Caminito del Rey

Warning: If you suffer from vertigo, don't look at the photos! Jokes aside...

The Caminito del Rey is considered by many as quite dangerous and there are many legends about the loss of some hikers who attempted it. From my experience I can confirm that it isn't as dangerous as people think. Anyway, looking down from the pedestrian footbridge is a little scary, but if you love adventures and excursions, it's the perfect place to visit.

Yeah, you have to go along this bridge...

What is the Caminito del Rey and how do you get there?

The Caminito del Rey is between the towns Ardales, Álora and Antequera, in the province of Malaga. It's quite a high walk built on the walls of the Gaitanes Gorge, formerly used to transport materials and tools for the workers in 'la Sociedad Hidroeléctrica del Chorro' (the hydroelectric company in El Chorro). People started calling it Caminito del Rey when King Alfonso XIII went there in 1921.

To get there from Malaga, you have to catch the train from the María Zambrano station which goes to El Chorro. There's NOT a train every hour (so I recommend looking at the RENFE website before organising your trip, and also go onto the Caminito del Rey official website because if the weather is bad, you cannot do the hike). --You can also go by car, but I didn't do that so I can't give you any advice about that. --Once you arrive in El Chorro, there's a bus service (it costs around €1) which takes you to one of the entrances to the site (there are two entrances, for more information, check out the website). After, you have to walk through the woods for about 30 minutes to get to the actual entrance. I went alone and it wasn't bad at all, in fact it was great :D In addition, once you get to the entrance, there is a beautiful lake which you can swim in.

The journey begins

At the entrance, there is a guide who gives you all the information you need to know about the Caminito and about the duration of the walk (depending on the people in your group, the walk is about 3 hours). After that, you can begin your journey along the pedestrian footpaths, in your own time as the guide doesn't go with you.

There are many places where you can relax and eat (I recommend making some food beforehand and taking it with you).

If you want to know about the entrance fees, I was able to book mine for free on their website. In fact, before there was a calendar with limited places and those who were able to book them before they ran out, could enter for free (actually, I was only able to get one ticket and I did it two months in advance). Having said that, that's no longer the case and you can't go in for free anymore. In any case, you have to book online in advance. Arriving there and trying to buy a ticket on the day is useless because they won't let you. Also I know that another way of getting in is to eat in one of the restaurants around the Caminito where the entrance fee to the Caminito is included in the price, but I don't know much about that.

I absolutely loved this experience and I would recommend it to everyone (except those who are afraid of heights).

If you want to go on a family outing to another part of Spain, make sure you read this article on how to celebrate Mother's Day in Spain Día de la Madre en España.