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.
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.
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