El Caminito del Rey

Nature Reserve

The Gorge Desfiladero de los Gaitanes is a natural beauty spot, placed in the centre of the province, between the towns of Alora, Antequera and Ardales. This is one of the most beautiful spots of the Malaga Mountains. Between its steep and considerably high walls, the River Guadalhorce flows, after having passed through the reservoirs El Chorro (The Spurt), Guadalhorce, Guadalteba and Gaitanejo.

The Gaitanes Gorge is a canyon, carved by the river Guadalhorce in the territory of Álora, which at some points is only 10 meters wide and 700 meters deep. The nothern access to it is via Guadalhorce reservoirs and the southern is via El Chorro.

El Caminito de Rey hike is spectacular all way long: from the Count of Guadalhorce Reservoir to its end at El Chorro Dam. Placed in unique natural surroundings, the path stretches between two gorges, canyons and a large valley, along pathways or boardwalks. All the texts about the path, as well as the photos and videos that follow, were created after many visits of our experts to the site, and their hard work that had lasted for several months.

The route is linear, not circular, and it goes in one direction, downwards from the north to the south. Its beginning is in the Town of Ardales and the end in Álora. This route is almost 8 km long, and takes from three to four hours to be crossed. As we consider it to be rather unique, we decided to describe all of its parts so you could understand what can be seen or felt along the route.