Caminito del Rey, the Thrill Gorge

Caminito del Rey is exciting long before you start. The winding access road leads to the beautiful turquoise blue swamp of Conde de Guadalhorce, presided over by the engineer Rafael Benjumea's house and the imposing rocky mountain. Between the municipalities of Ardales, Antequera, and Álora lies one of the most colossal geological phenomena in southern Spain, the Natural Area of the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes. This natural space, spanning over two thousand hectares, conceals a geological treasure rich in flora and fauna of incalculable ecological value. Millions of years ago, these magnificent peaks were a seabed that rose to reach its current height, forming the Betic System. Thus, the power of Nature has transformed the sea cliffs into the sensational river canyons that the Caminito del Rey traverses.

Once at the Conde de Guadalhorce swamp, the reference point to start the route is the El Kiosko restaurant, where a tunnel excavated in the rock opens to the left, marking the starting point of the path that leads to the entrance of the current Caminito del Rey. This access path runs among ash trees, willows, pines, and the visionary civil work that produced the first electricity in Andalucía.

On this peaceful walk, you reach the entrance control, where they provide you with a safety helmet that must be worn at all times. The route begins next to the building containing the electrical transformers, and a little further ahead is the old Gaitanejo Dam and Power Station, built by the aforementioned engineer Benjumea and admired by Alfonso XIII. From here, the mountains begin to close in around us until they become a notch where the magic of the exciting Caminito del Rey begins.

This rehabilitated marvel was originally built for workers to access the canal gates and is the third pathway. The original walkway was constructed in 1901 with simple wooden planks attached to the rock for quick access to the canyons' interiors to begin building the canal that would traverse the entire Gorge.

However, a flood affected the lightweight structure, so they had to build a second path, parallel to the first but located at a higher elevation, which was popularly called Los Balconcillos. This was erected by sailors experienced in working on the masts of sailing ships, who demonstrated their skills by embedding railway tracks into the rock to support a small brick and cement arch. This second path was the one that Alfonso XIII traveled in 1921 during his official visit to lay the last stone of the hydraulic works of El Chorro.

From that moment, it began to be called El Caminito del Rey, and it became a part of the daily life of the town of El Chorro and surrounding areas. It was used by children to go to school and whole families to shortcut their travels between the nearby towns through this mountain passage.

The ambitious and spectacular recovery of this century-old path now offers a unique venue to enjoy an unparalleled spectacle and a singular industrial archaeology. The titanic work of recovery has been awarded the European Union Cultural Heritage Europa Nostra Prize for the magnificent engineering work to address the gradual deterioration since its construction, and for the innovative construction system that has preserved part of the original path within a truly impressive landscape.

With the sound of the Guadalhorce River, the spectacle of canyons, ravines, cliffs, and vertical rock walls begins, where golden eagles and griffon vultures soar. Ahead lies a three-kilometer stretch along one of the world's most dangerous paths. The first canyon of the route is the narrowest of all, with some points having less than five meters separating the mountain walls.

At Los Gaitanejos, the lower part of the narrow, winding gorges provides a spectacle for the ears, eyes, and balance. Here are the so-called chocolate stairs, and going down them allows a close view of the lake and a small cavity where a salmon spine was found, used as a needle by Neolithic hunters.

At the end of this first canyon, under its walkways, you can observe the remains of the first metallic structure used for the canal works, and the railway line that since August 1865 allowed Málaga to escape its mountainous encirclement. Further on, the impressive little bridge that originally connected the railway and the walkway remains, serving as a loading dock for materials. This was where Alfonso XIII concluded his royal visit to the Caminito del Rey, which he did not traverse in its entirety.

Upon exiting the first canyon, a circus of mountains appears, hosting a valley that seems enchanted, the Valley of Hoyo. This majestic central space of the gorge runs parallel to the old channels. Undoubtedly, it is the ideal place to rest and have a snack. Following the path, you will find the ruins of the Casa del Hoyo, inhabited long before the construction of the Caminito del Rey began and where medieval ceramics, apparently from the 13th century, were found, indicating that there was a previous construction there.

If 114 years ago, sailors from Málaga and Cádiz hung from the gorge to construct a primitive wooden path, today R&D has been present with the use of drones and laser scanning to measure distances with absolute precision. The construction of the new Caminito del Rey has taken three years of design and one year of construction, during which 15,000 wooden boards and 1,500 meters of stainless steel mesh were used. Twelve climbers, nearly twenty workers, R&D technicians, and a helicopter collaborated in its construction.

The final great stretch of the Caminito del Rey is magical, extraordinary, impactful, and overwhelming. More than one hundred meters above the river level, the route winds closely along the gorge walls and offers breathtaking scenery. One of the highlights is a glass balcony that juts out from the walkway, unsuitable for those with heart conditions as its glass base transports you into the void. Further on, a fossil of ammonites can be observed, demonstrating the marine origins of these mountains, which millions of years ago were genuine Jurassic beaches.

Following the walkway, you reach the iconic and dizzying testament to what the narrow and deep former platform used to be. Here, two very close tunnels intertwine, with gigantic strata set upright by the force of nature and the great canyon, creating a stunning visual impact. After passing a plaque in memory of athletes who lost their lives in this spot, you encounter another highlight of El Caminito del Rey: the ancient aqueduct bridge. Soaring over 100 meters above the river, it has been used since 1904 to cross water from one spring to another.

Parallel to this, the new steel suspension bridge shines, filling your stomach with butterflies just thinking about crossing it with more than 34 meters of depth below. Between vertigo and movement, the steel suspension bridge's grating serves as a showcase of the abyss beneath our feet, a moment filled with magic amidst the sound of water falling, the gliding of vultures, the slight vertical sway of the bridge, the void, and the grandeur of man for undertaking this sensational construction that flies over nothingness.

The bridge was assembled by climbers using pieces supplied by a helicopter from the air. After overcoming the adrenaline and excitement of crossing the steel suspension bridge, you arrive at the last stretch of walkways from where you can view the mountains of Mesas de Villaverde, which preserve archaeological remains of Bobastro, the city of the rebellious Christians confronting the emirs of Córdoba.

The Caminito del Rey concludes above the railway line, which is crossed via steep stairs, and after the hard ascent, you reach solid ground. A gentle and pleasant walk leads to the exit control in Álora, facing the calm waters of the El Chorro reservoir. The magical feeling of having walked through the sky lingers.

The Caminito del Rey route runs through the Natural Area of the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes and covers nearly 8 kilometers -5 km of access paths and 3 km of walkways-, in a linear route that takes about five hours, including the time it takes to reach from the main accesses to its start and finish. The visit can be guided (18 euros) or self-guided (10 euros, plus 1.55 euros for the bus back to the origin).

A maximum of 1,100 people can access the Caminito each day, so with a waiting list of several months, it is advisable to plan your visit in advance. Reservations should be made at www.caminitodelrey.info. Children under 8 years are not allowed to walk it, and it is not recommended for those who do not have adequate physical preparation or who suffer from vertigo. Essential: The Guide by Pedro Cantalejo, a historian specializing in Prehistory.