Fifty Places to Rock Climb Before You Die: Climbing Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations

Images — *The view from Burnt Offerings. If you enjoy warm turquoise waters, white sand and countless sport climbs, Railay Beach is for you*.

Thailand

RAILAY BEACH

If the idea of climbing giant karst limestone pillars that tower above powdery white beaches and warm turquoise waters has any appeal, you may want to start booking your airline tickets to Thailand: Railay Beach, in the province of Krabi, beckons.

“There are so many routes at Railay,” Tar Dindang began. “Every wall along the beach has climbing options. It’s very easy to access the climbs, and it’s a five-minute walk to the beach for a swim or some coffee or lunch, before you climb again. There’s a lot to explore—and there are many restaurants on the beach, and bars where you can hang out with other climbers and hear about other places to climb.”

Railay Beach is in the province of Krabi, which sits near the southern end of Thailand, on the Andaman Sea. Tourism is a significant economic driver for the region; during holiday weeks in the winter high season, you’d think that tourism is Krabi’s sole economic engine. The primary draw, of course, is the juxtaposition of pronounced limestone cliffs—some connected to the mainland, some freestanding in the water—with idyllic beaches and bathtub-warm bays. The limestone karst formations along the Phra Nang Peninsula have an interesting provenance. Hundreds of millions of years ago, they were massive coral reefs. As the ocean waters receded, the coral was slowly broken down by mildly acidic water (thanks to the presence of carbon dioxide in the rain); the resulting cliffs are due more to this chemical process than to erosion, though where oceans meets the karst, erosion does occur. Karst formations are also noteworthy for their extensive cave systems, another geologic feature found around Phra Nang.

The exact genesis of rock climbing in southern Thailand is not completely clear, though it’s agreed that the first bolts were put up on the Phi Phi Islands in the late 1980s. (One popular notion of the region’s “discovery” is the “James Bond Theory”; the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun featured a karst tower near the island of Ko Tapu in Phang Nga Bay to the north of Pra-Nang, and some believe this may have ignited interest in the area’s rock climbing potential.) As observed on the Thaitanium Project website, some Dutch climbers recorded the first ascents at Phi. Soon after, other climbers recognized the potential of the walls, which featured many pockets, stalactites, and stalagmites . . . though the soft rock and lack of natural lines made climbing risky. In 1988, the still relatively new notion of inserting steel expansion bolts was brought to the Phi Phi Islands, and the first local sport climbs were born. In the next few years, the potential of the walls at Railay and Tonsai Bays was discovered, with the first routes going up on 123 Wall and Muay Thai Wall.

It should be noted that while the Dutch expedition were the first recreational climbers on the Karst walls of southern Thailand, they were certainly not the first climbers. Thai birds’ nest collectors have been scaling the walls of caves to harvest the nests of sea swifts for hundreds of years, as the nests—which are made from male swiftlet saliva—are prized by Chinese gourmets for their nutritional value. (Most are used in bird’s nest soup; Hong Kong consumes some one hundred tons of birds’ nests each year.) Collectors use a combination of ropes, trellises, and scaffolding to reach the nests, which are only harvested after the young birds have left. Recreational climbers should be extremely careful to avoid any caves or walls where harvesters are at work, as these areas are protected.

There are routes for climbers of every ability at Railay. Given the many vacationers who visit and the proximity of the walls, it’s no surprise that many novice climbers make their first ascent here. “If you’re a beginner and have never climbed, I would probably take you to the 123 Wall,” Tar continued. “There are many beginner routes here, less than thirty meters high, and the location is beautiful. For more experienced climbers, I might go to Tonsai Bay to climb Fire Wall, Melting Wall, or the Nest. Or visit Thaiwand Wall at West Railay Beach.” Many feel that Thaiwand, which rises over 650 feet above the Andaman Sea, is the region’s signature wall. As Sam Lightner Jr., author of a respected book on Thailand climbing, has noted, the rock is special in a number of ways: it’s hollow, so nonclimbers can ascend fixed ropes and ladders all the way through it from behind and emerge thirty meters above the beach; the view from its middle and upper reaches is simply sublime; there are routes for everybody, from “rock-faller-offers” and intermediate crag-hangers through to “rock gymnasts.” The rock here is just gorgeous; according to Tar, it looks as if “a nonexistent volcano had poured multicolored lava all down it, leaving tiny and sometimes agonizingly sparse holds along the way.”

The warm, moist climate of southern Thailand, combined with minerals in the limestone, has accelerated fatigue on the early bolts placed around the region. A nonprofit organization called Thaitanium Project has been working to install titanium climbing bolts in the south and beyond to create safer climbing conditions.

You’ll want to be well fortified to tackle Railay’s many sport climbs. A host of Thai staples await you. “For breakfast, we often eat rice and curry,” Tar said. “Lunchtime might be pad thai with sliced papaya, or fried chicken with garlic and rice. In the evening, there’s tom yum soup, chicken with coconut soup, or massaman, green, or red curry which can be prepared with chicken, beef, or shrimp.” You can wash it all down with Chang or Leo Beer.

TAR DINDANG is a co-owner and lead guide at Krabi Rock Climbing. He’s been climbing since 2004 and has introduced thousands of people to the sport.

If You Go

▶ Getting There: Visitors can fly into Krabi via Bangkok on several carriers, including Thai Airways (www.thaiairways.com). To reach Railay Beach, you’ll need to take a quick longtail boat ride.

▶ Best Time to Visit: December through April provides the best conditions but also sees the largest crowds.

▶ Level of Difficulty: There’s something for almost everyone around Railay and neighboring Tonsai Bay.

▶ Guides: Several guidebooks are available, including King Climbers: Thailand Route Guidebook (Somporn Suebhait) and Thailand: A Climbing Guide (Sam Lightner Jr.). Many climbing schools and guides operate around Railay, including Krabi Rock Climbing (+66 950283143; www.krabirockclimbing.com).

▶ Accommodations: There are many options around Railay, ranging from backpacker huts to elegant lodges. Your Krabi (www.yourkrabi.com) provides a good overview.