Built between 1901 and 1905, El Caminito del Rey (The King's Little Path) was originally constructed to provide workers at the Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls hydroelectric plants a way to transport materials, inspect channels, and cross the Gaitanes Gorge in Malaga, Spain. Constructing a wooden boardwalk along vertical limestone canyon walls presented an extraordinary engineering challenge. Without modern scaffolding or heavy machinery, brave laborers—often sailors skilled at climbing ropes—were lowered from the top of the cliffs in bosun's chairs.
Working in terrifying conditions, they manually drilled deep holes into the rock face using iron chisels and sledgehammers. Heavy metal beams and iron anchors were driven into these holes, secured with cement, and braced with diagonal steel supports. Wooden planks were then laid atop these cantilevers to create a walkway just three feet wide, suspended over 300 feet above the Guadalhorce River.
King Alfonso XIII walked the path in 1921 for the opening of the Conde del Guadalhorce dam, giving the trail its famous name. Over decades of neglect, the wooden planks decayed, leaving behind rusted steel girders and gaping holes, which transformed it into a deadly attraction for extreme climbers until its total restoration in 2015.