhagadSport, trad · 1,154 m25°in season28°in season30°half season33°out of season32°out of season25°out of season, wet22°out of season, wet22°out of season, wet23°out of season, wet25°half season25°in season25°in season
BadamiSport, trad · 564 m30°in season33°in season36°half season37°out of season37°out of season31°out of season, wet29°out of season, wet29°out of season29°out of season, wet30°half season30°in season30°in season
HampiBouldering · 419 m31°in season34°in season37°half season38°out of season37°out of season32°out of season30°out of season30°out of season30°out of season31°half season31°in season30°in season
Bengaluru cragsSport, trad, bouldering · 699 m29°in season32°in season34°half season35°out of season33°out of season30°out of season28°out of season, wet29°out of season29°out of season, wet29°half season, wet28°in season28°in season

In seasonHalf season: possible, not the bestWet month, 150 mm of rain or moreNumbers are the average day high in °C.

See the weather for each area

Guidebooks, topos and things to read

The books, apps and projects that climbers have made for Indian rock, and the best writing about it.

Before your first day outside

  • Go with people who know the place

    Do not go outside on your own the first time. A club, a guide or a local climber shows you the rock, the rules and the safe way down. Each area page lists who to ask.

  • Check access before you travel

    Some areas need a permit. Some are closed in parts. Some have a firm rule on bolts. The area page says what applies.

  • Rock has no padded floor

    If you have never climbed, start in an indoor gym. Many big cities have one. Outside you also need pads and spotters, or a rope, a helmet and a partner you trust.

Read the full guide for beginners

Know a crag we missed?

This guide grows with what climbers send. Tell us about an area, a guidebook, a topo project, a bus that no longer runs, or a person we should credit.

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