UKC

Just arrived at El Chorro, it's been 10 years since I was last here and things have changed a bit! Does anyone know how to access crags like El Povorin or Makindromo (poor spelling I'm sure) a quick look on the camino del rey website was not much use and my Spanish is terrible. It seems like you have to book a ticket and the website says something about rucksacks not being allowed??

Any ideas?

In reply to maybe_si:

I was there is January, and for access to routes inside the gorge (and Makindromo) the easiest thing to do is jump over the wall near to the green bridge and walk along the tracks. We did that to get to the start of Zeppelin.

I think it's theoretically possible to be fined, but there were loads of people on the tracks and we never got challenged. Not sure where El Povorin is.

You can walk the long way around the top to Makindromo, which we did, but came out along the tracks which was a lot easier.

In reply to maybe_si:

I was there in April, and although the website says climbers with liability insurance have free access, that didn't seem to be the case and we were turned away. I think there might have been something about only being able to walk North-South as well, but I'm not 100% on that.

There is an English version of the website: http://www.caminitodelrey.info/en/

In reply to maybe_si:

I'm heading out in Jan so would be really interested in what you find out. Can you not walk over the top to makinodromo? Is the wall where ace ventura is ( where you drop down from yhe railway) climbable at the moment?

In reply to maybe_si:

We were in El Chorro in Dec '15. At that time access to the walkway was only from the N and a bus either took you from El Chorro to the start or back to your car. We were told that climbers could access Los Cotos et al via the walkway using the bridge opposite the crag. This has a cable but you need to "be seen across by a ranger" - not sure how this works but you could ask at the office at the El Chorro end. There was no charge last winter but you had to get tickets - either off the net or from a friendly local. Having walked through the tunnels in the past I wouldn't do it now - far more "officials" about and v clear sanctions advertised!

In reply to maybe_si:

Would be really interested to hear how you get on, heading out soon. Is it still possible to assess the routes in the lower gorge?
Hope you have a great trip!

Few months ago I did it the legal way.

Climbers are allowed only from north entrance during working hours. You don't have to prebook or call. Just show up. For climbers entrance is free. We had to present our passports, alpine club membership cards (I showed FFCAM and my partner CAI) as well as gear. They wanted to see helmets, rope and harnesses. Didn't inspected, just the fact we had those.

After that procedure we had to wait for about 15 minutes for ranger. Suppose it depends on luck where the rangers are at the moment and who is free. Ranger turned out to be a local climber working for Caminito. We had a a good chat and rant about the gorge on the way. He led us to the path to Makinidromo and we were on our own. From the gate and to parting with ranger we had to wear our own helmets.

We were warned that we have to return before Caminito del Rey gates are closed. On other hand we were not checked or marked when leaving. Just walked out throw south gate. So they are not keeping track of climbers out. It opens possibility to return the other way or stay overnight. Or to get the other way and return by the footpath.

Once out I had to take a bus to northern gate to retrieve the car. My partner waited in El Chorro bar. Bus was 2 euros.

We did it the legal way mostly because we wanted to walk the new footpath and found it worth it. But I would not bother to do it again and would go by tracks on next visit.

P.S.: Worth to mention that all routes in gorge itself are now closed / banned. Anchors and bolts are not removed and I bet local climbers sneak in and climb early mornings and late evenings, but as tourist you need balls of steel for that. Maybe getting friendly with local rangers would prove to be useful

In reply to nutme:

Thank you for that. I was there last week and will be back again next month. I didn't go into the Gorge, but did ask about it at the Olive Branch. It sounds like most people aren't using the legit way because it is a bit of a pain and there is a lot of good stuff to do without going into the Gorge.

I was told that people had been turned away from the Gorge for not having helmets. This seemed worth knowing about.

In reply to TonyB:
No surprise. They make everyone to wear a helmet. People who walk the footpath get a disposable white hat and a helmet they have to return on exit. Climbers expected to bring their own.

A tip: you can take a bus in the morning to north gate and leave car in El Chorro. Will save you a lot of time in the evening.

In reply to nutme:


Have things changed so much in the last 10 months? We were put off sneaking in by stories of guards and large fines, but when we did sneak along the tracks, there were loads of people in there and not just climbers, tourists taking pictures of each other, somebody walking their dog. And we had a massive audience when we climbed Zeppelin, loads of tourists and guards on the Camino. It just seemed like nobody cared we were there.

In reply to maybe_si:

Hey! I'm interested to see how you get on, we're heading out the end of Jan. Sorry if this is obvious (I'm just off nights so brain is fuzzy) but there is a longer path round to Makinodromo isn't there? Takes about an hour to get there and avoids the tunnel and the new path which needs ranger guidance faffing........looking at the weather and speaking to my Spanish buddy who is from the south we were thinking we would basically only be climbing there as it would be in the sun, covers both our grade range and looks immense. What have you found this time round Si?

In reply to maybe_si:

I'm out here at the moment long term, and have also been trying to scope out gorge access but it's hard to get definitive information. Everyone has a different story of whats permitted, what you can get away with etc. My impression is theres a whole lot of talk but not actually much going on.

From the Camino website I found a document that stated that climbing was permitted in certain (unspecified) sectors, free of charge, as long as insurance cards, helmets etc. were presented. Supposedly climbing is permitted in the gorge as long as it isn't above the camino, however abseiling from the camino to access the climbs is not permitted.

I intend to make more formal lines of inquiry over the coming weeks- starting with the Caminito Del Rey guards/officials, and talking to the local climbers. My intention is to produce some definitive, current information and make it available on the internet.

One thing I can say for certain is that I have been accessing crags the other side of the gorge (Los Cotos, El Polvorin, Makinodromo) via the train tunnels with no issue. More info coming soon, fingers crossed!

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:
Not sure if things changed or it's just a vocal ban from people running the footpath business. Arresting / fining someone on the wall between pitches is not that easy after all

We have been to Makinidromo and seen people climbing Los Cotos. But when asked about climbing in gorge we were told that all routes are closed. Neither below or above footpath. We asked it twice. The girl in the booth on entrance and the ranger.

In reply to nutme:


It would be interesting to know if anyone has actually been stopped, or fined, or challenged at all. Having been along the tracks this year, there wasn't enough concern to keep a lot of Spanish tourists out. And some climbers at the Olive Branch had been in/out along the tracks many times without problems.


Some routes (inc. Zeppelin) are the opposite side of the gorge from the Camino. A guard did shout at me, but only to let me know I was well off route.

In reply to mishabruml:

Be careful trying to produce a quasi official guide to access, in doing so you risk raising and awareness with the powers that be who may in turn enforce regulation more rigorously.

In 10+ trips to el chorro, including one post new walkway I have never had any difficulty accessing the gorge via the tracks.