I’m afraid of heights, and every stretch where the path ran along the side of the mountain, with a steep drop underneath, made me very anxious.
I walked the Caminito del Rey anyway, once, in June 2024, with my husband, my daughter and our friends Carolina and Dale. It was worth it.
The walk is about 7.7km, one way, and the highest boardwalks hang more than 100 metres above the river. I drove us out from Málaga, which takes about an hour, so it fits easily into a day.
The part I’d warn you about is the stairs that come after the suspension bridge. By then you’ve been walking for a long time, and they were a killer.
If you’re planning to go, sort your tickets first. They sell out months ahead, and getting them is the hard part.
Caminito del Rey Tickets
Go straight to the official site, caminitodelrey.info, and go sooner than you think you need to. Right now, in late October 2026, general tickets are gone for every open day until 6 January 2027, and the fallback is the guided visit, which has space from mid November.
There are only two tickets to choose from:
- General admission, €10
- Official guided visit, €18, in groups of up to 30 people, in Spanish and English
There’s no child, resident or student discount, so everyone pays the same. A price rise of about 20% has been proposed for 2027, but for now it’s still €10.
Tickets come out in batches. The current one covers 7 December 2026 to 2 May 2027 and went on sale on 23 September 2026. Dates after 2 May 2027 aren’t on sale yet and no date has been announced, but the last two batches came out in April and September, so it’s worth watching the site around then.
You can buy up to 10 tickets in one go, and add the shuttle bus (€2.50) and parking (€2) at checkout. Once you’ve paid, go into your account and add each visitor’s name to each ticket. You don’t need to print anything.
Don’t plan on buying at the gorge. The visitor centre can’t sell you a ticket, and the north-entrance ticket office only sometimes has leftovers. Reselling is banned and the official site warns against unofficial sellers, but tours from licensed agencies are fine (they buy through their own channel), so if your dates have gone, that’s where to look, and it still pays to book early.
You can’t change or refund a ticket yourself. If they close the path for rain, wind or rockfall, you’ll get an email and an SMS, and you then have four days to choose a new date or a refund in your account.
What Is the Caminito del Rey?
In 1921 King Alfonso XIII came to the gorge to open the Conde del Guadalhorce dam, and he walked the path while he was there. That’s where the name comes from, since Caminito del Rey means “the King’s little path”.
The path itself is older. It was built between 1901 and 1905 so workers could get between two hydroelectric plants in the gorge.
Once the plants no longer needed it, nobody maintained it. Sections of concrete fell away and the railings went, and it got a name as one of the most dangerous paths in the world, and people climbed in anyway. Four walkers died in 1999 and 2000, and the Junta de Andalucía closed it and demolished the first section.
A restoration of about €5.5 million rebuilt it with new boardwalks, and it reopened on 28 March 2015. Around 330,000 people walk it a year now (329,560 in 2024).
There’s a sign at the start showing the original path, and you’ll pass bits of the real thing on the way.
If you base yourself in Antequera, my guide to the best things to do in Antequera will fill the days either side of the walk.
Getting There
Before you book anything, work out how you’ll get back to your car or onto a train. The walk goes one way, north to south, from the north end by the reservoir to El Chorro about 8km later. The shuttle bus between them isn’t run by the Caminito, and runs from 07:40 until 20:00, taking 15 to 20 minutes. It’s €2.50 cash on board (no card), or prebook with your ticket, and one fare covers every ride that day.
By Car
I drove from Málaga, which is about 60km on the A-357 and takes roughly an hour.
I parked near the tunnels before the start of the path, by the El Kiosko restaurant. That’s P1, the Ardales council car park by the access tunnels, and it’s €2. At the end, I took the shuttle bus from El Chorro back to the car park. I paid a fare, but I can’t remember how much.
There are two other car parks. The visitor reception centre car park is €2 a day, and you can book it with your ticket or pay there (the shuttle stops here too). P2 is at El Chorro, the south end.
If you park at El Chorro and take the shuttle up first, you finish next to your car. Get there at least an hour early if you do this.
By Train
Get off at El Chorro-Caminito del Rey station and you’re at the south end, where the walk finishes, so the first thing to do is catch the shuttle up to the north end and walk back towards the station. Once you’re off the boardwalks, it’s 2.1km downhill to the station.
The train from Málaga María Zambrano takes about 50 to 55 minutes and costs around €5 each way.
Timing is the part to get right. On the current timetable, outbound trains leave at 09:05, 09:43, 13:26, 15:43 and 17:08, plus 15:27 on Fridays and Sundays. Even the first one doesn’t get in until 10:02, and by the time you’ve added the shuttle, the walk to the gate and the 30 minutes they want you there early, the earliest slot that works is about 11:30 to 12:00. So book a midday slot.
On the way back, there are six trains to Málaga, seven on Fridays and Sundays, and the last leaves El Chorro at 21:07. Check the Renfe timetable before you book your slot.
By Organised Tour
If you’d rather not deal with the car park, the shuttle and the timing, a tour is the easiest way to do it. Most include pickup in Málaga, your entry ticket, the transport and the shuttle, and a guide on the guided ones. Tours from Málaga that include transport run about €50 to €75.
Tours are also useful when general tickets have sold out, since agencies have their own allocation, so it’s worth a look if the date you want has gone. And if you’re travelling alone or don’t have a car, it’s a good choice anyway.
What to Expect on the Trail
You’ll cover about 7.7km in total, and it’ll take you three to four hours. The route breaks into three parts, starting with the access path in, then the gorge and its boardwalks, and finally the walk out to El Chorro, where it all ends.
The Access Path
Walking in through the tunnel is the quicker way to the start, and it’s the one I took, since I’d parked right by it. It’s 1.5km, including a 150m pedestrian tunnel, and takes 20 to 25 minutes.
If you’d rather stretch your legs first, the Senda de Gaitanejo covers 2.7km and takes 35 to 50 minutes. Both start by El Kiosko, where the shuttle drops you off, on the edge of the Conde del Guadalhorce reservoir. The water is a bright turquoise, and I thought it was a lovely start to the day.
Either way, you’ll end up at a control hut where staff check your ticket and footwear and hand you a helmet. Aim to be at that gate, not the car park, 30 minutes before your slot, because the walk in eats into that time if you leave it late.
The Boardwalks and Gorge
Vultures circle in the gorge as you walk, and every so often you’ll be looking down on them from the boardwalk. Keep an eye on the rock face too, because you can see fossils in it along the way.
From the control gate to the far end is about 2.9km. Roughly 1.5km of that is boardwalk, and the rest is path through the open valley in the middle.
You start in the Gaitanejo gorge, which is barely 10 metres wall to wall at the entrance. The boardwalks are about a metre wide and bolted to the rock, and underneath them you can still see bits of the old path.
After that, the gorge opens out into the Valle del Hoyo, and for a while it’s just ordinary path.
The Gaitanes is the last gorge, the tallest and the most spectacular, with walls going up to about 300 metres and the boardwalk hanging more than 100 metres above the river. Look out for the glass balcony sticking out from the rock, with its glass floor, and then the suspension bridge, 35 metres long and 105 metres above the river.
The End of the Walk
Once you’re off the suspension bridge, there are stairs, and after everything you’ve already walked, I found them a killer.
Since 10 June 2026 there’s been a second suspension bridge near the end of the route, 110 metres long and about 50 metres up. It’s optional and skips nearly a kilometre of the steeper descent, and the old way down is still open if you’d rather stay on it. I haven’t been back since it opened, so I can’t tell you whether it cuts out those stairs, but I’d like to go back and try it.
From the end of the boardwalks it’s 2.1km downhill to El Chorro, where you hand your helmet back at the hut. The shuttle bus stop is about 300 metres from there, right on the train platform.
The Caminito is safe, but it’s still a 7.7km hike on uneven ground, up to 100 metres above the river. Sort travel insurance before you go. I use SafetyWing, an affordable subscription policy you can buy even after you’ve already left home.
Can People with a Fear of Heights Do It?
Yes, and I say that as someone who’s afraid of heights. Every stretch that runs along the side of the mountain, with that steep drop right next to you, made me very anxious, and I still got to the end.
It’s worth knowing before you start that the walk is one way. Once you’re on the boardwalks, the only way out is forward, so it helps that the handrails are really solid and the boardwalks feel secure.
The glass balcony and the suspension bridge are where most nervous walkers struggle. My friend Carolina, who’s also afraid of heights, froze on the first boardwalk, so I held her hand most of the way and she and I crossed the suspension bridge together. I’ve written the full story of that day if you’d like the rest of it.
A few tips if heights get to you too:
- Stay on the cliff side of the boardwalk.
- Don’t look through the glass floor if it bothers you.
- Look at the far wall rather than down.
- Take your time.
- Go with someone who’ll hold your hand.
How Hard Is It?
It’s about 7.7km and takes three to four hours, and most of it is gentle, with a few climbs and the stairs at the end. If you can manage a moderate day walk, you’ll be fine, and you set your own pace the whole way. Take water with you, you’re out there for hours.
It isn’t for anyone with serious mobility problems, or a heart or lung condition that limits exercise. Wheelchairs, prams, crutches and walking poles are all banned, and there’s no adapted route, so the only alternative is the 360° virtual tour on the official site. Children under eight aren’t allowed either.
Best Time to Visit
April, May, September and October are the best months to walk it, and I went in June, at the start of summer.
- Spring (March to May): mild, roughly 15 to 25°C, green and busy
- Summer (June to August): hot, often over 30°C and sometimes 35°C, with little shade, so avoid the middle of the day
- Autumn: September is busy and warm, November is quiet
- Winter (December to February): cool and the quietest, with some rain
The day of the week makes a difference too. Tuesday to Thursday is quietest, and weekends are the busiest.
It’s usually closed on Mondays, but not every Monday, and 7, 21 and 28 December 2026 are open. It’s always closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January, and the calendar shows it closed from 11 to 19 January 2027.
The hours change with the clocks, not the months. In winter (late October to late March) entry slots run from about 9:00 to 14:30. From late March they run from about 8:50 into the afternoon, up to about 17:00. Groups go in every 10 minutes.
Rules and What to Bring
You’ll be handed a helmet at the control hut before you set off, and it stays on your head until you give it back at El Chorro. It’s compulsory and free. My tip: don’t bother doing your hair nicely that day.
Water is the thing to sort out first. Nothing is on sale during the walk, so I’d carry everything you plan to drink and save the refreshments for the end. The official site says at least 1.5 litres each.
On the boardwalks you’re only allowed water or energy drinks and light snacks, with no alcohol, so eat lunch before you start or once you’re out.
What to bring:
- Water, at least 1.5 litres each
- Snacks like chocolate, energy bars, nuts and fruit
- Shoes that grip the foot at the back (flip-flops and heels aren’t allowed)
- A rain jacket if rain is forecast, since umbrellas are banned
- ID for children aged 8 to 17, who have to carry it the whole way and be with an adult
What’s banned:
- Large backpacks and bulky bags
- Tripods, selfie sticks and drones
- Pets, guide dogs included
- Walking poles, canes and crutches
- Prams and wheelchairs
- Smoking
Under-8s can’t go at all.
There are no bins along the way, so whatever you carry in, you carry back out. There are no toilets on the path either. They’re at the entrance area and the exit area only, so go before you start.
Light rain won’t close the path. Heavy rain, strong wind or rockfall will, and you’ll hear about it beforehand by email and SMS. Once you’re in the gorge, the phone signal is poor.
After the Walk: Where to Eat
I said there’s nothing to buy on the path, but there are refreshments for sale at the end. Coming off the last boardwalk at El Chorro, you’ve got two places by the station.
Bar Estación is the small one, with sandwiches and home cooking. La Garganta, right next to the station, is a hotel restaurant with a terrace over the gorge, and it’s open from 12:00.
If you’d rather eat before you start, the shuttle drops you by the reservoir at the north end, right where El Kiosko is. It does simple food, sandwiches and cold drinks. Restaurante El Mirador is nearby on the reservoir road.
If you drove, Ardales or Álora are short drives away for a longer lunch in a charming town square.
Is the Caminito del Rey Worth It?
Yes, it’s worth it, even for someone as scared of heights as I am. Go in expecting a touristy day out, because it is one, and you’ll share the boardwalks with plenty of other people. The river below is a stunning turquoise, though, and there are vultures circling in the gorge.
I haven’t been back yet, but I can see myself going again, partly to try the new bridge.
It’s one of the best day trips from Málaga, and general tickets go months ahead, so book early as soon as you’ve picked a date.
And if you’re nervous about the heights the way I was, read what happened to Carolina on the bridge before you go.
