Rock climbing in Geyikbayırı

Geyikbayırı, 25 minutes from Antalya, is one of the best-known sport climbing areas in the Mediterranean, with hundreds of bolted routes. We use a sector with easy, well-protected routes and set up top ropes before the group arrives.

Certified instructors teach the basics: harness, figure-eight knot, belay device and climbing calls. Participants then work in pairs, one climbing and one belaying, with an instructor backing up every belay. Each person tries two or three routes of increasing difficulty; nobody is pushed to go higher than they want.

The point is trust and clear communication: you cannot climb without your partner, and the calls between climber and belayer are a small lesson in precise instructions. We finish with lunch at a climbers' camp at the foot of the crag. Summer is too hot on the rock, so we run this from autumn to spring.