Caminito del Rey – walked 16th March 2016

Today was an experience that I am so glad that I had, in fact I had several experiences some fantastic and some typical of this country.

A friend of mine had managed to get 2 tickets for the Caminito del Rey, but unfortunately the friend that he had procured the other ticket for was unable to make it on this day so he offered it to me. I had in fact been trying to get a ticket for some weeks and officially they are only available online but due to the authorities not having clue about what they are doing about the management of this attraction after the end of March, it is now virtually impossible to get tickets.

We had tickets for 11:30, as visitors are restricted, and arrived in plenty of time and found the last parking space. From where the car is parked it is then a 2.5 km walk to the entrance to the Caminito and you are supposed to be there half an hour before your ticket time. The walk to the start is in itself

very pleasant, taking a sometimes rocky path through the pine woods alongside the Rio Guadlehorce. We arrive at the start of the walk about an hour ahead of time and watch the queues form, not only for the walk but also for the only 2 toilets that are available.

Eventually it is our turn to join the queue and move slowly toward the point where our tickets and documentation are checked and the hard hat issued complete with hygienic hairnet.  It’s then a slow but easy walk to the actual start of the Caminito, and then the enormity of the gorge strikes you as the cliffs start to tower above you. The new path was constructed, in the main, on top of or just above the original path. It is bolted and braced into the cliff face and has a wire netting and wire hand rail for protection, underfoot it is slats of 100 x 30 mm timber. The feeling is amazing as you are walking some 1 m. out from the cliff face, virtually in mid air. The sights are very hard to describe, the gorge with the Rio Guadlehorce flowing through it and over rapids is way below you, whilst the cliff that form the sides of the gorge tower way way above you.

Many years ago I had walked to the northern end of the Caminito (which is where we started from today) when it was still derelict and impossible to navigate, I have also passed the southern end many times when driving to the lakes and assumed that it was one gorge. In fact there are two gorges, and when you exit the first one the terrain widens out, with the railway line across the other side of the valley, and Cortijo del Hoya, now derelict, in the floor of the valley. There are many interesting features in this area. The old irrigation canals, caves full of water, tunnels through which the irrigation water flows and much more. At one point the path goes into one of the irrigation canals through a collapsed wall.

After we have passed through this valley we reach the start of the second gorge, and climb a number of steps that lead to the path that is cantilevered off the cliff face. The geology of this gorge is different to the previous in that the cliffs have vertical fissures. The railway line continues on the other side of the gorge and goes through several tunnels that, from our viewpoint, seem too small to take a train. The path clings precariously to the gorge side, affording spectacular sights. We then arrive at the section of path that has a viewing platform comprising of a glass floor. By standing on this you feel that you are suspended in mid air, not an experience for everyone, but one that I am glad I took. The walk is almost over but there is another section to conquer, and this is the suspension bridge, and the floor of the bridge is made of a metal grid of 25mm squares so that as you walk across the bottom of the gorge is visible directly below you. The bridge also sways and ´bounces´ as you cross it. The path then falls and climbs around the cliffs and over the railway line. For those film buffs, this is the section of railway line that was used in the closing scenes of Von Ryans Express.

That signals the end of the actual Caminito del Rey and we are now back on Terra Firma, but still with amazing scenery with the El Chorro lake below us and the view of the mouth of the gorge behind us.

We hand back our hard hats and head for the shuttle bus to take us back to the start, these run every half an hour. There was the usual Spanish scrum to get on and all the seats were taken and some 25 people were standing, and at €1.50 per head, not a bad earner. The trip back takes about 20 mins. and time now to have lunch and chat over what a fantastic day we have had.

The weather was good, with blue skies with some fluffy cloud, but to start with very cold out of the sun and a bitter wind, but as the day wore on the sun began its magic and warmed everything.

I can’t wait to do it again!

For all the pictures from this fantastic walk follow this link or visit the Page.

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