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The Story of the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Walkway’
El Caminito del Rey, which means “The King’s Little Pathway” in English, is a small pathway located in Spain.
Built over a hundred years ago to join two power plants in Malaga, the path stretches across beautiful scenery, inviting many people to walk across it.
This seemingly innocent road, however, has actually led many people to their deaths, and is treacherous to the extent that many now call it “the world’s most dangerous pathway.”
Workers began to build El Caminito in 1901 to connect two hydroelectric plants in Malaga.
When the pathway was completed in 1905, it was constructed of concrete and steel beams but had few safety features like handrails.
Over the years, the pathway became even more dangerous as it deteriorated.
In some places, the concrete had completely collapsed, leaving only metal beams hanging over 330 feet in the air.
Over time, blogs across the world picked up on the poor condition of the walkway.
When several people died in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they gave it the honor of being ‘most dangerous in the world‘ and dared adrenaline junkies to travel to Spain and walk across it.
Hundreds of people took on this dare, and many of them did not survive their trip.
The Spanish government, horrified by the deaths, closed the path in 2011 and began renovating it.
Using modern construction tools and techniques, they refurbished the walkway and installed handrails.
In 2015, the walkway was reopened to the public, now much safer for tourists to traverse.
Bloggers, however, did not realize that the pathway was now nowhere near as dangerous as it had been before.
Many webpages continued to call El Caminito ‘the most dangerous pathway,’ and daredevils continued to travel to Spain to see it.
Luckily, though, now tourists can test their bravery without risking their lives.
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