Thursday, May 25, 2017

El Caminito Del Rey

Located inland to the north west of Malaga and about 1 hour by car is the Caminito Del Rey, The King's Little Pathway. 


It was built between 1901 and 1905 to enable workers to travel between the hydro-electric plants at the Chorro Falls and the Gaitanejo Falls. King Alfonso XIII visited in 1921, hence the name.


The original walkway has fallen into disrepair but a new structure has been built in its place and was opened in 2015.


The restored walkway was initially constructed with the help of climbing enthusiasts. The original walkway involved the work of convicted convicts so if they fell to their death that could be seen as a part of their punishment.


The actual length of the walk is 7.7 km with 4.8 km being on the suspended paths that are built into the sides of the cliffs.


The views all the way along the route are phenomenal, the walkway is generally around 1 metre in width and rises over 100 metres above the river.





The hard hat was compulsory - we didn't encounter any falling rocks on our visit but there were a couple of places with very low overhangs as well as the very long and dark tunnel we had to walk through initially to access the starting point.




On the other side of the gorge is the railway track which runs through tunnels and over viaducts and bridges although we didn't see a train.


There are many sections where the new walkway has been constructed directly above the original path.



One bit of advice which was frequently repeated was to ensure there was at least 1 metre between you and the person in front of you - that's very reassuring!






Thank goodness our pathway had been built to follow the inlet of the cliff rather than cross via a rather precarious looking bridge.


In the foreground is the railway bridge and the pathway can be seen clinging to the cliff just above it.



The coach that took us to the beginning of the walk had driven to the end in order to pick us up and take us for lunch - brilliant!

To see my short video of this experience, click HERE.

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