Kemaliye Rock Climbing

Kemaliye is a beautiful little town in the middle of Turkey. The town itself is full of greenery and the architecture is pleasant. There are a few hotels/pensions to stay at, but unless you're there in the summer, the only one open will be the Bozkurt Hotel which is right on the main drag. That's also where the only restaurant is. Just around the corner there is an outdoor information centre (ask anybody and they'll know where it is) and the people who work there are quite helpful.

Kemaliye is known as an extreme sports destination, with the Dark Canyon (Karanlik Kanyon) only a few minutes out of the town centre, which is apparently the second biggest canyon in the world. People love to basejump and paraglide from the tops of the canyon, and you can do boat tours down the river or walk/drive along the 8km stretch of road that goes along the canyon. There are also trad and sport multipitch climbs that have recently been developed and there is word of a guidebook coming out soon which will have information on all of those.

There are two bolted climbing crags, one on the south end of town and one on the north. The southern one (Kocan) has only a few climbs, while the northern area has 30+ ranging from 5.6-5.13. The rock is limestone (I believe) featuring some wide cracks, nice pockets, slabby areas, and great face climbing. All of it is very well protected with bolts.