COMD357 BLOG - Climbing in Ankara
Are you interested in moving your body while enjoying the outdoors? If so, you should definitely try climbing!
But before you go out and injure yourself, here are some places to improve your skills and become a much better climber, or to try it for the first time and see if you enjoy it.
In this blog, I will list 4 climbing walls in Ankara and suggest which ones are better for certain types of climbing. But before we start, here’s a simple introduction if you’re new to climbing:
Hello, I am Hülya, a student from Bilkent University. My experience with climbing started 3 years ago, in Ankara. I got into climbing without ever being aware of the possibilities around me in Ankara, so I wanted to write a blog about it. The climbing community in Ankara is small, but this isn’t a disadvantage; it’s the opposite.
Almost all climbers in Ankara somehow know each other and are friends. So by reading this blog and by going to these places a couple of times, you will not only improve your physical skills but also become a part of an amazing community.
Climbing might be confusing at first, but I’ll do my best to explain it simply and break it down:
There are, simply put, 2 types of climbing, and you can do them both indoors and outdoors: Bouldering and Sport Climbing. Bouldering is done on smaller 4 - 5 meter rocks, and you only need climbing shoes as gear, depending on whether you’re indoors or outdoors. Sports Climbing is done on taller rocks and mountain faces. You need extra safety equipment like rope, harnesses, and quickdraws, since you’ll be significantly higher than on a boulder. You can do both in Ankara.
The first place I’ll mention is where I spend most of my time:
Number 1: Bilkent’s outdoor wall!
Most Bilkent students are unaware of the existence of a great climbing wall on campus. I personally had friends who were graduating and still did not know we had a wall in Bilkent.
There is both a boulder wall and a sports climbing wall with auto-belays. The downside is that it is outdoors, so the wall can only be used in certain seasons. This wall is limited to the Bilkent community’s use for free. You can use the boulder wall, with climbing shoes, whenever you want, but you need a club member (DOST, who owns the wall) to be on the sports climbing wall supervising you.
Pricing: None!
Environment: 5/5
Working Hours:
Weekdays: 08:30-22:30
Weekends: 08:30-22:30
Location:
The next place on the list is where I started my climbing journey, and it is the most popular climbing gym in Ankara. It is still my go-to place to hang out with friends and climb. It is also a great place when you want to climb, but it’s raining outside.
Number 2: Kısa Kaya Boulder Gym
Kısa Kaya is located in Besa Karina Plaza, Yaşamkent. The gym is reachable by the EGO 590 numbered bus. I first went to this place in 2023 and got introduced to climbing here with Ahmet Hoca. He is a good friend still to this day. Kısa Kaya is a bouldering gym, meaning you can only do bouldering in here.
With routes changing every couple of weeks, it is a great place to improve your strength and technique. The gym has a daily entrance and 10-entry membership options. You can also rent shoes and magnesium chalk inside.
Pricing: 3/5
Environment: 4/5
Working Hours:
Weekdays: 12:00-19:30
Saturday: 11:00-19:00
Sunday: Closed
Location:
The next gym on the list is the newest climbing gym in Ankara: Tragos Boulder. When my friends and I learned that there was a new climbing gym opening in Ankara, and of course, it was managed by a friend ours, we were thrilled.
Number 3: Tragos Boulder
Tragos Outdoor was originally an outdoor gear shop, but in 2025, they turned their basement into a bouldering gym. The shop and the wall are located in Ata, Lizbon Cd. No: 93/A, 06460 Çankaya/Ankara. Tragos, different from Kısa Kaya, offers a bigger collection of “toys” to improve your training, like a wooden pull-up board and various other equipment.
Another advantage of Tragos is how student-friendly it is. By using your student card, you can get a discount on daily entrances, thanks to our friend Efe.
Tragos also offers climbing lessons for kids, adults, or any age. You can rent shoes and other needed equipment inside.
Their working hours are:
Weekdays: 13.00 - 21.00
Weekends: 12.00-20.00
Pricing: 5/5
Environment: 4/5
Location:
The last place on the list is the only indoor climbing gym in Ankara that’s open to the public and is not private:
Number 4: Gölbaşı Climbing Wall
Gölbaşı Climbing Wall is located on Gölbaşı, Şafak Mah., 857. Sok. The gym is relatively harder to access and offers less public transport, but its affordability makes up for it. Because this is a government-owned gym, the entrance fee is significantly less than the others. One other downside is their working hours, and the gym is mostly full of kids. The place also does not have rental equipment, so you have to take your own. However, the routes and the variations of walls are perfect for improving your climbing. We even consider this one the hardest among all the other places. They also offer a small section of sports climbing walls, but I do not recommend using them since they are not well-planned and are not suitable for beginners.
They do not have a website, but you can reach the desk at this number: +90 0312 485 53 25
Working Hours :
Mondays: closed
Weekdays: 09:00 - 17:00
Weekends: 14:00 - 19:00
Pricing: 5/5
Environment: 4/5
Location:
