Contracting authority: Malaga Provincial Council
Sando has carried out projects for the construction, management and rehabilitation of the Caminito del Rey, highlighting the company’s experience and specialisation in restoring industrial heritage and vertical construction.
The Caminito del Rey was built in 1905 to facilitate the passage of maintenance workers and the transport of materials for the Sociedad Hidroeléctrica del Chorro. It acquired its name when King Alfonso XIII visited it in 1921 to inaugurate the Conde del Guadalhorce dam Over the years, the structure deteriorated until Sando began restoration work to make it fully accessible and become a significant tourist attraction for the whole province.
Although the Caminito del Rey measures 6 kilometres in total, the aerial path is 1.5 kilometres long, and it has a 32-square-metre suspension bridge at a height above the river of 105 metres.
The work carried out by Sando for the rehabilitation of the Caminito del Rey has mainly consisted of vertical work at great heights. For this purpose, a construction technique similar to that used in 1901 by the workers of the Sociedad Hidroeléctrica de El Chorro has been used: climbers hanging from the gorge wall. However, in contrast to the pulleys and rudiments of that time, more modern safety measures were used, and a helicopter was used to transfer materials.
The main objective of the rehabilitation work on the Caminito del Rey is to construct an independent walkway superimposed on the balconies utilising a structure made of pieces of pinto wood and stainless steel braces anchored to the rock using bolts and metal fittings. A new wooden footbridge that achieves a better integration with the environment and has a glass floor in some sections to allow visitors to see the gorge.
The work also included the improvement of access roads, with the installation of a cable handrail on paths where there is a danger of falling or slope protection meshes. Constructing a suspension bridge between the gorges and installing control booths, urban furniture and video surveillance systems.
The Caminito del Rey rehabilitation project has won numerous awards, such as the II National Award “City and Territory Albert Serratosa”, instituted by the College of Civil Engineers and the Hispania Nostra award for its recovery process.
