Via Ferrata Piva with kids: ages, prices and what they find hard
Children can climb Via Ferrata Piva from the age of 12. The route is the same loop the adults do: down through the forest to the river, back along the canyon wall a few metres above the water, then 80 m up a limestone wall to the bridge where you started. It takes one to two hours, nobody needs climbing experience, and the helmet, harness, gloves and via ferrata set are included for everyone in the family.
Who can come
Every climber has to be between 12 and 60 years old and weigh no more than 120 kg. The booking form asks you to confirm that for everyone in the group, and it also asks for each climber’s height and weight so your guide brings harnesses that fit. Moderate fitness is enough for a child as much as for an adult.
Brothers and sisters under 12, and grandparents over 60, can’t climb. The loop starts and finishes at the same bridge, and Plužine and Piva Lake are about 25 minutes back up the road, so the rest of the family has somewhere to go for the hour or two you’re on the rock.
What a family pays
Children pay the same as adults:
- 2 climbers, such as one parent and one child: €160 (€80 each)
- 3 climbers: €210 (€70 each)
- A family of four: €280 (€70 each)
- 8 or more: ask us for a group price
Every price includes the guide, the equipment, the briefing at the bridge, the photos your guide takes and the €5 route and park fee for Piva Nature Park. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the climb.
What the route asks of a child
The first part is a cabled path down through the trees to the river, over earth, roots and rock. It’s the easiest stretch, and it’s where everyone gets used to the carabiners before the rock gets steep.
The traverse comes next. It runs back downstream along the foot of the east wall, a few metres above the river, on iron pegs and staples, short ladders and steel grates over the pools. It’s mostly sideways.
The wall at the end is the hardest part for children. It’s 80 m of iron rungs up vertical rock, with a slight overhang near the top, and it needs some arm strength as well as legs. The rungs are the same distance apart for everyone, so a shorter child has to step up and reach further from one rung to the next than a tall adult does. About 50 m up there’s a steel bench bolted to the wall where you can sit down for a rest, and climbers can also stop on the rungs whenever they need to.
Moving the carabiners
Children clip themselves along the cable the same way adults do. Both carabiners stay on the cable, and at each anchor you move them past it one at a time, so one of them is always clipped; the reason for the rule is in via ferrata safety equipment explained. The carabiners open with an orange lever you squeeze in one hand, which works with gloves on, and your guide shows everyone the move at the bridge and stays with the group to the end.
Only one person climbs on each stretch of cable between two anchors. On the traverse and the wall a parent can climb directly in front of or behind their child, but not on the same stretch of cable. Is via ferrata safe? explains what protects climbers on the wall.
What to bring
Children need the same things as adults: closed shoes with a grippy sole, shorts or trousers they can lift their knees in, a thin layer and water. Leave loose scarves and dangling straps in the car, since they can catch on the cable. Clothes for each time of year are covered in what to wear for via ferrata.
Planning the day
Start times run from 08:00 to 18:00. In July and August, afternoons in Plužine are usually in the mid-20s °C and can reach 30 °C, so a morning start gets children up the wall before the heat. Plužine sits on the shore of Piva Lake, and things to do near Piva Canyon lists what else is within a drive, including boat trips on the lake and the Mratinje Dam.