Nathenje Quarry Rock Climbing

The wall is characterized by cryptic climbing where there are very few obvious holds and a lot of rock facets that you can either stem across, mantle, or compress. Thus the climbing often involves decrypting sequences and maintaining body tension to hold either opposition or compression holds. Top rope anchors can be set up by rappelling from trees and boulders but care should be taken as suitable anchor points are often 10m or more from the edge of the cliff and therefore rope length can be an issue. Generally a 70m rope is sufficient for the routes in the middle of the wall and a 60m for the sides on two strands (or 40m static line on single strand for all routes). Development is ongoing with new routes being established regularly. As a former quarry, there is a great deal of loose rock. Climbers and their belayers need to be mindful of pulling off loose rock that might hit the belayer, which should be wearing helmets at all times.

The crag is on the premises of Hope Secondary School of KOICA. Therefore, as per agreement with the land owners, climbing is limiting to after school hours (from 15h00, which coincidentally is when the sun slows the burn) to avoid disrupting school during the weekdays when the terms are running, but access is unlimited over the weekends. Reach out to Climb Malawi for more specific details. The wall is in the sun from 9am during summer (August to December). Best season to climb is April to July after the rains, but even in rainy season some routes stay dry (and others dry up quickly). As with all crags managed by Climb Malawi, access is free but a donation towards the crag maintenance is always appreciated.

No parking fees required at parking.