The final section of El Caminito del Rey, which is about an hour from Málaga, Spain (Source: own photo)
Caminito del Rey is a narrow but spectacular 3 kms pathway that clings to the side of the Gaitanes Gorge some 100 meters above the Guadalhorce river. Caminito del Rey translates to the King's Little Path and it is a misnomer. Sycophants have always loved to name impressive engineering works after the rich and powerful, even when the celebrity in question had little or no input in the vision, design, and construction of the project itself. And so it was that Caminito del Rey was named after Spanish King Alfonso 13th, who travelled to the area in 1921 to inaugurate the Conde del Guadalhorce dam. As far as I know, this visit was the only thing the king ever contributed to the project.
El Caminito del Rey at El Chorro (Source: own photo)
The same cannot be said about Rafael Benjumea Burín after whom the Caminito del Rey ought to have been named. Benjumea Burín built Caminito del Rey and much more besides.
Sections of the current walkway at El Caminito del Rey (Source: own photos)
Benjumea Burín, a visionary engineer, spotted the potential to generate hydroelectric power in the Gaitanes Gorge at the turn of the previous century. Realising that the kinetic energy from the river's 100 meters drop through the gorge could generate enough power for the entire province of Málaga, he build canals on one side of the steep gorge to funnel some of the river's flow to a steep drop equipped with turbines. The pathway we today know as Caminito del Rey was originally a steel and concrete walkway to allow workers to build and maintain these canals.
Narrow section in upper part of Caminito del Rey (Source: own photo)
In the early days, the project was beset by accidents due to the inability to control the flow of the Guadalhorce River. However, Benjumea Burín had a solution: he built a dam to stabilise the flow and the problem went away (it was this dam that King Alfonso 13th inaugurated in 1921).
Expansive mid-section of E Caminito del Rey (Source: own photo)
Today, the Tajo de la Encantada hydroelectric plant located in El Chorro close to the exit of the Caminito del Rey produces some 400 megawatts of power, enough to keep all the lights on in Málaga.
Rock-climbers' favourite (Source: own photo)
Benjumea Burín's canals on the side of the Gaitanes Gorge were eventually replaced by large underground pipes and the walkway to maintain the canals fell into disrepair. This attracted rock climbers and adventures, who relished the challenge of traversing the increasingly precarious path. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, several climbers fell to their deaths and the path was closed. After a careful restoration, the path was once again opened to the public in 2015.
Griffon Vulture (Source: own photo)
Naturally, the guides at Caminito del Rey like to talk up the romance of Caminito del Rey's heyday as a climbers' mecca, when it became known as the most dangerous hike in the world. The reality, however, is that the Caminito del Rey today is extremely safe. Anyone with even moderate fitness can easily do the walk. And they should! The real attraction of Caminito del Rey today is the stunning landscapes in and around the gorge as well as the wildlife, which includes Griffon Vultures and Spanish Ibex. Tours leave from Málaga daily and the entire experience takes about 7 hours from start to finish.
The End
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