As you may be aware I walked the Caminito del Rey recently with my friend Julio and we were both hugely impressed by the place. The walkway is half way some way up vertical cliff faces and a question that inevitably pops into your mind is this: “why would anyone build a walkway in a place like this?”
It turns out that to understand the walkway you need to think about something about which I was previously unaware – a canal. Extraordinary as it might seem, and it is at least as extraordinary as the Caminito itself, there is a canal which was built through this inhospitable terrain.
Every now and again you can see this canal, which is sometimes buried within the cliff, as you follow the path. The canal was built to carry water from upstream to a plunge down a 100 metre drop and create hydroelectricity. The historical detail, if you want to read a little more, is provided in a public display sign which I photographed and attach below.
It turns out that the original walkway was constructed for the maintenance of the canal and to provide access to the workers charged with this task.When the King Alfonso XIII, who had been supervising the construction work on a damn upstream, heard about the spectacular walkway, he walked it himself and only after this was the walkway named after him.
It is all well and good having a canal and using it to generate hydroelectricity but, of course, the water supply may not always be adequate. It was for this reason that a reservoir was constructed (the first of three) which was filled by the River Turon. It was the construction of the damn that brought the King here and a stone chair was built on the damn wall for him at a place he liked to sit watch the construction work.
Julio and I, having followed the footsteps of the King along the Caminito del Rey, returned to the dam wall where we started our journey and had a little rest in the King´s seat.
A more detailed account of the history is provided here.
Julio sits on the King´s chair
Me too!
Conde del Guadalhorce Reservoir – before the construction of the dam wall in 1920 this did not exist.
fishydreams 