Caminito del Rey

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wildside
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby wildside » Wed Apr 15, 2015 6:12 pm

Unfortunately the website isn't updated properly with the current conditions... When you enter the site the images that rotate are the ones to look at... If the Caminito is closed then the first image you see is the one with the words. "closed because of weather conditions".. The images rotate pretty quickly and most people miss this important one... :)

The booking system works fairly well given the amount of heavy traffic it is getting. Most sites would go down with 20,000 people online at the same time... Even BBC has issues when it gets more than 100,000 viewing the site at the same time...

The site is not mobile friendly but then pretty much none of any official website made by Spanish government organisations are... The biggest problem when this site was launched was that it was on a shared server running an outdated version of windows server OS... Should have been on a dedicated server running apache but that's just my humble opinion...

www.caminodelrey.es which I created last year has crashed 3 times this month with at some times more than 3000 people viewing it at the same time. Caminito del Rey has exceeded all possible enquiry projections and has even surprised me.

Give it a while and when the initial rush has slowed down. next year it will be easy to get a permit for pretty much any day you like.....

olive
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby olive » Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:51 pm

We initially were surprised that the first six months were free but thinking about it, there will be a lot of teething problems and this is how they are tackling those issues. e.g. laying on buses, improving website, dealing with rebookings/refunds for bad weather closure and so on.

On a personal note, I am gutted as we only had a small window to go on it. As it is we will now have to wait till Autumn or even Winter. No bad thing for visibility or walking conditions. We have numerous friends however in England who want to come over and do the walk with our logistical help. That might not be so easy.

Rebooking. Well we contacted them by Email on our return home, as advised verbally at the checkpoint, and they had a day "rerserved" at the end of May for people needing to rebook due to bad weather cancellation. Unfortunately we have quite specific start time requirements and in any case end of May is a none starter.

Just had another Email from them whilst typing this , so they are attentive to customer problems.

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Jane
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Jane » Thu May 07, 2015 2:19 pm

I walked it yesterday with Grouser who said it was the best day of our trip this time. Here are the key points:
- it doesn't take as long as they say
- you can get a bus from either end back to your car but we discovered that you can turn back before your final exit gate and walk the whole thing again and this is what we did
- plenty of parking in various places near El Chorro station, we managed to park at the station and we walked about 5 minutes from there to reach the Information Hut
- our ticket was for 2.30pm but they were happy for us to go in at 1pm.
- at 1pm we got a safety briefing with a crowd of about 15, were issued with our helmets and then we headed off
- the walk to the start of the boardwalk (and the checkpoint where tickets were checked again) was about 20-30 mins (2.1kms I think), mostly uphill but not hard
- the boardwalk is not difficult and is very safe and from there you get really magnificent views
- there is a longish boardwalk, followed by the Hoyo valley walk which is on a path and then more boardwalk through the final gorge heading north. This part (boardwalks and path) took about one and a half hours.
- instead of leaving through the Ardales checkpoint and walking out (which we think would have been about an hour or less to the road), we turned back at that point
- from first parking the car to returning to it we took 5 hours to walk it in both directions and that included waiting to get in, plenty of breaks along the way and sandwich lunch.
- we are average walkers so I think if you did a one way you could do it in less than 4 hours
- it is well worth doing and it seemed that if they have space you can turn up and get a ticket, but we did actually have tickets.
- met some great people along the way including a small party of Spanish walkers complete with vino tinto in a plastic bottle which we were offered (but declined) who were the ones who suggested walking it in both directions
Hope the above helps

IanPP
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby IanPP » Thu May 07, 2015 2:38 pm

I'm pleased that you enjoyed it and they've done a fantastic job restoring it but as someone who doesn't like heights I'm afraid I'll only be walking it via photos posted by others lol

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IreneD
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby IreneD » Thu May 07, 2015 3:13 pm

That is extremely helpful, Jane - many thanks. We are booked for the end of September, starting the Ardales end as I'm told that is easier and goes downhill.

vinuela vinny
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby vinuela vinny » Thu May 07, 2015 4:40 pm

That's excellent info Jane - thank you!

We're doing from Ardales to El chorro on 24 June, and we're looking forward to it

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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Miro » Wed May 20, 2015 9:19 am

Walked it yesterday. It was very hot, and I can't imagine doing it in July or August. We went from El Kiosko (Ardales / north entrance). Going the other way has more uphill sections and the access path is quite steep so I think it would be quite a bit more strenuous, so for anyone who prefers a more leisurely stroll to a hike, I would recommend going north to south. I cannot stress enough the importance of taking plenty of water (MINIMUM 1 litre each). I can see there being a few "incidents" as the weather gets hotter.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

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Erika
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Erika » Tue Jun 09, 2015 4:29 pm

We have briefly glimpsed the gorge from the train on the way from Malaga to Sevilla and I would really like to have a closer/more leisurely look however I have a partner with a terror of heights and no really great love of prolonged walking so we won't be going on the actual Caminito. However I would still love to see the lakes and look up at the cliffs of the gorge. Can anyone advise whether it is worth taking the train to El Chorro, maybe having lunch and spending one night in a hotel there with just a small wander around? Or is it not worth doing without a car?

wildside
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby wildside » Tue Jun 09, 2015 6:24 pm

Hi Erika.
If you took the train to El Chorro you could stay at the Garganta complex.
http://www.andalucia.com/province/malag ... hotels.htm

However, I would recommend taking a car and staying at the Posada del Conde as from there you could do the river walk (gaitanejo) as far as the entrance to the Caminito which is easy and lovely through the woods. Also from this hotel you can walk up the the dams higher up and also the three dams viewpoint. (Access from the Bar El Mirador). The food in this place is pretty good as well. :) If you do want to walk the Caminito this hotel can also get a permit for you even though the booking system shows the walkway full until October. (They have an agreement with the junta/ayuntamiento for a certain amount of permits for their guests.)
http://www.andalucia.com/province/malag ... hotels.htm

You don't need to walk the Caminito to appreciate the beauty of the general area and also Bobastro ruins are very interesting
http://www.caminodelrey.es/bobastro-cas ... ben-hafsun

Have a great visit.

Miro
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Miro » Tue Jun 09, 2015 7:31 pm

You could take the train to El Chorro in the morning, walk up the hill as far as the first control point where you will have a view back down to the reservoir and get a feel for the height of the caminito, walk back down, catch the shuttle bus up to the Ardales reservoirs, have a spot of lunch at El Kiosko restaurant, maybe do the riverside walk as suggested by wildside (it is lovely), catch the bus back down to El Chorro and the train back to Málaga in the afternoon. Nice day out. :thumbup:

I saw a travel agent in town here advertising guided trips for €25 every Saturday with transport to and from (your hotel), a tour of the village of Ardales (is there anything to see there??!!) and tickets for the Caminito. (Nice profit someone's making there!)
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

Erika
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Erika » Wed Jun 10, 2015 12:22 pm

Thanks so much Miro and Wildside for your suggestions. I've google mapped and it looks stunning. Will definitely plan an itinerary around your pointers.

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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Erika » Wed Jun 10, 2015 1:05 pm

Miro and Wildside -

Miro suggested 'catch the shuttle bus up to the Ardales reservoirs, have a spot of lunch at El Kiosko restaurant'. Based on that I'm trying to work out the route of the bus on googlemap. It looks like actually combining both your suggestions, it might be possible to use the 'shuttle bus' to go from the train station to Posada del Conde. Or at least close to it.

Does that sound do-able to you?

Miro
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Miro » Wed Jun 10, 2015 1:25 pm

I should think so. Don't think it's far to walk from El Kiosko, which I think is as far as the bus goes
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

wildside
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby wildside » Wed Jun 10, 2015 1:34 pm

Hi,
This trip report might help to organise your route from the kiosko side.
http://www.caminodelrey.es/walking-the- ... pril-2015/

I have a permit with a friend on July 3rd and will do the same route there and back and stay in my favorite room at the Posada del Conde. (The one with the jacuzzi bath) :)

Erika
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Erika » Fri Jun 12, 2015 11:10 am

thanks guys. love this forum. great insider info. thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us.

vinuela vinny
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby vinuela vinny » Thu Jun 25, 2015 7:09 am

Morning All

We did the trek yesterday - north to south - and it was tremendous. Magnificent scenery, and a very enjoyable day, with well organised and cheerful staff, and good company from fellow walkers....

Very tired at the end - well, we are pensioners! - but well worth the effort.....

Do it!

Regards to All

Vincent

Evaready
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Evaready » Tue Aug 25, 2015 11:19 am

Anyone know when they will release October/November dates? They only have September dates on the website and, needless to say, none is available and I want to try to book for a visitor in October. I have emailed them but don't expect a response for a while. Thanks in anticipation

wildside
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby wildside » Tue Aug 25, 2015 11:35 am

The reservation system will open up during the first week of September for October, November and December. Entry will remain free until March next year, then it will cost 6 euros. More info here.
http://www.caminodelrey.es/the-caminito ... er-person/

ashtondav
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby ashtondav » Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:33 pm

My pals just went up there and were able to do it immediately. This was early June, I think. I would imagine there are always quite a few no shows.

Not for me, though - the old legs turn to jelly when i'm up a stepladder!

Evaready
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Re: Caminito del Rey

Postby Evaready » Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:40 pm

Thanks for that Wildside. Will check in September or maybe just go up there in October.


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