Caminito del Rey - The King's Path - a hit of Andalusia and all Spain!

Caminito del Rey, or the King's Path, is a spectacular, hanging path in the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes gorge in Andalusia, in the south of Spain, about an hour's drive from Malaga. Today, it is considered one of the biggest attractions of the region. However, it was created as one of the most dangerous routes in the world. It is about 7.7 km long, and in places the footbridge is suspended 100 meters above the Guadalhorce River and you wander along the vertical walls of the limestone ravine, reaching up to 700 meters high. Caminito del Rey is wonderful and makes a colossal impression. You feel that by wandering here, you are fulfilling a dream. You need to prepare for this route in advance, so check out the practical information!

Caminito del Rey: practical information before trekking

• Location, length, fears: Caminito del Rey starts in the municipality of Ardales, passes through the municipality of Antequera, and ends in El Chorro (municipality of Álora). The whole trail is about 7.7 km (from bus to bus), of which the paid part of the route is about 4 km. From the footbridges, the route runs through the Gaitanejo Gorge and the canyon called Tajo de las Palomas, where the Puente del Rey (King's Bridge) is located. The entire route takes about 3 hours (a paid section takes about 2 hours). The route is not physically demanding, but it can cause trouble for people with fear of height and space
• Planning: The Caminito del Rey in the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes gorge must be planned long before you leave. Tickets are purchased online for a specific day and time. In the season, it is worth doing it even 3 months earlier, we ordered 3 weeks earlier for November, but there were no cheaper tickets and we had no choice when it came to the hour. Just a few spots left at 2.20 pm
• Tickets: Cheaper tickets cost 10 euros and do not include a guide. You walk the entire route on your own. More expensive tickets cost 18 euros, you go with the whole group and a guide who tells you about many interesting facts. You can disconnect from the group, but we did not decide. An additional advantage was the fact that at the end, on a glass platform, the guide took a photo of everyone
  You can buy tickets on this website: https://www.caminitodelrey.info/en/tickets/buy
• Parking lots and bus: there are 2 parking lots, the one near the beginning of the route fills up quickly, so you're more likely to catch the slightly distant one. It costs 2 euros, and then you have to take the bus to this closer parking lot. From here it is still 1.5 km on foot by a shorter route (or 2.7 km by a longer route) to the meeting place with a guide. Walking the shorter route 200 meters from the parking lot, you have to enter the rock tunnel and then it is easy to get from the hill to the meeting place. Along the entire route, you have to approach the place where the bus stops, which takes you back to the parking lot. The bus costs 1.5 euros roundtrip and both the bus ticket and the parking fee are purchased online together with the ticket for Caminito del Rey
• Attire: for the path, take full shoes and a comfortable outfit. It blows very hard in places, so it's worth having a sweatshirt. Throughout the route, you need to have a helmet on your head, which gets at the beginning
• Drone: Do not fly a drone along the entire path
• Food: there is a bar in the parking lot in front of the path, but poorly equipped, there is coffee, some salads and sweets. There are toilets, while along the path there are stalls with fast food and souvenirs. You can buy a burrito or burger here. There are also toilets (a big plus that in Spain toilets are free, even on the beaches)

Caminito del Rey on the map

Below is the route of the King's Path marked on the map:

Impressions of the King's Path

We really, really liked it! There was adrenaline, delight and pride that we managed to do it. Memories will stay with us for a lifetime. Various information is circulating about the path, in general, that it is wonderful, but also terrible at the same time. For some, it can be demanding. It is not physically difficult, you do not go anywhere high uphill, there are some stairs on the route, but not much. There were a lot of people older than us. But the footbridge suspended high above the bottom of the canyon, even 100 meters above the Guadalhorce River, is impressive! It is attached to the vertical walls of the ravine. These reach up to 700 meters in height. The footbridge did not cause us fear of heights, but it may be the case for others. But it certainly arouses emotions. It is about 1 m wide. It leads at the beginning of the route, then it wanders normally along the trail in the terrain as in the mountains and at the end the footbridge comes back again. This time it is all the more difficult because at the end you have to cross the bridge suspended between the rocks. It is about 40-50 meters, but the bridge swings and is not as stable as on the footbridge. In addition, it blows very hard, I hid my cell phone in the bag because I was afraid it would fall out of my hand. After the bridge, it is practically the end of the route, you give up your helmets and go to a small village on your own.

Attention! The most difficult moments:

There are 2 particularly exciting moments:

• glass balcony - a glass platform protrudes from the footbridge a few hundred meters in front of the bridge. It is outstretched and literally hanging over the abyss. Do not worry, you do not have to stand on it, because it is not directly on the path, this is where the guide takes a photo of those who are interested
• the suspension bridge - the King's Bridge (Puente del Rey) - is about 40 meters long and suspended between vertical rocks, it swings slightly in the wind, which blows here with great force, which makes you feel insecure

Caminito del Rey: nature

During trekking, you will meet the wildlife of the canyon, protected as part of the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes Natural Park. The guide tells an interesting story about her. High above the heads there are fawn vultures, of which there are really a lot here. The span of their wings is impressive. They reportedly pair up for life, and when one of them dies, the other remains alone for the rest of his life. In addition to vultures from large birds of prey, you can find golden eagles here. We also learned some interesting facts about the trees growing there, from which, for example, glue or chewing gum were once made. Behind the trees, mountain goats showed up, and the limestone rocks are a shelter for bats. Unfortunately, we did not meet the gecko, which is a symbol of the region.

Caminito del Rey: history and trivia

Caminito del Rey was built at the beginning of the 20th century, in the years 1901-05, as a technical road for hydroelectric power plant employees. It was created in the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes gorge and was intended to facilitate the transport of materials and the movement of workers between the El Chorro and Gaitanejo dams. The path was very difficult and dangerous. Over the years, it fell into disrepair and was considered one of the most dangerous routes in the world. In recent years, however, it has undergone renovation and is now completely safe, it has been made available to tourists. Nowadays, it has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Andalusia and Spain and attracts lovers of nature, adrenaline and fascinating views. Caminito del Rey combines spectacular landscapes of the gorge's rock walls and the breakthroughs of the region's main river.

Where did the King's Path come from?

The name "King's Path" was established after the visit of King Alfonso XIII in 1921. Then the monarch walked this route during the opening of the Conde del Guadalhorce dam. Since then, it has been popularly called Caminito del Rey. Fragments of the old path and the former King's Bridge "Puente del Rey" are still visible on the route. Today, the pier hanging next to it, over the great abyss, is the focal point of Caminito del Rey and its biggest attraction, causing the biggest wave of adrenaline!

We highly recommend Caminito del Rey. It is a world-class attraction, comparable to such hits as the spectacular Balos beachin Crete or the entrance to Rysy.

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What's worth seeing in the area?

If you have already visited this attraction, it is also worth visiting several other interesting ones places nearby. Within a radius of 100 kilometers you will find many interesting places places that can diversify your stay in this part of Poland.

• Torcal de Antequera in Spain, distance: 20.6  km
• Malaga, Spain, distance: 38.4  km
• Costa del Sol in Spain, distance: 38.6  km
• Benalmadena in Spain, distance: 42.4  km