I wondered when the favorite son of Malaga, Antonio Banderas would pay a visit to the Caminito del Rey. Accompanied by his new girldriend, Nicole Kimpel, some friends, the mayor of Malaga and the president of the Malaga diputation they walked some of the newly restored route and Antonio was obviously impressed by the work so far.

In the above photo from left to right, Francisco de la Torre, Elías Bendodo, Fran Oblaré, Jesús Fortes, Nicole Kimpel, Antonio Banderas and Carolina España, yesterday(19th december 2014) Caminito del Rey. / Photo Félix Lorenzo – Source www.diariosur.es

The president of the diputation also stated that the works were going to schedule and would be finished by February 2015… However the opening day depends on the availability of the King of Spain, Felipe VI and his obviously busy agenda. Felipe VI has been invited to host the opening as it was his great grandfather that inaugurated the Caminito del “rey” over 100 years ago.. The idea is nice but we’ll have to wait and see if the King actually has the time and the interest to be present.

The major surprise last week at the presentation in Málaga for next years “Vuelta de España” was the announcement of a stage up to the Caminito del Rey from Alhaurin de la Torre (on day two).  So if you are planning to see this world famous cycling race then it’s probably best to book somewhere to stay in the area as soon as possible…. Some options for accommodation in the area can be found here. I really would suggest booking now or as soon as possible.

Ok, so news has just been released that a maximum of 1000 people per day will be able to walk the new and rebuilt Camino del Rey. 150 people can enter from each side making a maximum of 300 people on the walkway at any one time…. An online reservation system is being built as we speak but time will tell how this will work out. No mention is being made of the people that just turn up to walk the Kings Path that haven’t made an online reservation When this system is launched let’s hope that the people building it take into account the more than 50 percent of visitors who will not be Spanish speaking and who spend a great deal of their money, supporting the local economy…

The opening date for the Caminito del Rey has still not been announced but hopefully will be in late January or early February 2015