Caminito del Rey gorge and other walks, Grazalema, Benarraba - Days 136 to 140

Jackie with her Caminito del Rey hat and hairnet. There's one of me to on the Youtube below

We were the first feet on the Caminito del Rey on Friday morning at 09.30. We were overtaken by a couple of couples very quickly, but that was due to excessive photo taking. After this we spread out very nicely so we did feel like we were on our own which was a great surprise. It was a good walk, but that is all it was, a walk, through lovely scenery, not like when they had removed 30’ at either end to prevent access, but climbers were making money leading people on it. We did miss one of the boardwalk sections as they sent us through the aqueduct in the hillside as there was still too much wind which was a shame, but safety first I guess. We finished had a great sandwich and chips for brunch and got on the bus to take us back to the start or (or in our case drop us off at the campsite) only for the couple we had been talking to in the queue to arrive. They had struggled even more with the website than we did and had been completely unable to book. On ringing they had been told to just turn up, so never give up hope, they’ll always take your money.... Here's a link to a website about the Caminito del Rey. It's really quite interesting, particularly the history describing how 30m each end was removed in the 80's to stop people using it, with a €6000 fine. It didn't stop climbers who guided people over it by climbing the rock face above and fixing ropes: http://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/el-chorro/caminito-del-rey-history.htm

Here's our 4 minute Youtube of our photos:

A few pictures that are on the Youtube video 

Saturday he wanted to do a walk with several viewpoints looking down on the Caminito. I’d spoken to the guy in reception who had scribbled a map on the back of our invoice which started right from the campsite. The path started ok and then petered out on the rocks, we blundered about following many goat tracks, retracing our steps before finally achieving the summit. It was a nice scrambly walk but trying to reign Brian in, stopping him just going up is getting harder and harder... The rest of the walk was on good paths, with a good view onto the caminito, which again seemed to have nobody on it.

It's a very long way down into a slot canyon

We were surprised by how quiet the campsite had been over the weekend, having expected it to be really busy, one of the reasons we’d stayed Saturday night, but now it really was time to move on. A late breaking decision was to go to Grazalema, just because it had been mentioned in a Facebook thread I had been following. Really glad we did, stunning drive, lovely scenery, arriving at our first ‘Pueblo Blanco’ as these white hill towns are called, just in time for lunch. Somehow eating out is so much nicer on the weekend, the vibe is lovely. We had 5 tapas, 4 beers, 2 bread, less than €16 and very very full, so no dinner required! (Parking location: 36°45'42.9"N 5°21'43.7"W) (Parking area amenities with photos: click here them item 59 in list) 

This was a bit we'd already done and there's the following crowds that fortunately we were ahead of

It was quite easy and felt safe but quite exciting at the same time

Rain had been forecast for Monday and to be honest I think we were both hoping for it, having done a lot of walking just recently, but no, it was clear and bright. Even on our days off we generally manage 5km, exploring a town, a ‘little walk to the dam’ or ‘just to that mirador’ (viewpoint). I’d wanted something ‘nice’ to go with the big salad I had planned, and struck lucky with 800g of big frozen prawns for €5.99 rather than €11.55! Fortuitously that was 30 prawns so that’s 3 meals then! What a salad it was. It was a lovely town, views, lunch, baby goats bleating, kittens by the cemetery, a free carpark which we thought we were going to have to ourselves last night, until the hoards arrived....

The final section above the railway

Today we have moved to Benarabba, another Pueblo Blanco. Described in the Aires book as over engineered, every one of the five spots has its own, fill, and black and grey dump. According to the book it is free, but there’s a sign on the back of the welcome sign saying €10 for one night, €15 for two and €20 for three, ring this number. With limited cell coverage we went to the town hall hoping to be able to pay there. No, but she rang the man, as we ran back up the hill. It turned out he had been working opposite when we arrived and had paid no attention, but he’s come, unlocked the box and we have water and electricity, €7.50 a night for two nights. It would seem we have paid unnecessarily though as no one else has, and it would appear to be fine to just park up for nothing and not use the services, but hey, the water heater is on, the lovely lady in the town hall printed out about 8 full colour maps and directions for various walks and we’ve done 5km walking round the town..... (Aire location: 36°32'57.4"N 5°16'44.4"W) (Aire amenities with photos: click here then item 60 in list)


Here's our Strava plot of the Caminito del Rey walk. Click on it, it's interactive

This was the map drawn for us by the man in reception for our walk over the mountain above Caminito del Rey. Fortunately we found a route on the Wikiloc app

On our way up the mountain

There's Big Ted way down there

Getting near to the top and looking back down at the reservoir. That rectangular patch top left is the car park for the new Caminito del Rey visitor centre, not open yet. It's all quite new as the Caminito was only reopened in 2015 so things are still getting organised here

We're now on the top and you can see the path ahead. The gorge is off to the right and we walked up onto that summit ahead for great views then up to that rise to the right where we could peer over to the hundreds of metre drop to the Caminito del Rey gorge below

Looking down into the gorge from the edge, but of course it never looks as bad (or good) in a photo as it does when you actually do it

Another view from the same spot and thats the bridge right at the end as the walk ends and it opens out into El Chorro. You can just see the suspended walkway to the right snaking round the cliffs into the final gorge

Here's our Strava plot of the walk:

The parking area in Grazalema with splendid views over mountains and the Pueblo Blanco

Ancient water fountains in Grazalema

Looking back from the Mirador in the town to where we parked. Big Ted is in the car park dead centre of the photo

One of the walks we did was up to that dam and then around the reservoir above

Walking round the little reservoir at the top of the dam

And on our way back down the steps on the dam

Little scramble opportunity? Don't mind if we do....

Nice view back down to Grazalema from the top too.

Mummy and baby goats and one of the little ginger kittens just running away

Second walk in Grazalema, up to the SantaCruz statue in the hills above the town

And another, but different view of the town from above

The local shepherd bought his sheep up to the parking area to nibble the grass round Big Ted

Jackie feeds the outer lettuce leaves to a pig in the field opposite the parking area

Our DB dinner for the night

The Aire in Benarraba when we arrived. By now (6:00pm) it's full and there's a further van parked where I took this photo. Glad we arrived early, there's only 5 spots (officially), but now 6!

We have this view through our windscreen

Benarraba town, a lovely Pueblo Blanco town

A typical street in Benarraba

One of the Miradors (viewpoints) in Benarraba. The white patches in the distance are other Pueblo Blancas. Several ofthe walks go to those, but we'll probably do a slightly shorter one tomorrow.