Episkopi (Paphos)

Episkopi is a Cyprus village built on the west side of Ezousas River. It is situated 10 kilometers from Paphos and it is characterized by the steep limestone rocks that dominate the village.

Those limestone walls offer some versatile routes from vertical to slightly overhanging crimpy routes to steep athletic overhangs. With currently 30 routes ranging from 6a up to 8b/8c and a lot of space for potential new masterpieces, Episkopi definitely worth a visit from mid-grade to high-end sport climbers and developers.

Directions to the crag:
Episkopi village can be easily reached due to the short distance from Paphos and it can be combined with climbing in the rest of the crags in the area. From the main roundabout in the entrance of Paphos follow the E710 road towards Episkopi which is 10km away from there. If you are driving from elsewhere and you are coming from A7 motorway it is also possible to exit and take road E606 for 6km and then turn left into an unnamed road towards the village. The sectors are in close distance from everywhere in the village so you can park your car and walk to the crags.

Sectors:
1) Main Lower Tier:
Currently the sector with the most routes. With steep overhanging routes is an ideal choice for climbing in mid-to-high range difficulties. Despite the east orientation of the crag, it gets the sun only early in the morning. It is notably cooler than the rest of the crags and it makes climbing possible even during the summer months.

Directions: From the main square follow the signs towards Nata but instead of taking the sharp right turn to Nata, keep going straight until you reach a road split. From there follow the right uphill road with the red sign for a holiday house. Then follow the road and take the second turn to the right and then follow a faint footpath that heads north-west to the crag. There are few parking places just opposite the holiday houses but the tenants have priority and they are often occupied.

2) Lower Tier Left Side:
A brilliant sector with vertical to slightly overhang routes. The sector faces south and it gets the sun until 12:00 – 13:00.

Directions: Follow the directions towards the overhang sector. When you reach the wall of the sector follow it all the way to its south end and then follow the cave to your right that takes you to ‘’Bat Trip’’ and then the rest of the routes in the sector.

3) Dome:
This free standing pillar offers some short but worthy routes. The sector faces south and it gets in shade late in the afternoon or never depending on the season.

Follow the directions towards the overhang sector and just before you reach the wall head north to an open area and then a boulder field. Navigate yourselves in the boulder field and towards the crag that is visible from distance.

Best season:
Climbing is possible all year round but July and August are the warmer months and probably worth to avoid. Rain in Cyprus is infrequent but normally occurs in December and January. Despite the overhang character of the lower sector, the rock gets wet (except a couple of routes) after one day of consistent rain and it takes longer to dry up. The rest of the routes dry up quickly.

ALL CREDITS GO TO KYRIAKOS ROSSIDIS FOR THE USE OF THE ABOVE TEXT, INFO, PICTURES AND TOPO IMAGES FROM HIS WEBSITE.

Proceeds from this topo go towards the development/maintenance of sport routes. There is a bolt fund if you wish to contribute directly with details below:

Bank of Cyprus
Account Name: Shinosintrofia - Mountaineering, Climbing and Trail Running Club
Account Number: 011001202407
IBAN: CY27 0020 0110 0000 0001 2024 0700
SWIFT / BIC: BCYPCY2N

Episkopi rock has always been known to climbers on the island, mainly due to the huge imposing rock at the Upper tier (at the back of the existing developed Lower tier), where some classic Trad routes were done in the past. The crag never got developed, partly due to other areas taking precedence and partly because the potential routes on this cliff were dismissed as "too hard" and a bit intimidating. As the climbing community grew and the Cypriot climbers' level along with it, Kyriakos Rossidis and Andreas Parparinos begun the hard work of bolting the first routes and making the crag more accessible, by cleaning the area from tons of trash that was left there in the area surrounding the lower tier. No wonder that one of the first routes on the Lower tier - leftside, is called "Planet Garbage" (F7c+), bolted by Kyriakos Rossidis and first ascented by Andreas Parparinos.

Soon their efforts were joined by Stefanos Papadopoulos, who was one of the strongest climbers in Greece at the time, smashing sport routes up to F8c/8c+ while living in Patra and Athens. Since moving back he was eager to find a new hard playground as the existing crags did not have much to offer in the 8 grade range, therefore the development pace naturally took a strong boost.

The development of the routes and the sectors on the area were carried out mainly by Andreas Parparinos, Stefanos Papadopoulos, Kyriakos Rossidis, Antreas Rossidis, Nikolas Patsalos, Marios Hadjipetris and others. The majority of the bolts that were used were sponsored by Get Out store while the rest was funded by an initiative from the Cyprus climbing community.

Episkopi is slowly being explored more and more by other Cypriot climbers, previously intimidated by the powerful/power-endurance style and steepness of the routes and this place will prove to be very important in developing the level of the sport on the island for years to come.