Are you brave enough to walk the Path of Doom?

The notorious Caminito del Rey (usually shortened to Camino del Rey) in Spain may just be the single most dangerous walkway in the world. First built in 1901–1905 and pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro, Málaga, it served as a via ferrata (a sort of rustic mountain path) for workers from the nearby hydroelectric power plants at Chorro and Gaitanejo Falls to cross between the falls and transport equipment. It was even crossed by the King of Spain Alfonso XIII himself in 1921, thus earning the pathway its name.

Since then, though, many years without maintenance have degraded the already perilous walkway into a state of disrepair; it barely has any handrails (save a safety wire of dubious strength) and parts of the walkway have collapsed completely, with only a supporting metal beam left for anyone adventurous (read: asinine) enough to cross.

That’s it for the backstory. Now, watch this video and thank God that these crazy adventurers crossed the path so you don’t have to.

First seeing this, the first question running through my mind was how the hell such a deadly place could possibly be open to tourists; turns out that it actually isn’t with its entrances barred off, but security patrols are lacking to the point where anyone can sneak onto the path anyway. Several have died in recent years, of course … which (of course) just means that even more tourists will be attracted.

Weirdos.

(via my Godfather)