Top 5 Coolest Climbing Walls

5. Alice in Wonderland Climbing Wall (Japan)

Tired of a ho-hum climbing wall? Check out this whimsical climbing wall at the ILLOIHA fitness club in Japan, as designed by architecture design firm Nendo. It looks straight out of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland!

4. World’s Tallest Climbing Wall (Netherlands)

This is the Excalibur climbing tower at the Bjoeks climbing center in Groningen. It is 121 feet (37 meters) tall

with an overhang of 36 feet (11 meters), known as the highest climbing tower in the world.

3. 500ft Climbing Wall (Switzerland)

The Diga di Luzzone is both a working dam and one of the largest artificial climbing walls in the world. Bolted in the 1990s, this spot in Switzerland is home to one of the two largest man-made climbing routes in the world, a 540-foot, five-pitch monster that curves its way up the side of the Luzzone dam. As climbers go through the pitches, the concave wall changes character, starting off slabby, then straightening out to vertical.

Visitors who want to throw down on the dam will need to pay 20 Swiss francs each to get the keys to unlock the ladder that crosses the first section.

2. Campus Climbing Wall (Netherlands)

People are literally climbing up the walls in this dormitory located in the University of Enschede. Built as a gift to the local mountaineering club, the climbing wall is incorporated into the building’s architecture. The new function isn’t merely decorative, shaping its final form as it becomes an influent design theme. Architectural design by Arons & Gelauff Architecten.

1. Silo Climbing Wall

The city of Amsterdam wasn’t quite sure what to do with three abandoned sewage treatment silos, so they decided to hold a competition to determine the best adaptive reuse project. One of the projects submitted for the competition was by Amsterdam-based NL Architects, who proposed to transform the silos into an incredible set of climbing towers. In addition to the climbing areas both inside and outside the silos, the project would include multi-purpose areas, offices, restaurants and other commercial spaces.