Lampang: A New Crag on Military Land That Needs CMRCA Registration | Thailand Climbing Crags

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Lampang is northern Thailand's old capital, north of Chiang Mai, and its airport platform is the most beautiful in the country — a leftover of the opium and teak trade. Thirty minutes outside town, in a valley, is northern Thailand's newest crag: developed by CMRCA (the Thai Climbing Development Association), with 25 routes logged on theCrag on 21 October 2026, graded 5b to 6c+.

But the most important part of this guide is not the routes. It is how you get in: Lampang is on military land. You cannot simply drive up and climb.

What kind of crag this is

Limestone, tagged "morning sun" on theCrag. Three sectors, none of them large:

CMRCA's own description says "over 50 routes, both single- and some multi-pitch climbing" — theCrag logs only 25. That is a gap in logging scope, not a dispute about the number.

Why only 25 routes

Three things stack up:

1. The crag is new. Nearly all 25 routes theCrag lists were developed between May and July 2019, with no obvious record of new routes since.
2. Access is restricted. You can only climb on days when a guide is present, so the number of usable days is small to begin with.
3. The routes exist but are not tidied up. Almost everything online is theCrag's page and CMRCA's own site.

theCrag's page says it outright: "This crag does not have a description" — someone filed a request asking the community to write one. This is a crag still in the making, and its information density is far below Krabi's.

Loose rock and helmets

theCrag's summary is direct: "There is still a lot of loose rock, so please wear helmet." The sector pages repeat the "Loose" tag.

That is the shared feature of new northern Thai crags — Crazy Horse and Chiang Dao are mature limestone, while Lampang has barely been developed. At Lampang a helmet is not optional.

When to go

Northern Thailand's seasons match Chiang Mai, and the dry season from November to February is the best window.

Lampang has no park or protected-area seasonal closure on record, which is simpler than Chiang Dao — you are not chasing an annual park notice. But the burning-season air quality problem is exactly the same as in Chiang Mai and Chiang Dao.

Getting there

Public transport

Lampang town has a train station on the northern line, but no public transport connects the town to the crag. The last 30 minutes from town to the crag is by car, by charter, or on transport arranged through CMRCA.

By car

About 30 minutes from Lampang town to the crag (thailandclimbing.com's Lampang trip page). Most people drive up from Chiang Mai — roughly two hours north on the highway, through the Mae Hong Son-style mountain stretches on the way.

The practical problem with driving: CMRCA's page publishes no open dates and no prices, which means you have to contact them before you know which day works, not the other way round.

Parking

theCrag lists the approach as 5–10 minutes, gentle gradient, so the car park is close to the rock. The last 5 to 10 minutes is on foot from where you park.

Rules to know before you go

You must register with CMRCA in advance

This is the most important section of the guide. theCrag marks Lampang's access as Paid + Private, and explains:

Military property. You have to pay and get permission from CMRCA in advance in order to climb in this area.

CMRCA's own page is more specific: all climbers must register with CMRCA before arriving at the Lampang site, and must be accompanied by a CMRCA staff member while at the crag. Which means:

1. You cannot drive in on your own and climb. This is the single biggest difference between Lampang and every other crag in this series.
2. There is a fee, and the amount is not listed on the public page.
3. The crag only opens on days CMRCA schedules, and those days are tied to guided trips.
4. CMRCA's page also mentions attaching a negative rapid-test certificate — that section of the page has no visible date, so ask whether it is still required.

A problem with the documents themselves

CMRCA's page lists neither open dates nor prices, and still carries the rapid-test requirement. Together those two gaps mean you cannot plan a trip from the website alone. The only reliable route is to contact CMRCA directly.

Separately, a 2023 Crag Journal trip report through Thailand recorded that on arrival in Lampang they were told it was not currently possible to climb. That was the situation in 2023, and CMRCA has since developed it to more than 50 routes — but "could not climb in 2023" and "can climb in 2026 if you register first" are different claims, and old trip notes are not the current answer.

Bolts

theCrag carries no per-route bolt information for Lampang, so there is no published bolt data for this crag. Inland crags are classed as "benign" with lower corrosion risk in the same material study (Crag Chemistry 2024-09), but that does not mean Lampang's bolts have been checked — it is a brand-new crag. Check the hanger, the nut and the wear on the quickdraws yourself before you clip.

Routes by level

YDS and V-grade conversions follow the Mountain Project international grade comparison chart and are approximate; "approx." marks grades the sources give without a/b/c (such as 4 or 5+). The original grade is the one that counts.

The table below comes entirely from theCrag's Veteran Wall and Ranger Wall pages, read 21 October 2026 — 21 of the 25 logged routes. The No Name sector's 4 routes have no per-route information.

Beginner: up to 6a (YDS 5.10a and below)

Lampang's beginner routes cluster on the Veteran Wall, all in the 5s. The Ranger Wall only goes down to 5c, so the easiest lines are on the Veteran Wall.

Intermediate: 6a+ to 6c+ (YDS 5.10b–5.11c)

This is the densest band at Lampang. The whole crag has no 6s below 6b and nothing above 6c+ — theCrag's grade filter lists exactly five bands: 5b, 5c+, 6a+, 6b+, 6c+.

Advanced: 7a to 7c+ (YDS 5.11d–5.13a)

Lampang has no verifiable routes at 7a or above. The 25 routes theCrag logs top out at 6c+, and the page's grade filter has no 7a band at all.

theCrag's Nearby Icons list does include No name 1 (7a) among the representative routes. That is a discrepancy between two parts of the same database: the sector's grade filter has no 7a, yet the icon list carries one route marked 7a. The likely explanation is that it belongs to a different sector (one of the four No Name routes) or that the data has not been synced. This guide does not list it in any band — when a band has no verifiable route, the only honest thing to do is say so.

If you want to climb 7a at Lampang, bring A Guide to Rock Climbing in Northern Thailand and ask on site. It is not findable online.

Expert: 8a and up (YDS 5.13b and up)

Not listed by any source. The 25 routes theCrag logs top out at 6c+; there is nothing at 8a or above. That is unsurprising for a newly developed crag, but readers should know it: the ceiling at northern Thailand's newest crag is currently 6c+.

Where to look things up

• Online databases: theCrag's Lampang page has all 25 routes, the three sectors and the access rules. The Veteran Wall and The Ranger wall have per-route grades, lengths and setters. This is virtually the only online route database for Lampang.
• First-hand access information: CMRCA's Lampang page is the only reliable source for whether you can go, when, for how much, and whether a rapid test is still needed — but the page itself lists neither dates nor prices, so contact them. CMRCA also runs a multipitch guided trip.
• Guidebooks: grades and route counts here come mainly from online databases; the guidebook is the authority. The guide that covers Lampang is A Guide to Rock Climbing in Northern Thailand (CMRCA Press, 3rd edition, 220 pages, 500 THB, covering more than 150 pitches across 18 northern sectors). I could not find its publication year or confirm whether a newer edition exists, and its contents may lag behind development after 2019. The Pocket Guide and King Climbers are southern Thai books and do not cover Lampang.

References

• theCrag: Lampang
• theCrag: The Veteran Wall
• theCrag: The Ranger wall
• CMRCA: Lampang climbing weekends
• CMRCA: Lampang multipitch guided experience
• The Crag Journal: Climbing in Thailand (2023, recorded that Lampang could not be climbed)
• Crag Chemistry: Thailand crags (corrosion risk inland)
• chiangmai.net: Chiang Mai climate
• IQAir: Chiang Mai burning season air quality