What you need to know about doing the Caminito del Rey.
It’s probably the most famous outdoor attraction in Spain.
What makes the Caminito del Rey so spectacular is the nature. Through much of the trail, you’re following a wooden pathway through a narrow gorge. You’re basically dangling 100 meters above the valley floor, looking down at the Guadalhorce River below you. Looking up, you’ve got another 100 meters of sheer rock above you.
(I have a detailed video at the bottom of this post)
The History of the Caminito del Rey
It’s not just the nature. It’s also the history: in the early 1900’s the Hydroelectic Power Station needed to create a water canal between their power plants at Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls. That water canal had to pass through the gorge. Part of the project included a maintenance path within the gorge to move men and materials. That was the origins of what you see today.
It took 4 years (1901 – 1905) to build the pathway along the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes, the canyon that runs for 3 km along the Guadalhorce River. Of that 3km, 1.5 km are footbridges which are 1 meter wide and which are built 100 meters above the river.
Over the years the path fell in disrepair and was closed. Adventurous hikers would still do it and it was nicknamed “the most dangerous path in the world”. In 2001, after 4 fatal accidents, authorities decided to restore the path. The path was reopened in 2015 and since then it has become a hugely popular tourist attraction.
Buying your tickets
You can buy your tickets for the Caminito del Rey on the official website up to three months in advance. It’s very popular so make sure you do it as early as possible.
You’ll have a choice when buying tickets: “General” which are 10 Euros (as of April 2024) or “Tours” which are 18 Euros. “General” tickets, where you can do it without a guide, are hard to get. As I’m writing this post I checked availability and you need at least 2 months advance for general tickets.
Most people end up buying tour tickets just because no general tickets are available. Is the “tour” worth it? No. You end up with a whole bunch of people around you, the guide is most likely way in front of you in the line (you can listen to him on the earbuds they give you but is that what you want to be doing?), and you feel rushed staying with the group.
Much better buying “General” tickets. But you have to do it early.
Note: buying the tickets on the website requires you to register. They send you an activation code. Only when you’ve activated your registration can you buy your ticket (yes, this is Spain where they make things more complicated than they need to be). Once you have your ticket, you can show the digital version when arriving the entrance gate of the Caminito del Rey (ie. no printed version required)
Getting to the Caminito del Rey
The most complicated thing about the Caminito del Rey is organizing your trip there.
By Car
If you have a car it’s easy. It’s about 50 minutes from Malaga and there are various Parking lots in the vicinity (see the blue “P” spots on the above map). Plan to arrive an hour before your scheduled ticket time. After you’ve parked, take a shuttle bus to the starting point(s) which are close to Restaurante El Kiosko. Buses do the blue route every 30 minutes. Once there, you’ll be walking to the Northern Entrance (I cover that in detail below).
Note: you can only walk the Caminito del Rey from North to South. It’s a linear route.
When you’ve finished the Caminito (you can plan on 2 hours from the Northern Entrance to El Chorro), you can take the shuttle back to where you parked your car. Note: bring change for the shuttle bus, which costs 2.50 Euro (more here on the bus).
Take a tour.
This tour from Malaga is recommended (it’s about 60 Euros/pp, which includes you Caminito ticket). They’ll pick you up just outside Maria Zambrano train station, drive you to the Caminito and then drive you back at the end of your tour.
Take a taxi
We took a taxi from Antequera which cost 80 Euros. The driver picked us up 3 hours later for the drive back. Note: driving time from Malaga would be about the same (1 hour) so you can use the same basis for costing as we did.
Public Transport
I’ll mention Public transport but I’ll be honest – schedules are sporadic and you’ll be travelling for hours. I would not recommend it.
You can take the bus which takes you from Malaga bus station to Álora. See schedule for bus 231 here. That takes about an hour. From Álora you have to take another bus (see schedule for bus 340) that will take you about half an hour. Good luck trying to schedule the two buses though…
You can take the train from Malaga Maria Zambrano to El Chorro train station (which is at the southern exit of the Caminito). From there you could take the shuttle bus to the Northern entrance. The problem is that there aren’t very many scheduled trains and you might do a lot of waiting if planning a round trip.
The above public transport options are possible but not what I would recommend. Too many variables, too complicated…
Details of hiking the Caminito del Rey
You’ll be starting at one of the 2 entry points. One is right next to the Restaurante El Kiosko and is a 2.7 km route to the Northern Gate. The second entry point is 200 meters up the road and is the most direct route (a 1.5 km route).
We took entry point 2 which is what I recommend. Walking this route you’ll start with a interesting 5-minute walk through a long tunnel.
Once through the tunnel, you walk along a path that will take you to the Northern Entrance Gate. That will take you another 15 minutes.
You’ve arrived at the Northern Entrance gate! It should have taken you a total of about 20 minutes from the entry point (entry point 2) that I mentioned above.
At the “Northern Walkway Entrance”, you find:
- Bathrooms. Go now if you need to because you won’t see bathrooms again until you exit El Caminito (in about 2 hours)
- Two lines: one for Tours, another for General. People working there will point the way for you.
- Your ticket will be scanned
- You’ll pick up a hair mesh and helmet. Put them on.
You’re now officially ready to start the Caminito del Rey (in red on the map).
As I say in the video (below), you can basically break up the trail into 3 sections.
1st Section
You’ll be going through a gate and starting along the wooden boardwalks. Below you you’ll see the river, high above you the cliffs soar. There’s a narrow gap in the gorge and you’ll most likely be in the shade and the wind may be howling (it was for us. Although a hot day, we never got hot when in the gorge because of the combination of shade and wind).
2nd Section
You’ll be leaving the canyon and entering an open valley. This is the Valle del Hoyo. Here you’ll be walking through a trail among pine trees. You’ll see the cliffs across the river and for the first time spot the railway line that cuts through the gorge. You’ll also see viaducts which transferred water through the two gorge walls.
As you get closer to the end of the valley you’ll see the 3rd section coming up, the most dramatic section of the Caminito del Rey.
3rd Section
Incredible. One both sides of the gorge you have vertical rock faces. Here the boardwalk is 100 meters above the river. The cliffs have 250-meter-high walls. 1 meter below the new boardwalk is the ancient boardwalk, built a century ago. On one corner is a glass balcony on which you can stand and look down. Across the gorge you’ll see the tunnel through the wall of the cliff and the railway: this is the Malaga – Cordoba section of the Renfe train route.
It is truly amazing seeing the geography all around you. Rounding a corner, you’ll see the hanging bridge. Close to the bridge, you’ll see commemorative plaques for climbers that have fallen to their deaths attempting to climb the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes .
The bridge is only 1 meter wide and you can see through the flatform to the river 105 meters below.
Unfortunately, the bridge marks the end of the gorge. As you continue, you’ll make a sharp left turn out of the gorge and follow some steep stairs along the cliffs until you reach an exit gate and resting area on a bluff away from the canyon walls. This is the “Southern Walkway Exit”.
Leaving the Canyon behind, it is an approximate 20 minute walk through the forest, past a railway bridge and a chapel, before arriving at the at the very end of the trail in the town of El Chorro. There you’ll hand back your helmet. There are bathrooms and kiosks where you can buy drinks and snacks.
We looked at the time: Our tour had started at 4:30 pm, we completed it at 6:30 pm. So 2 hours from the Northern Entrance gate to El Chorro (and we had walked at a very leisurely pace). Add to that about 20 minutes from the entry point to the Northern Entrance gate, that gives you a total of about 2 ½ hours.
Our video
Summarizing: The Caminito del Rey one of those things you have to see if in Southern Spain. It’s a marvel of geography and of engineering. It’s spectacular.
Related: A Visit to El Torcal de Antequera
Related: Hiking Almendron (Nerja)
How steep is the walk? Do you need a good level of fitness to complete it?
Not steep at all, anyone can do it (unless handicapped)
Always great to read your detailed accounts of your trips and excursions. My brother was here to visit from Germany and he and his family did the Camenito del Rey last week without getting tickets in advance. They just drove there and got tickets right then and there. Only tour tickets were available but they did not have to stay with the group and could walk at their own leisure. Don’t know if they just got luckily but they were glad to be able to do it. That is obviously not possible at the Alhambra. There you definitely have to make reservations ahead of time, apparently now even for the garden only.
Hi Monika. They may have been lucky…even tour tickets get sold out. But yes, you can just wander off on your own, as you can see in the video we’re often by ourselves in the back. They really don’t care. Glad they enjoyed it.
You’re right, Alhambra totally different thing! And they’re militant – they do random checks walking around the grounds and you have to show your ID to prove it matches your ticket. Not sure why, but when I did it a few years ago I was stopped twice to show my ID.