Many of the dangerous roads and tunnels we’ve discovered so far have been in eastern lands such as China and Bolivia. Today, however, we’ve uncovered something a bit different but just as terrifying. It’s the El Camino del Rey walkway – a tiny walkway in incredible disrepair that allows visitors to navigate the narrow gorge near Alora in Malaga, Spain.

The Construction of El Camino del Rey

El Camino del Rey found itself under construction after local construction workers at Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls realized they needed a way to cross from one waterfall to the other. Without a connecting walkway, workers would have to continue climbing down the side of one mountain and up the side of the other mountain. This was, obviously, a time consuming, tedious, and dangerous task.

Image Credit: goesberlin

The construction of the walkway officially began in 1901 and was not completed until four years later in 1905. The walkway itself is 3 feet 3 inches wide and stands approximately 985 feet above the river in the gorge below. Metal beams and wires pinned into the mountainside formed a base on which the concrete path was formed.

The majority of the walkway was built without any type of handle or guardrail on the outside edges, though some were added later. While El Camino del Rey was an improvement over previous mountain climbing escapades, its existence was not necessarily safe for all travelers.

Danger on El Camino del Rey

The pathway known as El Camino del Ray, or “the king’s little path,” was very popular for years after it opened. Over time, however, it fell into a state of disrepair and disarray as the concrete pathway began to disintegrate and crumble. Today there are large sections of walkway in which travelers must balance themselves on metal beams and wire in order to cross to the next “safe” section of the path.

Image Credit: Chris Juden

These climbers, of course, should not really be on El Camino del Rey. Local government officials permanently closed the entrances to El Camino del Rey after two accidents in 1999 and 2000 resulted in the loss of four lives. Determined tourists don’t seem to be deterred by the closed entrances, though. Climbers from all over the world continue to flock to the area for a glimpse of, or an experience on, the walkway.

Rediscovering El Camino del Rey

Image Credit: goesberlin

Curiosity aside, the walkway at El Camino del Rey is still the only shortcut between the two waterfalls and this is one of the main reasons that people continuously attempt to cross the path. In 2006 the local government decided to section off part of the budget so that the walkway could be repaired but as of today the walkway is still in disarray.

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. If that’s true, a video must be worth 1,000,000. Several travelers have videoed themselves crossing El Camino del Rey and the resulting documentaries are as nauseating as they are astounding.

Why anyone would want to risk falling 980 feet to his death is beyond us but at the same time the up close views of both the walkway and the gorge are beyond breathtaking. Check it out for yourself (on video, we mean) and prepare to be amazed.