Best sport climbing / hostels for a solo traveler in Latin America

I'm heading to El Potrero Chico this February and want to climb in some other destinations in Latin America in March. I'm looking for recommendations for spots for a solo traveler with hostels where I can meet other climbers to climb with. A place with vibes similar to EPC, Miguel's in the Red, or the Climbing House in Tenerife. Also would love to know if I need to bring my own rope and draws or if I'm able to rent or meet people to climb with and use their gear. Any information is helpful, vibes, transportation / access to crag, food in the area, how busy it is, safety, likeliness to meet other travelers etc. 

I'm a 5.10 sport climber, I can bring my own rope and draws, but ideally would love to carry less.

i had to edit this because i didn't see that you specifically said sport climbing.

I don't know of anywhere similar to what you have described other than La Mojarra in Colombia. but it is like a much smaller version of what you described. I have also heard the vibes have changed a bit recently from my colombian friends. im sure it would still be easy to meet people though. great climbing too. if you go make sure you find that climber that sells home made nut butters, delicious. I suppose Piedra Parada in Argentina and Huarez in Peru also come to mind, but i can not confirm how easy it would be to meet people.

Thank you for the recs! Appreciate the tips

killer local climbing community in San Cristobal. Great rocks, new bolts, check out arcotete if you go. 

Since you asked...Mexico is a dangerous place and I wouldn't go. 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html

People always "feel" safe, until something happens.

J W wrote:

And for the record, Mariah didn’t ask the question you answered.

The OP said "Any information is helpful, vibes, transportation / access to crag, food in the area, how busy it is, safety, likeliness to meet other travelers etc."

Seems to me that she did solicit comments about safety.

Mexico is much more dangerous than the US. Much more.

FrankPSwrote:

The OP said "Any information is helpful, vibes, transportation / access to crag, food in the area, how busy it is, safety, likeliness to meet other travelers etc."

Seems to me that she did solicit comments about safety.

Hey yall! Grateful to you both, thanks for the information Frank. I was looking for more specific information on safety, and I appreciate you trying to help. 

There are fun climber hangs in El Salto like Rock Camp, which used to only have hard climbing but has a nice selection of 10s now too. March is an awesome time to be there, the forest becomes so green and full of flowers and the weather is generally stable and comfortable. Adventurarte in Guadalcazar is great too. Smaller campground with a great pizzeria. Best to have a car there the crags are more spread out. Mostly climbing underground in caves. Rancho Don Lorenzo in Basaseachic, Chihuahua is pretty fun too. Pretty quiet during the week, weekends there are definitely local climbers around. Probably need a car to get there, but the ranch is right where the climbing is. Better spring destination, April is awesome, cold this time of year. Jilotepec near Mexico City is a big climbing destination. It doesn’t have a camp per se, but town is nearby, and most climbers go into the park and camp right at the climbing area, it is only a couple bucks per night. There are bathrooms and picnic areas with grill pits and covered tables and stuff and it is pretty nice, but quite crowded on nice weekends. Good vibes during the week. Recommend meeting some intrepid friends in Potrero (with a car if you don’t have one) and heading south to check out all the other great climbing Mexico has to offer. Be alert, don’t drive at night if you can help it, make local friends, ask about security issues, dress conservatively in small towns, etc. Yes there are safety issues in Mexico, but I wouldn’t let that dissuade you from traveling deeper into the country than just EPC! As an added bonus as you travel south in general things are cheaper and the food is much better and fresher. For all that is awesome about Potrero/El Salto it is definitely more expensive than most of Mexico and the local food is generally greasy and salty. Especially in Potrero seek out one of the climbing ranches that is less crowded as you will want a nice kitchen to prepare your own food. Good luck!

poop mcfartwrote:

i had to edit this because i didn't see that you specifically said sport climbing.

I don't know of anywhere similar to what you have described other than La Mojarra in Colombia. but it is like a much smaller version of what you described. I have also heard the vibes have changed a bit recently from my colombian friends. im sure it would still be easy to meet people though. great climbing too. if you go make sure you find that climber that sells home made nut butters, delicious. I suppose Piedra Parada in Argentina and Huarez in Peru also come to mind, but i can not confirm how easy it would be to meet people.

I was at La Mojarra in February/March. We had a great time I loved it, spent almost a month there. I know the la Roca hostel was closing its restaurant, which would make Juan Palitos become the only place with food. That and the empanada lady which I got pretty sick from lol. But we preferred Juan Palitos anyway. It really was a perfect place for sport climbing. Easy to meet people, like a 15 minute approach, plenty of hard stuff, and mandatory lazy mornings to do yoga and get a bit of work done.