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Getting into Barcelona at about 9pm I was delighted to find everything still open (in fact most of it seemed to be just getting moving).

Spain '99

Nickjenkins
2003-11-20 11:41:17

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routes and areas to try and plenty of variation so that you need never get bored.

The longer pitches feature on the big walls visible from the station at El Chorro but most of the climbing including the shorter routes are located in the gorges directly behind those walls. To reach the gorges you will need to either follow the paths alongside the railway from the station or, if coming from the Los Lagos side you will need to traverse the Camino Del Rey.

The Camino del Rey ("King’s Way") is a narrow concrete walkway which stretches the entire length of the walls of the largest gorge. During the construction of the largest dam in the area, the King’s Way was built to transport men and supplies to the work face of the dam. In a grand gesture it was later converted into a personal walkway for the reigning King who wished to inspect work on the dam. The walkway was lined with lights and featured the occasional booth where the King and his entourage could pause for refreshments before resuming their stroll.

The walkway itself is no more than a metre wide and has no outside railing other than a concrete lip perhaps 25-30 centimetres high. Quite a lot of the walkway is still in respectable condition and can be traversed for spectacular views from the middle of the gorges. Some of it however has fallen into disrepair (or more accurately, into the gorge!) and would be very dangerous to attempt without proper climbing equipment and experience. All of the walkway should be avoided by those faint at heart, those who suffer from vertigo or those unsure of their ability.

Much the same views can be achieved by walking along the tracks of the railway and into the hills around El Chorro. The trains are infrequent and don’t pose any real threat but caution should be used and some of the narrower tunnels are out of bounds to pedestrians due to the danger of being inadvertently squashed ...