By the end of 2015, some 200,000 dare-devil visitors will have walked along the Caminito del Rey, making Marbella's latest tourist attraction a huge success in its first year of reopening. Further enhancements are planned, which make budget airline Ryanair's announcement of seven new routes to Malaga Airport an even more welcome news. For those working in Marbella's tourism industry, it will be a busy summer next year- and for house hunters looking to buy a Marbella property or holiday home in other Costa del Sol resorts nearby, time is running out before property prices will rise again.
Ryanair published its 2016 summer schedule a few days ago, confirming new routes from Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Newcastle, Rome and Warsaw to the Costa del Sol's busiest airport. The airline estimates that these new routes will carry around 3.5 million additional passengers and increase the number of possible Ryanair routes to the Malaga Province to 52.
Renovated Caminito del Rey's first six Months a great Success
The announcement couldn't have come at a better time - further projects for Caminito del Rey include a tunnel to Los Gaitanes, a waterfall from an old overflow chute and two visitor centres - with record visitor numbers arriving in Andalucía this year, there is much to do to cater for even more thrill-seeking tourists next year.
Elias Bendodo, president of Malaga province’s regional government (Diputación), made the announcement of further improvements on the day the gorge-side walkway celebrated its first six months of public access. Works will be carried out throughout next year at an estimated cost of 1.2 million euros. Although final details for the two visitor centres in Ardales and Álora have yet to be worked out, phase two for Caminito del Rey's success is well under way.
The two visitor centres will provide visitors with information about the gorge, the creation of its famous walk-way and the surrounding area, as well as supplying thrill-seekers with audiovisual material and publications.
Finding Solutions for Wind and Weather Factors
A tunnel is being proposed because it would allow visitors to enjoy the full walk on days when the weather is not so good - a move that will please local businesses, who have long argued that more out-of-season attractions must be made available to create a year-round holiday destination. In addition, phase two of the project will look at ways to keep the bridge over Los Gitanes open on windy days - currently the bridge must be closed, disappointing visitors who've come to try their head-for-heights on the 8-km route.
The tunnel project will use an existing old pipeline, into which viewing stations will be constructed so visitors can enjoy the views of Los Gitanes even on windy days. Finally, the waterfall part of the project will be recreating a cascade that used to fall from an old overflow pipe in a spectacular fashion.
Since reopening to the public on 28th March this year, the incredibly steep and scary walkway alongside the Caminito gorge has attracted 160,000 visitors so far. Bendolo commented on this fact by saying this proved "the international impact that this exceptional place has had, turning it into the biggest tourist attraction in the province".
Free visits to the attraction have been extended by another three months until the end of the year. All the new tickets are already reserved, which means that the final figure for the year can already be confirmed as 200,000 visitors.
When the first pictures of the re-opened gorge walkway emerged online, they were passed on by thrill-seekers around the world in moments, prompting respected travel guides like Lonely Planet to hail the Caminito del Rey as one of the best destinations for adventure holidaymakers and thrill-seekers to try for 2015. Now there will be seven new routes from European airports to connect adrenalin junkies with this famous gorge walk.