Climbing in Montanejos

Montanejos, in addition to its water sources, is also well known for its rugged terrain. The town is located deep in the Alto Mijares region, an area surrounded by huge and steep walls of a magnificent limestone rock. The rivers Mijares, Maimona and Montán are the main reasons of the creation of these rock formations that climbers love. You can find many different sectors, from short and bouldery routes, to long overhangs and endless technical vertical routes. Also, there are a lot of multi-pitch routes, both sport and trad climbing. Montanejos is a place with a long tradition of climbing. It has taken 30 years to bolt more than 1,500 routes. Between the 80s and 90s the hardest routes of Spain were climbed in this region.

The walls of the Estrecho de Mijares (also called Chillapájaros) 2 km from the town are the most beautiful, vertical and impressive of all Montanejos. For climbers who are keen to climb trad crack routes, you will find here the best ones of all the region of Valencia. Tourists often stop at the lookouts on the side of the road to enjoy the privileged views of these walls.

The Maimona canyon, near the village of Montanejos is a very beautiful place with a short and easy approach. It has a large number of routes spread in different sectors from easy ones to harder ones. Large and small overhangs, short and bouldery routes, multi-pitches: you will find it all in this snaky canyon. Most climbers stay in the first sectors of the canyon: Iniciación, Pilas Alcalinas and Xulo Panderas. The final section, after the damm, hides the highest and wildest walls of this area.

To the south of the village, scattered by the Montán river we will find more climbing walls of great interest such as the Laberinto de los Dragones and Mazmorras.

You can climb here all year round, although you must pay attention to the orientation of the walls so you won’t be cold in winter or too hot in summer. The best seasons for climbing here are autumn and spring, where temperatures are milder.

Regulations

Climbing is forbidden due bird nesting from 1st December to 15th September in the area of Risco del Morrón and from January 1st to June 30th in Barranco de la Maimona in all areas form the containment dam: Plaza de las Catedrales (Espolón de los Agujeros and Frontón) and Final del barranco (Diedro del Negre).

Sleeping

The best option to sleep is El Refugio family hostel, located at the end of the village and at the beginning of the La Maimona canyon. The location is spectacular, the service is unbeatable and the culinary specialties will not disappoint you.

Other activities

We can combine climbing with swimming in the Fuente de los Baños. It is a crystalline thermal waters in the river Mijares at a temperature of 25º throughout the year. The hot springs are the main tourist attraction of the town and are visited every summer by a large number of people. Montanejos has also 2 via ferrata close to Puebla de Arenoso (Fantasma and Pirata) for which it is necessary to have a rope and some climbing techniques since they do not have a safety line. In addition there are a lot of beautiful hiking trails such as the Ruta de los Estrechos and a wide range of multi-adventure activities such as rafting, kayaking, canyoning and caving.