And Here We Go…

Today, we headed out for an excursion to Ardales and the Caminito del Rey. Ardales is a small town in the province of Malaga where all the buildings are painted in white. The contrast between the brown hills and the town buildings is sharp as well as eye catching. Even though our visit to Ardales was short, it was well worth the stop. With just over 2,500 people, residents there tell you who they are by what they choose to display. They support a free Palestine and the LGBTQ+ community, and all you have to do is walk through the town to learn that about them. It is astonishing for me to see this open display of acceptance in a small town from a very Catholic country. The USA has a lot to learn from the people in Ardales.

After our brief stop, we continued to the main attraction of our excursion. Approximately 37 miles from the city of Malaga is the cliffside trail called the Caminito del Rey. The trail is located in the Paraje Natural Desfiladero de los Gaitanes gorge and is a narrow walkway built into the side of the gorge with parts hanging over the river about 330 feet below. The hike is considered to be moderate in difficulty, covers 4.2 miles and has an elevation gain of 826 feet. However, what is most fascinating about this hike are the breathtaking views of the gorge and river below from the walkway.

The Caminito del Rey was originally built between 1901 – 1905 to help the workers transport materials while working on the hydroelectric plants in the Gaitanes Gorge. It received its name when King Alfonso XIIII visited in 1921 to inaugurate a dam in that area and he walked a portion of the Caminito. Over the next several years decay set in and several deaths led it to be named the world’s most dangerous walkway. In 2000 they closed it. Then between 2011 – 2015 they completely rebuilt it. It is now a major tourist attraction and with good reason. It’s a spectacular walk with gorgeous views that you cannot stop from photographing over and over again.

In addition to the walk, this gorge also contains a hydroelectric plant. This plant was designed by the engineer Rafael Benjumea who was tasked to bring water from the canyons for the electrification of the city of Malaga. This was very much an engineering feat at the time.

There was also ten small tunnels that were built into the canyon along with the installation of train tracks to connect Malaga to Granada. This was another engineering feat given the technology available in the mid to late 1800’s.

Towards the end of our hike on the Caminito, we had to cross over a bridge which is approximately 330 feet above the river. It was very windy as we crossed and that made the bridge sway a bit. I walked that part as quickly as possible!

For anyone visiting Malaga, I would say hike the Caminito del Rey. You will not regret spending three hours walking this beautiful land and appreciating the engineers who made this walk possible for us.