All activities / Rock Climbing / Adrspach
Rock Climbing in Adrspach
A rock town of sandstone towers, walls and gorges in northeastern Bohemia near the Polish border, part of the Adrspach-Teplice Rocks. It is one of the largest and most storied sandstone climbing areas in the world, with thousands of routes and a strict local ethic.
Why here
The Adrspach-Teplice Rocks are the largest rock town in central Europe and one of the world's great sandstone climbing areas. Two connected labyrinths of towers, walls and gorges near the Polish border hold several thousand routes on soft Bohemian sandstone, climbed under a strict local tradition: no chalk, no metal protection hammered into the rock, and no climbing for at least a day after rain, because wet sandstone breaks. Protection is knotted slings jammed into cracks and the occasional ring, and there is a signature team technique of standing on a partner's shoulders to reach a start. The result is committing, adventurous climbing on friction and cracks rather than sport-bolted faces, best learned with a local guide who knows the ethics and the towers. For trad climbers this is a bucket-list place, and even beginners can top a tower on a course.
Best months
The climbing season runs roughly from April to October when the rock is dry, and the 24-hour no-climb rule after rain is enforced and taken seriously, since wet sandstone crumbles. Grades use the local Saxon scale and protection is sparse, so first-timers and visitors are strongly advised to hire a guide. The rock town is also a busy walking destination, so weekends are crowded.
Getting there & around
Adrspach is in the northeast corner of Bohemia near the Polish border, about three hours from Prague by car or reachable by train to Adrspach station beside the rocks. Guides collect climbers locally and provide the soft slings and rings used for sandstone protection. Accommodation is in Adrspach and nearby Teplice nad Metuji, and the popular rock-town parking and guides are best booked ahead in summer.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Do Skal
SchoolDo Skal is a Czech climbing school and gear shop with around 25 years of experience, running guided sandstone courses in Adrspach from its base in Moravia. Its one-day and two-day Adrspach programmes teach the skills of soft-rock climbing, knots and slings for protection, reading the towers, rappelling and the mental side of committing sandstone leads. The school also rents and services equipment and runs courses across Czech rock areas for beginners upward.
Skola lezeni na pisku
SchoolSkola lezeni na pisku, trading in English as Sandstone Climbing Guides, is a local guiding school specialising in the Bohemian sandstone of Adrspach, Bohemian Paradise and the Jizera Mountains. Its certified instructors run one-day and multi-day courses for all levels, from first-timers topping a tower to trad climbers learning the region's knot-and-sling protection and no-chalk ethic. Courses are tailored to area and difficulty, with gear rental and sessions for children.