Caminito del Rey: Getting In, and What to Do If You Can't

The Caminito del Rey is the most oversubscribed attraction in Málaga province. Around 300,000 people walk it each year, tickets are released in batches months ahead, and in the last release 68% of them went in the first twelve hours. Plenty of visitors only find out it exists once they're already here — by which point the next free slot may be weeks away.

We fly out of Teba, 18 km up the road, so we watch this happen every week: people drive up on spec, find the gate closed to them, and have no plan B. This guide is the plan B — and the plan A, done properly.

What it actually is

A metre-wide boardwalk bolted to the side of a limestone gorge, up to 100 metres above the river. It was built in the early 1900s so that workers could move between two hydroelectric plants, fell apart over the following century, killed several people who climbed it anyway, and was rebuilt and reopened in 2015 as a properly engineered tourist path.

The modern walkway runs above the ruins of the original, which you can see crumbling below your feet for most of the route. There's a glass viewing platform and a suspension bridge across the gorge near the end. In 2026 a new 110-metre suspension bridge — the longest of its kind in Spain — was added for the tenth anniversary of the reopening.

It is spectacular. It is also, in the literal sense, a walk on a flat path with a handrail. Nobody needs to be fit for it. What people do need is to be comfortable with exposure: there is a long drop on one side for a long time, and the floor is partly see-through in places.

How the tickets work

1. Buy from the official site. The official booking platform is caminitodelrey.info. Everything else is a reseller, usually with a mark-up.
2. Tickets are released in blocks covering several months at a time, and the release dates are announced in advance. If you know your holiday dates, set a reminder for the release.
3. Choose your entry time carefully. Entry is timed and one-directional, north (Ardales) to south (El Chorro). You cannot turn round and walk back.
4. Plan the return. A shuttle bus runs between the two ends. Most people park at the south end, bus to the north entrance, and walk back to the car.
5. Arrive early. There is a 1.5–2.7 km approach walk from the north car park to the actual start, which catches people out. Budget 30 extra minutes.

When it's busiest

Demand is high all year and highest from March to October, especially weekends and Easter week. The path closes in high winds and heavy rain, and it closes for maintenance periods in winter. Summer midday in the gorge is hot and shadeless for long stretches — if you're going in July or August, take the earliest slot you can get.

If it's sold out: what to do instead

This is the part most guides skip. Here's what's genuinely good within 30 minutes of the same car park, in order of how well it replaces the experience.

1. Fly over the same country

The Caminito is a walk through a gorge. The obvious alternative is to see the whole valley from above it — the Guadalhorce reservoirs, the limestone ridges, the plains of the Guadalteba region. We launch from Teba, 18 km and about 20–25 minutes from Ardales, which makes this the easiest same-day swap on the list.

• Tandem paragliding — 30 minutes in the air from €100, 40 minutes for €130. No experience needed, no training, no age limit at the top.
• Tandem paramotor from Ronda — 45 minutes away, and the flight goes directly over Ronda's Puente Nuevo. From €100 for 15 minutes.

Like the Caminito, flying depends on the weather and works on fixed slots — but the availability picture is completely different. We are not selling 300,000 tickets a year.

2. Kayak or paddleboard the reservoirs

The Guadalhorce–Guadalteba lakes sit directly beneath the gorge and are an extraordinary turquoise colour. Several operators rent kayaks and paddleboards at the shore. Best in spring to autumn; in a dry summer water levels can drop a long way.

3. Walk the other paths at El Chorro

There is a free network of trails around the gorge that needs no ticket — including viewpoints looking down on the Caminito itself, which is a good consolation prize. Ask at the Ardales visitor centre for the current marked routes.

4. Bobastro and the Ardales caves

The ruins of a 9th-century rebel Mozarabic settlement carved into the rock above the reservoirs, and the Cueva de Ardales, with prehistoric paintings that are among the oldest known in Europe. The cave requires a booked guided visit; Bobastro is a short drive and a short walk.

5. Antequera, 30 minutes north

El Torcal's limestone landscape and the Neolithic dolmens — a UNESCO site older than the pyramids, and free. If your Caminito day collapses entirely, this is the strongest full-day replacement.

Making a proper day of it

If you do have a ticket, don't drive an hour each way for a three-hour walk and nothing else. Two combinations that work:

Practical notes

• Getting there: about 50–60 minutes from Málaga, around 1h10 from Marbella, 45 minutes from Ronda. There is also a train from Málaga to El Chorro station, which is genuinely convenient.
• Wear trainers or walking shoes. Not sandals — it's a condition of entry.
• Helmets are compulsory and handed out free at the entrance. Small bags are fine; large rucksacks are not.
• Minimum age is 8 — under-8s are not admitted at all. Anyone between 8 and 18 must be accompanied by an adult and carry ID or a passport, which staff can check on the route.
• No toilets on the walkway itself. Go at the entrance.
• Take water, especially May to September. There's no shade for long stretches.