It was during my recent road trip in Andalusia that I had the chance to do this extraordinary hike: El Caminito del rey, in French, the king's path.
Summary:> History of El Caminito del Rey
> Location, access and excursions
> The Caminito del Rey, the randonnée
> Some tips for hiking El Caminito Del Rey Direct link :
This link allows you to book your excursion to El Caminito del Rey. El Caminito del Rey Discovery Tour Related Articles:
> What to do around Malaga?
> Visit Málaga
> Visit Seville
> Visit Cordoba
> Visit Granada
> Road Trip in Andalusia
History of El Caminito del Rey
Let's go back to the beginning of the last century, in 1901, the date of the beginning of the construction of the path. This was initiated for the needs of the construction of the dam at the falls of Chorro and Gaitanejo. A few years later, in 1921, it was also used for the construction of the Conde del Guadalhorce reservoir. It was this same year that the King of Spain Alfonso XIII borrowed it to inaugurate the reservoir. It is from this event that the path takes its name. Since the path was not intended to be used later, it was abandoned, which led to its deterioration.
Used only by hiking enthusiasts, the degradation of the path, made of concrete, at the time, caused the death of many people, hence its nickname: The most dangerous path in the world.
The path was closed to the public after the death of 5 people in 2001.
It was in 2006 that the autonomous community of Andalusia decided to raise funds to rehabilitate this path. After a few years of delay due to the economic crisis that hit Spain in 2011, the path opened its doors again on March 17, 2015.
Location, access and excursions
El Caminito del Rey is located about 1h10 drive from Malaga and 2h00 from Seville. This hike is one of the must-see attractions if you are staying in the Malaga region.
Reaching the place where El Caminito Del Rey is located is not necessarily easy. The hike is a bit “in the middle of nowhere”. Even if it is possible to reach El Chorro, where the hike is located by train, it is still much more practical to rent a car from one of the major towns in the region or to opt for an excursion to the daytime. You will find all the timetables and prices of the trains to El Choro, by clicking on the following link: Timetables and prices of the train to El Caminito del rey or by going to the official website of Renfe, the Spanish train company.
Excursion to El Caminito del Rey:
Many excursions are available from the main towns in the region. You can access the descriptive sheets of the excursion and book by clicking on the links below.
- Excursion to the destination of El Caminito Del Rey after the city of Malaga, Torremolinos, Fuengirola or Marbella.
- Excursion to El Caminito Del Rey from the city of Seville.
- Excursion to El Caminito Del Rey from the city of Granada.
- Excursion to El Caminito Del Rey from the city of Cadiz.
The Caminito del Rey, the randonnée
Here are my tips for a successful hike. First of all, know that when I went there, in June 2015, all the development work was not finished. Access to the path as well as parking is somewhat complicated. The municipality is working to improve these few points. The path being located in the middle of a natural park, it is not very easy to access. Indeed you will have to drive a few tens of kilometers through narrow roads to get there. There are two entrances to access the Caminito del rey, the North entrance and the South entrance. We had chosen the North entrance. You will have to park on the lower side. At the time we found that there was a serious lack of indications to find this famous path.
You should know that in addition to the most famous part of the path, the footbridges, you will have to walk a little to reach the start of the hike. Indeed the beginning of the path is located 2,7 km from the North entrance and 2,1 from the South entrance. The path itself is divided into two parts, 1,5 km of footbridges and 1,4 km of trail or forest track. The most impressive part being, of course, the part on the catwalk. These were completely redone during the works. This part is secured by a via ferrata. The big question that many have asked me is of course: " What if we have vertigo? Well, I have vertigo myself, so I'm going to speak to you knowingly. The path is not insurmountable but it is true that I strongly advise you not to lean over and look down! The walkways being of a solid and reassuring aspect, there is not really a problem, even if the space between the boards reveals the void. The only "test" you will have to overcome is the last footbridge which will allow you to reach the other side of the gorge. You will be walking above the void on a grid, although certainly very solid, leaving a huge void appearing under your feet. This should in no way slow you down from doing this hike. In the extreme case where you are paralyzed by this footbridge to cross, nothing prevents you from turning around. Depending on the entrance you take, it will be either at the very beginning or at the very end.
Do not forget to take something to hydrate you, it may be very hot during the hike.
Once the hike is over, several solutions are available to you. Turn around and walk back. Take a bus that will take you back to the starting point or take a train.
The hike takes about 4 hours. For more information you can go to the official Caminito del rey website.
Caminito del rey is one of the many hikes to do in Spain. Indeed Spain has many natural parks that allow you to do many outdoor sports activities such as hiking or cycling, rafting or canyoning.
> Some tips for hiking El Caminito Del Rey
Here are some tips if you plan to hike El Caminito Del Rey. The hike itself is not very difficult. No particular difficulty apart for people suffering quite badly from vertigo as I was telling you about earlier.
The days can be very hot in this region, do not forget to take something to hydrate and eat. Don't forget your camera either.
Apart from that, nothing special, the hike has almost no elevation, most of it takes place on a very well protected wooden path.
