Caminito del Rey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids El Caminito del Rey
Ground-level view
Length	3 km.
Location	Ardales, Málaga, Andalusia, Spain
Established	1905
Use	Hiking
Hazards	Danger

El Caminito del Rey (which means "The King's Little Path") is a famous walkway in Spain. It's built right into the side of a very narrow gorge near a place called El Chorro in Málaga. People often call it "the little path" because it's quite narrow. It was built a long time ago, in the early 1900s. For many years, it was very old and broken, so it was closed for safety. But after a lot of hard work and repairs, it opened again in 2015. Before it was fixed, some people called it the "world's most dangerous walkway" because it was so risky. Now, it's much safer and a popular place for hiking!

A Path Through Time

This special walkway was first built to help workers. They needed a way to get between two hydroelectric power plants. These plants, at Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls, made electricity from water. The path helped workers move materials and check on the water channels.

Building the Original Path

Construction of the path began in 1901. It was finished about four years later, in 1905. A very important person, King Alfonso XIII, walked across it in 1921. He was there to open a new dam called Conde del Guadalhorce. After his visit, the path became known by its current name. The walkway is about 1 metre (3 ft) wide. It hangs over 100 metres (330 ft) above the river below.

The Path Falls Apart

Over many years, the original path became very old and damaged. It was made of concrete on steel supports. But parts of the concrete broke away. This left big gaps in the path. Sometimes, only narrow steel beams were left to walk on. Most of the handrails were gone. A safety wire was put up, but it was still very dangerous.

Because of how risky it was, some accidents happened. After two serious incidents in 1999 and 2000, the local government closed the path. Even after it was closed, some people still tried to climb the gorge.

A New and Safer Path

In 2011, the governments of Andalusia and Málaga decided to fix the path. They agreed to spend about €9 million on the repairs. This money also covered new car parking and a museum. The repair project took about three years to finish. Many parts of the old path were kept in place.

In March 2014, skilled climbers started the main work. They carefully rebuilt the path. The new and much safer walkway opened on March 29, 2015. Lonely Planet, a travel guide, even called it one of the best new attractions that year. The new path is about 2.9 kilometers long. It offers amazing views along the gorge.

El Caminito del Rey in Movies

The amazing scenery of El Caminito del Rey has appeared in several films.

• In the 1960 movie Scent of Mystery, there's an exciting chase scene. The hero and his friend are chased on the Caminito del Rey.
• Some of the last scenes of the 1965 film Von Ryan's Express were filmed here. In the movie, this area was used to look like the border between Italy and Switzerland.
• The Horsemen, from 1971, was also filmed on location at Caminito del Rey.
• A long part of the 2012 Spanish thriller The End was filmed on the Caminito.

See also

In Spanish: Caminito del Rey para niños

• Mount Hua

Images for kids

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  Traversing a collapsed section in 2006

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  Current state of El Caminito del Rey, with the original pathway below and new pathway above