Arco and climbing
The European climbing capital
A few kilometres north of Lake Garda, in the valley of the Sarca river, Arco is a small town with a mild climate dominated by an extraordinary sight: a tall, isolated limestone cliff topped by the ruins of a medieval castle, with towers and walls climbing up the rock among cypresses and olive trees, a view so picturesque that Albrecht Dürer painted it in a famous watercolour in 1495, now in the Louvre. In the nineteenth century, Arco was a renowned Kurort, a health resort of the Habsburg Empire, where the Austrian aristocracy spent the winter, and the town still preserves elegant villas, the casino, the Arboretum, a botanical garden with exotic plants, and the Habsburg promenade.
Today, however, Arco is famous worldwide as the "capital of climbing": the limestone walls that surround the valley, such as the Colodri wall just above the town, offer thousands of climbing routes of every difficulty, from short sport routes to long multi-pitch climbs, in a mild climate that allows climbing almost all year round. Since 1987, Arco has hosted the Rock Master, one of the most prestigious international climbing competitions, and the town is full of climbing shops, gyms and climbers from all over Europe. Arco is also an excellent base for mountain biking, trekking and via ferratas, such as the via ferrata of the Colodri, and the castle can be reached by a path through the olive groves, with a view over the valley and the lake.
Tip: climb to the castle along the path among olive trees and cypresses; beginners can take a course with one of the local mountain guides.
Where it is
More things to see in Trentino-South Tyrol
Where to stay near Arco
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