The New El Caminito Del Rey

Heading back to Málaga from our journey to Sierra de Cazorla, I received a call from an unknown Spanish number. I answered and soon found that I had two tickets for a Thursday morning excursion to El Caminito del Rey!

Our first attempt at obtaining tickets was unsuccessful, but we put our names down in hopes we would receive that magical phone call. At one point I was loosing hope as it had been weeks since our original visit and still no phone call.

You can read about it in Part 1 and learn about the fascinating history and photos collected from the surrounding area of El Chorro.

The new caminito was reopened to the public on March 28, 2015.

The renovation was designed to keep the path as close as possible to the old path as you will see below.

These narrow passages you walk along act like a funnel with the wind. A gust can almost pick you off your feet and thankfully the new sections are constructed to ensure no one is blown off the path.

We experienced the caminito on a stormy day and at some points, I was very glad we had the new guardrails.

Bring your normal essentials for hiking (I.E. food, water, jacket) but also make sure you bring cash for the required bus ride back. It only costs a few euros per person but would be terrible to have to walk or hitch hike back to your car.

~The infamous path has become known as “the most dangerous path in the world” at the expense of many lives.~

But with the modern renovation, I would presume that that nickname might soon disappear.

The fear factor of life or death has been removed completely and restored to a safe but still scary tourist attraction (watch the video at the end of the post to see what is was like before the construction).

Not wheelchair compatible but if able to walk the 7.7 km in distance with some uphill/downhill stair climbing, anyone can now successfully complete the “walk of death”!

I personally saw quite a few adorable Spanish grandmas sending the caminito while on my adventure. I hope to be able to do stuff like this at their age.

We arrived early before our 11 am departure started.

A 15 minute walk to the start of El Caminito del Rey but trails signs were everywhere to lead us along the way.

Once at the entrance, ID’s and tickets are checked, hard hats and hair nets are handed out and a short safety debrief in either Spanish or English is given and then you are off on your way! Minimal supervision past that point 😉

Next you reach the Balconcillo de los Gaitanes and the newly created hanging bridge.

A 30m long steel suspension bridge that sways left and right in the high winds and wobbles up and down while walking across.

Definitely one of my favorite parts of the journey even though everyone packs up around the bridge because they need to have a picture (I am guilty myself of needing one).

After exiting the bridge, the caminito is almost over followed by a few kilometer walk to a small little town, the modern hydro electric plant and the bus stop which will take you back to the trail head area.

Possibly a few exciting extras along the way…