Photos & Guide to El Camino Del Rey, El Chorro, Spain
The
path was originally constructed in 1905 for workers of a hydro eletric
damn set up in the cliffs of El Choro. Since then, the path has
deteriorated and is now only for the adventurous. The government of
Spain allocated 7 million euros for the restoration of El Camino Del Rey
in 2006, however its clear that this has not been spent yet. To get
there, catch the train to a town called Alora. Alora is about 12 or 13
km away from El Choro, which is your final destination. 09 more images after the break...
There
is a train station in El Choro, you can try catch a train directly
there, but the trains do not run often. From Alora we took a taxi, I
believe there is only 1 taxi, the drives name is Antonia, and if you ask
at the local bar outside the Alora train station they’ll call for you.
We paid 20€ for the ride, which was likely too much, but we had 5 people
so we didn’t mind so much. Antonio will drop you in El Choro at a
market which has a flyer for the local climbing shop which is just down
the road. Arrange a rough time for Antonio to come pick you up, allow
plenty of time to catch your train as he’ll probably have to drive from
Alora to come get you. Head down the road, it’s pretty obvious which
direction you need to go to find the trail, and you’ll find the climb
shop to your right.
If
you already have a harness, the straps, and carabiners, you can skip
this part, or go in and ask any questions you may have. If you plan on
renting your harness, be aware they only have 2 for rent, and they may
already be rented. You may have to buy your harness as we did, it cost
about 65 euros. The shop is run by a German guy who can answer
questions, since we had a group of 5 he recomended we climb Alpine
style, I’m not a climber so I’m not familiar with it, but I think this
is where everyone is connected by a rope to prevent any 1 person from
falling. DO GET A HARNESS as no matter how confident you are in your
abilities, the path is old and falling apart, and you don’t want to be
the sucker who makes the next section crumble.
Even the cables you latch into are questionable, so don’t fall.
Now
that you have your harness, continue walking up the path with the river
on your left, its about 15-25 minutes to get to the trail head. You’ll
start to see things you recognize, then you’ll catch your first glimpse
of the bridge and El Camino Del Rey high up on the cliff.