El Caminito del Rey, #77, Málaga, Spain, 2019
El Caminito del Rey…My Take
One of my long-time friends–Drew–had on his Bucket List this spectacular hike in southern Spain. And it looked pretty interesting to me, too!
So, we finally brought the plan together and, on September 23, 2019, along with Drew’s brother and sister-in-law, Randy and Coleen, off we went.
The positive:
–Spectacular gorge. The walk is worth the views. Bring your camera!
–It is easy to buy reasonably-priced tickets tickets online that include: bus transportation to/from the María Zambrano train station in downtown Málaga, entry fee into the park, helmet, and a human guide.
–Very safe. If you suffer from acrophobia, not to worry, the path is wide, secure, and with an excellent railing to keep the abyss from gazing into thee.
–Easy to do in roughly six hours door-to-door from the Málaga train station.
–If you are able to “saunter” for 2-3 hours you should be able to do this. It isn’t terribly strenuous.
–Spring, winter, and fall is the best time of year–summer could be devilishly hot.
The negative:
–You will be sent through the canyon in large groups, even if you show up there to do it on your own, apparently. So, a bit of a Disney-like atmosphere with clumps of 20-40 folks all along the path, guides with microphone transmitters and the guided with earphone receivers. At least, that was our experience on this day.
—Too safe (IMHO!). It would have been nice to have kept it more like a true via ferrata rather than the wide and solid sidewalk that it is. To give you an idea of how “exciting” (and risky) this path was before it was fixed up, check out this YouTube video. The video is a bit long (22 minutes) but there is some educational commentary as well. These folks traveled from south to north. Note especially where they cross a large pipe (at about 6:30 in the clip) where there is now a new suspension bridge:
NOTE O’ WARNING: If you plan on doing a real via ferrata somewhere, don’t just throw a few slings or quickdraws together for your safety tethers (as you see in the above video). Instead, do some research and buy the appropriate via ferrata-specific gear, and seriously consider going with a guide on your first ferrata. These routes can actually have more danger potential than some types of rock climbing!
Some Background Info
Here are a couple of Caminito signs for the detail curious… first, a short history of this early-20th century pathway… second, a simple map of the area (you’ll be walking generally north to south):
El Caminito del Rey Signage, #4, Málaga, Spain, 2019
El Caminito del Rey Signage, #3, Málaga, Spain, 2019
El Caminito in B&W
What follows are some 30 or so images from our walk, all in monochrome, with brief commentary. The pictures should give you a good idea of what to expect when YOU go!
You’ll start out with your group here, on the north end of the gorge, where the first hydro project was completed back in 1906:
El Caminito del Rey, #5, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Just as you enter the first narrow defile, take notice of the signs on the opposite wall. They mark high water points when major flooding occurred. This one says, “Altitude reached by this river, February 8, 1941”. Another sign, higher up on the wall, says the same thing with the date of September 27, 1949 (interestingly, almost 70 years to the day from our visit). Remains of an old maintenance trail can be seen also:
El Caminito del Rey, #12, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Very quickly, the walls start to put the squeeze on our green-helmeted group:
El Caminito del Rey, #15, Málaga, Spain, 2019
What a project this was! (And I wonder how many poor-but-lucky dirtbag rock climbers were employed to help out?) Note the number of support beams holding us up from a terrible tumble into the river rocks below. If you look carefully, you can see that this new path has been constructed directly over the old and crumbling original Caminito:
El Caminito del Rey, #19, Málaga, Spain, 2019
The river below can make for some interesting abstracts. Spring would be an interesting time to visit, with the water a bit higher:
El Caminito del Rey, #22, Málaga, Spain, 2019
El Caminito del Rey, #25, Málaga, Spain, 2019
You are no longer allowed to cross this old structure–el Puente del Rey–part of the original Caminito:
El Caminito del Rey, #31, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Here you can compare the modern construction, finished in 2015, with the old Caminito just below:
El Caminito del Rey, #34, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Another abstract:
El Caminito del Rey, #38, Málaga, Spain, 2019
You’ll probably look down at the river a lot, but don’t forget to look up as well. In several places you’ll likely see masses of swirling Griffon vultures. Here, one soars along the cliff band under a crescent Moon:
El Caminito del Rey, #40, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Cliff bands, a maintenance railway on the opposite side, and, in the foreground, one of the last surviving structures from those who worked and maintained this trail and the hydro project. Among rock climbers, this place is famous the world over for its quality limestone and many spectacular climbing routes. Look closely at the walls above you as you hike the trail and you will see bolts drilled into the rock for climbing protection:
El Caminito del Rey, #45, Málaga, Spain, 2019
This is a view looking back to the north toward the first narrows from whence we came. After that, the valley opens up quite a bit–as you see here–before entering the second set of narrows at the south end of the hike:
El Caminito del Rey, #55, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Once again, the walls close in on us. Note the protective steel mesh above the trail to catch falling rocks (“Geologic time is now.”):
El Caminito del Rey, #51, Málaga, Spain, 2019
The view straight down:
El Caminito del Rey, #56, Málaga, Spain, 2019
You’ll probably stop here for a photo op. Everyone does. Where you see the woman with the outstretched arms, there is a transparent panel in the trail where you can look down between your boots to the tumbling mirth far below. Again, the original Caminito is visible wasting away below the new trail. What an adventure that must have been!–to walk the Caminito BEFORE the rebuild!!!
Caminito del Rey, #59, Málaga, Spain, 2019
A wider view of the same area with the railroad visible on the opposite side. The rock strata, tilted completely vertical, surely will impress the structural geologist:
El Caminito del Rey, #61, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Through this section, trail monitors will try to keep folks from bunching up so as to spread the weight along the boardwalk. I seem to remember a sign recommending 1.5 meters between individuals. Too many heavy folks crammed into one spot induces too much stress on the structure, dontcha know:
El Caminito del Rey, #63, Málaga, Spain, 2019
A typical Caminito portrait–Randy, Coleen, and Drew:
El Caminito del Rey, #68, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Finally, as the gorge opens up on the southern end, the climax of the experience: crossing the foot bridge!
El Caminito del Rey, #65, Málaga, Spain, 2019
A closer view:
El Caminito del Rey, #70, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Here is an image that really shows off the contrast between the new and the old Caminito path:
El Caminito del Rey, #73, Málaga, Spain, 2019
A small railroad trestle on the opposite bank, squeezed between some amazing rock layers that have been tilted 90 degrees from their original orientation:
El Caminito del Rey, #74, Málaga, Spain, 2019
The new suspension bridge. As you cross, it sways a bit–and you are probably 100 meters or so over the river below. If you have a fear of heights, this is probably the crux of the hike for you:
El Caminito del Rey, #76, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Drew looks back at the suspension bridge after crossing over. Below him, the old and the new is obvious:
El Caminito del Rey, #77, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Some leakage from a pipeline set up a nice abstract waterfall on the cliff face:
El Caminito del Rey, #80, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Another look back at the suspension bridge. Ten persons max on the bridge, please:
El Caminito del Rey, #82, Málaga, Spain, 2019
The electric station beyond the last narrows:
El Caminito del Rey, #83, Málaga, Spain, 2019
Now in an open valley, you exit the southern narrows. But one last section of the Caminito remains… to take you out of the dark confines of the canyon and along an enormous vertical wall of limestone, before depositing you on terra much more firma, as it were:
El Caminito del Rey, #84, Málaga, Spain, 2019
In this wider-angle view of the last section you can see the suspension bridge back in the narrows along with a few [perhaps trembling] human beans (sic) making the crossing:
El Caminito del Rey, #88, Málaga, Spain, 2019
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