Madrid - It resembles something out of an Indiana Jones film and, at least for the past 14 years, it has been considered too dangerous to use. But from the end of this month hikers who dare will once again be able to tackle the Caminito del Rey, known, with good reason, as the world's scariest walkway.
At more than 3km long, clinging to the cliff face 100m above the river in the Gorge of Gaitanes, and never more than a metre wide, the King's Pathway was closed in 2001 after five people fell to their deaths. But the Andalusian local government and the city of Malaga have financed a €2.5m (R32m) renovation, repairing and reinforcing the path and putting extra safety measures in place.
The walkway opened in 1905 as a way for workers to get to two hydroelectric power plants. Adventure blogger Matthew Karsten walked the old Caminito and reported that “whole sections of the treacherous walkway are completely missing”.
The repaired walkway features safety lines and steel bolts anchored deep into the rock, but for vertigo sufferers it is still the stuff of nightmares.
The Independent