Hiking The Caminito del Rey: Spain's Most Dangerous Trail

My friend Matthew Karsten recently had the opportunity to hike the Caminito del Rey, a notoriously dangerous trail located in Andalucia, Spain. The trail was originally built over a century ago to grant works building a new dam in the area access to the site. It sits 100 meters (328 feet) above the canyon floor, and over the decades it has slowly fallen into disrepair. Sections of the trail are completely missing, while others have just steel beams left in place. This has caused most people to shy away from the route completely, but some adrenaline junkies visit just to experience the Caminito in its current state.

Matt gives us an extensive report on his experience there, as well as a fantastic video that he shot along the way. Read his thoughts on the experience here, and watch the video below.  He describes the place as very beautiful, while also acknowledging the inherent dangers of walking this route at the same time.

If you've always wanted to walk the Caminito del Rey, you may want to hurry. Matt also reports that in May, the trail will be shut down, and a restoration plan will be put into place. This will, of course, make things safer, but it'll also take away the reputation of the route as well. Considering that there have been several deaths on the trail over the years, it is a good thing that it'll finally be repaired, But I'm sure it'll also diminish the lure of the trail for some as well.

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