El Teide
At 3,718 meters above sea level, El Teide volcano is the highest peak in all of Spain and is located within the homonymous Parque Nacional, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. El Teide has been dormant for about a century, but could erupt at any moment.
The park has two visitor centers, access points to the park: the main entrance is El Portillo, a structure that houses bars, restaurants and a garden and is open to the public from 9 to 21. Inside the center there is an exhibition that illustrates how Teide was formed with photographs, videos, interactive simulations. Admission is free. The other is the Centro de Visitantes de Canada Blanca which is located in an exceptional location, right in front of the Roques de Garcia, next to the Parador Nacional, the only building in the park. This center shows the evolution of that area of ​​the park called Canadas, with a special section dedicated to the Guanche culture and its relationship with Las Canadas and Teide, which the Guanches considered sacred. You can go up to Teide on foot or by cable car.
The first route, even if it is the one that allows you to better enjoy the splendid nature of the park, is reserved only for the more adventurous and trained. In fact, it takes about 6 hours to walk through a path that starts from the Montaña Blanca area. The cable car departs from the Base of Teide and takes you to the Rambleta area at an altitude of 3,555 metres. The rest of the climb that leads to the summit, just over 200 meters, is called "sendero Telesforo Bravo" but must be authorized with a permit that is requested in advance, personally, by fax or email to the Office of the Parque Nacional del Teide which is located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Here are the references to request authorization: Workshop of the Teide National Park Hours from 9 to 14 from Monday to Friday. Via Emilio Calzadilla, nº 5 – 4ª planta (38002 Santa Cruz de Tenerife) Telephone. 922 290129 – 922 290183 Fax: 922 244788 email : teide@oapn.mma.es The permit covers a maximum of 10 people. Without it, you can still follow other spectacular paths that always start from the Rambleta and go towards the miradores of Fortaleza and Pico Viejo; they allow an extraordinary view over all of Tenerife and the other Canary Islands.
Teleferic timetables and costs
The times for the ascent go from 9 to 16. The last run to get off is at 17.
Attention: these times depend on the leniency of the weather. If there is wind, the cableway changes the opening hours. The cost of the ticket is 36€ return, 21 one way only. → Carefully check the operation of the cable car and the times of the day, or you will do like us who, once at the summit, found it closed and had to go back. Personally, I recommend getting on the cable car and walking downhill!
Map of Trails
Base station of the cable car, at an altitude of 2,356 metres.
Upper station of the cable car, also known as La Rambleta, at 3,555 metres.
Pico del Teide, at 3,718 meters.
Trail 10 of Telesforo Bravo to the top of Teide.
Trail 11 to the viewpoint of La Fortaleza, from where you can see the northern part of the island.
Trail 12 to the Pico Viejo viewpoint, from where you can see the southern part of the island.
Trail 7, from Montaña Blanca (2,348 meters) to La Rambleta; the path that leads to the Refuge.
Altavista Refuge, at 3,260 metres.
What to pack:
Do not underestimate this hike on Teide, you need good equipment because it is quite a difficult excursion, not for beginners.
a comfortable backpack, with straps that fasten at the waist and chest, preferably with a breathable back: I always feel great with the North Face Borealis Classic (29 litres), it's perfect both for trekking and for travelling, going to the beach or stroll around town.
hiking shoes are essential: I use the Solomon X Ultra, very comfortable, without laces and with a crazy grip;
foldable trekking poles that you can easily store in your backpack and take out when needed: we both use the 110-130cm Glymins Trekking Sticks model which shrinks a lot and fits well in your suitcase;
lip balm with SPF (for me the best out there is the Connettivina Sun Stick) for the very strong wind and also a facial sunscreen: it's quite cool on Teide so without realizing it, you can easily burn your face and lips, given the altitude and the location to the south of the island;
hat and sunglasses are essential, I risked sunstroke!
Waterproof clothing (trekking trousers and windbreaker) for the first stretches in the clouds and a thermal shirt + a light fleece: it's really, really cold!
Hiking:
Our plan was to leave the car at the base of Teide near the cable car, take the route up to Pico del Teide, and descend with the cable car: 13 km plus the path were expected to get to the summit with the special permit we had requested, for a total of about 15km. The reality was instead very different, now I'll tell you about our journey of hope on this mountain which for me is now "the infernal mountain".
The first part of the hike itself turned out to be much tougher than expected, considering that we did the first 7 km entirely inside the clouds: very poor visibility, soaking wet like chicks, and really, really cold. Once we got on the clouds the weather was splendid, there was a crazy sun and finally it was good even though it was -2°C. Beware that the altitude makes it very easy to burn your skin and get sunstroke. The last 5-6km are totally uphill, and we are talking about a really steep climb, considering that we covered about 1-1.5km/h along a rocky, almost stepped path. When we finally arrive at the end of the route, at the Cable Care and… surprise: CLOSED! They couldn't give us any explanations, it seemed open to us, and the weather was excellent. We had no choice but to walk down the whole path in reverse. I swear we were desperate! Dead tired, with no more food because we had only considered the climb uphill and crazy foot pain. We had to give up the last stretch up to the summit, given the road that still awaited us. 30 km covered in total at the end of the day, I don't recommend it! The only refuge in the area is the Altavista refuge, which was closed. So, moral of the story, the suggestion I am giving you is: always check the functioning of the cableway and go up with it, keeping the uphill path only for the summit, and then go down the other way, which is in any case quite difficult. Either way, the scenery is breathtaking, and definitely worth it, no doubt. If you follow the route we followed from the Base of Teide (Cable Car) to the Pico Cable Car. Distance: 13km Total time: about 6 hours, high difficulty. Positive height difference 1300m. Below all the data and the path on Wikiloc, to open it directly click here.
Parque Rural de Anaga
A few minutes' drive from Santa Cruz is the Anaga Rural Park, declared a Biosphere Reserve, thanks to the enormous diversity of animals and plants typical of Tenerife; in fact, Anaga has the largest number of endemic species in Europe. The Anaga Rural Park occupies a large part of the mountain massif located at the northeastern end of the island of Tenerife. Covering approximately 14,500 hectares, it embraces an important part of the island of Tenerife and crosses the municipal territories of La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Tegueste. The deep valleys and gorges that descend from it reach the sea and give life to countless very special beaches.
Cosa Portare:
Il sentiero è di difficoltà moderata, vanno benissimo delle comode scarpe da ginnastica, gli scarponcini da trekking non sono indispensabili, se non hai problemi a sporcarti. La zona è abbastanza umida e spesso piove, quindi il terreno è abbastanza fangoso.
Quasi tutto il percorso è coperto da alberi lungo la foresta, il cappellino non è indispensabile, la tratta esposta è breve, ma comunque se lo avete male non farà ! Le temperatura sono sui 15-20 gradi, ma dato l’elevato rischio di pioggia magari portatevi dietro un impermeabile, che non si sa mai. Consiglio inoltre acqua e qualche spuntino, lungo il percorso non troverete nulla!
Hiking
Starting point at the reception center of La Cruz del Carmen where you can easily leave your car in the free parking right in front of the trailhead. The route is circular so you will return exactly where you left the car and crosses El Sendero de Los Sentidos and El Bosque Encantado. I highly recommend this excursion, perfectly feasible even if you are not an expert, and you will enjoy breathtaking views and discover a super particular and very different nature from ours. Distance: 12km Moderate difficulty, total duration 4,5h Below all the data and the route on Wikiloc.
This is all from Teide and Anaga, in Tenerife: the landscapes and vegetation are simply spectacular.. if you are planning a trip to this island do not miss these hikes! But there are also many other things to do and to visit… a week is not enough! It was really an amazing surprise, I really didn't expect to find such beautiful places and delicious food. Definitely a recommended destination!
Don't miss the insight into local Canarian cuisine and all the best places to taste it READ ALSO: What and where to eat in Tenerife: my favorite places and dishes
Let me know what you think and message me if you need more information
Have a nice trip and enjoy Tenerife!