Telendos

Telendos is a small, quiet island opposite the northwestern shores of Kalymnos, to which it was originally joined until a big earhtquake in 554 AD. The channel separating the two islands is 700m across, and getting to Telendos takes only 10 minutes by boat from the Myrties jetty (36.990969, 26.931268). At the tiny harbor you will find a lovely hamlet with picturesque fish tavernas and cafes. In summer, the last boat back is around midnight. Life on the island, without asphalt and cars, has its own laid-back rhythm. There are some lovely beaches for swimming and an organized beach for nudists at the northeast end of the island. Lots of quality crags and a few very worthwhile, popular long multi-pitches, are here to add to the sheer pleasure of visiting Telendos. “Kalymnos is not the only island of interest to climbers here. The ever-present Telendos Island is impossible to ignore and your belayer’s head will inevitably be crooned in that direction when it shouldn’t be. Like a giant magnet, your eye constantly flicks back to its direction as if it were true north. The cone shaped island is also a sundial by which you measure the passing of the day: illuminated by the soft morning light, you watch the shadows lengthen, and the end of your climbing day is marked by the glowing orange sun melting into the sea behind it. Telendos has incredible new route potential on big cliffs but, with so much to do on Kalymnos, the ten-minute ferry ride has been enough to slow development until recently. Now Telendos has several sectors ready and rearing to go along with some moderate multi-pitch sport routes—which complement the range of otherworldly experiences...” --Monique Forestier (Excerpted from Simon Carter’s book “World Climbing: Rock Odyssey” and reprinted with permission from the authors).