The Gorge  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  842. Good page?    Administrator:  Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Ryan Williams on Feb 29, 2012 Make this area a Favorite What's New  Printer View Add Area  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event

BETA PHOTO: Entrance to The Gorge

Description 

The Gorge is a huge limestone defile that was formed by the Guadalhorce RIver. It is one of Andalucias most famous landmarks - not only because of the unique geography, but also because of Camino del Ray (The King's Pathway), a narrow and dangerous walkway that clings to the side of the gorge walls.

The climbing in the Gorge is still popular, but many of the routes are falling into disrepair, not unlike the pathway from which you must belay. Still, there are popular sectors that offer a unique climbing experience or maybe just an escape from the sun in warmer months.

For experienced climbers, The Gorge offers adventurous traditional routes of up to 1000 feet - some of which can be done with nothing more than 14 draws and a set of wires.

Even if it is just to walk the Camino del Ray, a trip through The Gorge is a must for any visitor. If you are looking for a full rest day activity, head up river to the Upper Gorge, an even more breathtaking and intimidating canyon with an even more defunct walkway.

Getting There 

From El Chorro village take the path past the Refugio and walk toward the gorge, looking for the green bridge. As usual, there are dozens of ways to go, so just use your sense of direction. Once you see the green bridge, walk right up to it and then down the hill towards the start of the walkway.

The first part of the walkway is a full on via feratta that will be slightly un-nerving for non-climbers. Once you've negotiated the beginning section, the actual walkway is fairly straight forward.

See approaches for each individual route or sector, as they are all different and some are not accessed via the Camino.

The Classics

Featured Route For The Gorge

Zeppelin 5.11  International : Spain : ... : Sector Zeppelin

One of the best routes in El Chorro! This long classic route has it all - an excellent slab pitch, a thuggy roof, a cruxy face pitch, a body wrenching mini-dihedral w/ finger locks, and a technical and exposed arete! All in a wildly unique and beautiful setting.The route should be viewed as a tradition route because of the nature of the wall, but in reality you'll probably place five or six wires on only one pitch and all belays have two bolts. The rest of the pitches are either incredibly ea...[more]   Browse More Classics in International