Pico Viejo – Climbing Tenerife’s Second Highest Mountain

The gap in the list glared at me, like a tooth missing from the smile of a small child. I had climbed three of the four highest mountains on the island, but for some unexplained reason the second highest summit had eluded me. Now, I was setting off to fill the gap with a climb to the 3,134 metre summit of Pico Viejo.

Montaña Guajara & Parador at the start of the walk

I set off from the parador passing the incredible rock sculptures of the Roques de Garcia in the Las Cañadas National Park, that at this hour of the morning were thankfully free of the hundreds of tourists that would inevitably arrive by tour bus and hire car to scramble over them later in the day.

Los Roques de Garcia with Pico Viejo in the background

 Turning away from the display of ‘rock-art’, I set-off on ‘sendero 23’ following a vague line of cairns across the lava in the direction of Pico Viejo, my objective for the day. At this point in the walk, my attention was dominated, as is every visitors’, by the towering presence of Teide, dwarfing Pico Viejo and reducing it to an insignificant protuberance on the western flank of the giant volcano.

Looking back along the path into Las Cañadas

 Initially, the path was fairly easy going as it climbed very gently across the lava fields but soon, it began to steepen, and I could already feel the rarity of the air caused by the altitude. I lost the path briefly, seduced by some erroneous cairns but soon found my way back onto the path as it climbed steeply over a ridge of sharply jagged lava before descending into a valley. The ascent out of this was very steep, on a path of loose, deep volcanic grit and I found myself staggering backwards as the ground gave way under me.

First view into the summit crater

 Most of the ascent was like this, as each ridge was conquered, so another appeared and the upward slog began all over again. At one point, the path vanished altogether as it crossed an area of huge lava boulders but I soon regained the path on the other side.

Pico del Teide

 After three hours of ascent in ever thinning air, I reached the path between Pico Viejo and its more illustrious neighbour, the climb from here to Teide’s summit looking impossibly steep. After another half an hour’s climb, I sat on the summit of Tenerife’s second highest peak, which turned out to be simply a high point on the rim of the large summit crater.

Altimeter reading over 10,000ft

From the top, the views were stunning, encompassing four islands, as well as the Teno Mountainsin the north-west, the north coast, and standing silently overlooking it all, the brooding presence of Teide’s towering peak, decorated with frozen fingers of lava, like icing on a badly decorated cake.

Looking down to the north coast

The summit crater on Pico Viejo is far more impressive than that of Teide’s, which tapers to such a point that it has only a small indentation on the top.  Here, however, the crater is an impressive sea of lava surrounded by rugged cliffs that would dominate the scene but for Teide’s presence.

Summit crater with Teno Mountains and the island of La Palma 

 After over half an hour exploring the summit, I turned and headed back downhill and mentally filled in the gap in my list. It had been a long but worthwhile wait. 

The Windows of Guimar

The Mountains of the Guimar Valley

I have just returned from one of the most scenically awe-inspiring walks I have ever walked on the island and this despite the fact that a lot of the route is underground. I set off from a single track rural lane not far from the abandoned hotel on the Mirador de Don Martin , above the Ladera de Guimar.

The path alongside the channel near the beginning of the walk

After a fairly stiff climb of around 300mtrs/1,000ft, I left a track to follow an old abandoned water channel clinging precariously to the vertical cliff-face of the Ladera de Guimar. This old water channel is followed by walking occasionally on the top of it or by following the extremely narrow path alongside. Initially, the way was reasonably easy although those of a nervous disposition might disagree, as all that separated the walker from a drop of hundreds of feet to the valley floor below was a narrow earth path just a few inches wide.

Sheer drop into the valley below

After a short distance along the path, the water channel disappears into the first of a number of tunnels. The objective for the day was the Ventanas de Guimar (Windows of Guimar), which are basically holes in the walls of the tunnels giving dizzying views from the cliff-face into the valley below. 

The excavator near the first tunnel

Amazingly, the first obstacle to negotiate was an excavator laying upside down at the entrance to the tunnel, which fell from above in an accident in 2005. At this point, I met two Spanish women who appeared reluctant to enter the tunnel, so I entered alone and crouching low, headed into the gloomy tunnel following the path alongside the water channel.

The first tunnel

My headtorch lit the way but didn't cast much light outside of the main beam and I had to take care not to bang my head on the low, rough rock ceiling. Emerging from the tunnel, I was greeted by a spectacular view of the cliffs and dizzying drops into the valley below.

Inside the tunnel

The mountains of the Guimar Valley, along with the pine forest formed a beautiful backdrop and as I carried on, I could see a group of Spanish walkers ahead. As I stood with the camera working overtime, the two Spanish women caught up with me and we had a 'conversation' of sorts as I tried out my basic Spanish and they tried out their even more basic English. 

The Windows of Guimar

After introducing themselves as Mercedes and Eva, we plunged into the gloom of the next tunnel, taking care not to bang our heads on the roof and at the same time making sure we didn't trip over any rocks on the floor of the tunnel.  At times, the roof was so low I was crouching and leaning over to my left, which made for very uncomfortable walking.

The Windows of Guimar

There now followed a series of tunnels and I temporarily lost Mercedes and Eva as I stopped to take more photographs and they carried on walking, passing the Spanish group ahead. Soon, we came to the first of the 'windows', a large hole in the tunnel wall giving vertiginous views to the valley floor. After more, mostly enclosed tunnels, we now arrived at a valley where the underground gloom was relieved by numerous 'windows' making the tunnels lighter and more pleasant to walk in. It is from this section that the walk gets  it's name .

The Windows of Guimar

From across the valley, I could see a series of windows in the cliff-face of the far valley wall and the figures of walkers standing in them taking photographs and enjoying the spectacular views into the Guimar Valley hundreds of feet below. Emerging from another tunnel, I heard Eva calling and waving to me from across the valley and I passed the Spanish walking group to catch up with her and Mercedes, who seemed to have 'adopted' me as I think they could sense my unease of the tunnels, which are not high on my list of favourite places.

The view through one of the windows

Eventually, we sat at one of the windows and they generously offered me a bocadillo and we sat eating and enjoying the view. We then had a humorous 'conversation' with me trying my Spanish and they practising their English. I discovered that they were quite adventurous walkers from La Laguna and had done the classic walks such as Teide and Masca, among many others. After lunch, we did two more tunnels before it was time to part company. They were heading on down into the Guimar Valley with the other group of walkers, while I had to return the way I had come back to my car.

Keep Right!

Going back on my own through the tunnels was easier having already done them once and I didn't find them so daunting, although I did miss the chatter and laughter of Eva and Mercedes. In all, I counted ten tunnels on the return journey, one of which took around seven or eight minutes to pass through. Soon, I was back at the excavator and slightly relieved that I had now left the tunnels behind and I descended steeply to my car, reflecting on a walk that had been both awe-inspiring and uncomfortable at the same time.    

Walking in the Barranco de la Mula & Barranco de Las Monjas

The 'Shark-Fin' of the bridge on the TF1

Yesterday, I started a walk in the south-east of the island from a car-park next to a Mercadona warehouse by the side of the TF1 motorway. This may not sound like the best area for a walk but although the terrain I walked through was desert-like and fairly barren, I really enjoyed what proved to be a fascinating route.

Entering the Barranco near the start of the Walk

I set off by crossing the TF1 over a motorway bridge that looks a lot like a shark-fin before heading into the Barranco de La Mula.

View towards Teide

As I left the motorway behind, silence descended and I was soon enjoying the stark volcanic pumice landscape, softened by balo bushes, tabaiba and cardon spurges. The walk initially followed a track into the barranco and I had good views to the summit cone of Teide, protruding just above the high mountains surrounding the National Park.

View from  Natura Park

As the track began to diminish, a number of low buildings appeared on the ridge on the left of the barranco and I climbed up to find an abandoned holiday village project called 'Natura Park'. The abandoned 'holiday villas' with unusually shaped windows stood looking forlorn around a large hole in the ground that was obviously intended to be a swimming pool.

Natura Park

The buildings were made from the same white, volcanic pumice of the surrounding landscape and as with all abandoned buildings, I found the atmosphere rather a melancholy one. Descending back into the barranco, I continued as the way now became a narrow path before disappearing altogether and I walked in the stream-bed until the path re-appeared further along the ravine.

Circular 'window' in the pumice cliffs

The path throughout the rest of the walk followed this pattern of changing from being a well defined route through the shrubs and spurges to converging with the stream-bed. Often on walks on the island I am confronted by many 'wow' moments and I didn't expect to be too impressed by the terrain on this walk.

Path through the spurges

However, although the walk passed through a very dry and barren, desert-like landscape, I found that the unique nature of my surroundings made this walk as interesting as any I had done recently.  At one point, I spotted a kestrel hovering just above a circular 'window' eroded into the pumice cliffs but by the time I had retrieved my camera, it had gone.

Stream-bed in the Barranco de La Monjas

After a while, I began to wonder if I had missed the way out of the barranco leading into the Barranco de Las Monjas but as the path was still well defined I continued through the spurges until eventually, I spotted another path ascending from the barranco to my left and follow it up to a track on the top of the barranco wall. From here, I had a good view down into the Barranco de Las Monjas and was surprised to see an isolated finca on the far wall of the ravine. I sat for a while for a break enjoying the sunshine before descending the narrow path to the stream-bed.

Pumice 'Statue'

Here, as in the Barranco de la Mula, the path was intermittent but where I lost the path, it soon re-appeared on the bank of the stream-bed and the going was quite easy apart from this. After walking along the stream-bed for some distance, the path now ascended a gentle incline up the barranco wall, eventually passing a number of bizarrely eroded pumice 'statues', which gave the impression they had been deliberately carved .

Pumice 'Statue'

Eventually, the 'sharks-fin' of the bridge came into view in the distance signalling that I was nearing the end of the walk and I followed the stream-bed towards it before passing through a tunnel under the motorway and returning to the start point after what had proved to be an unusual and  interesting walk. 

Roque de Jama or the Trail of the Lonesome Pine

This is a guest blog from Derek Fisher, a walker from England who visits Tenerife most winters and sometimes walks with me in the south of the island. Last year, he purchased a copy of 'Discovering Tenerife on Foot' and during his visit in January of this year, he completed the walk to Roque de Jama. I give this walk the highest rating in the book, not because it is necessarily the most strenuous but because the path is difficult to follow and the summit is quite exposed and dangerous. The following is Derek's account of the walk. I would also like to point out that Derek is 76 years old and I have frequently been amazed by his fitness and stamina when out walking with him as he skips across rocks and boulders, often taking the most difficult route across the mountainsides. I only hope that I can remain as fit and active as Derek when I am his age.

Roque de Jama or the Trail of the Lonesome Pine
by

Derek Fisher

I usually go on a couple of walks with Gary every time I visit Los Cristianos but this year I left it late to contact him so I had to fend for myself. Last year I bought "Discovering Tenerifeon Foot” so I thought I would test whether it was idiot proof. Roque de Jama seemed an eminently suitable walk. It was on a good bus route (every 20minutes) and was one of the toughest but one of the shortest in the book.

One of the greatest problems with walks both at home and abroad is locating the starting point. I’d already wasted about half an hour a few days earlier in Arona trying to remember where the start of the trek up El Conde was. Gary not only gives sufficient detail so this problem is avoided in this and all his walks but makes sure you get off the bus at the right place as well.

The first part of the walk is along roads, their very steepness presenting a strong early challenge. However the effort was rewarded by interesting features such as a 2 arch aqueduct and good views down the Valle of San Lorenzo to the towns of La Camella and Cabo Blanco. The timing of this part of the walk given by Garywas 30mins. He must have been pushing it because I struggled to do it in 35. There were a few points where one could have gone wrong had the road names not been given. Again this is a very good provision

On reaching the open mountain side the directions again were very good guiding upwards on a cairned pathway of varying degrees of roughness and distinctness. In the early stages one passes an old oven and a threshing circle before getting a view of the coast at El Medano near the airport and Montaña Roja sticking out into the sea. I’d spotted on the summit ridge what I thought was a jagged cairn so I regarded it as a useful landmark. Unfortunately I got a little careless as I got near the ridge. I lost the path and had to scramble up the nose of the ridge which I quite enjoyed. I was quite surprised when my landmark cairn turned out to be what Gary refers to as a lone pine tree. Hence my subtitle for the walk- “The trail of the Lonesome Pine”

From the lonesome pine, a rocky path takes one to the top of the ridge which includes about 50yards of a jumble of huge rocks tilted at a variety of angles. I have a good head for heights and normally this would not present any sort of problem for me but there was something about the end of this ridge which sent a little shiver down my spine. Maybe it was the contrast between the earlier part of the route up the friendly dip slope with its cactuses and spurges and the bleak summit ridge with its precipitous drop in to the valley below. This was perhaps exacerbated by my inadvisably being on my own.  Nevertheless the 360degree views were spectacular. There was Teide seated majestically in Las Cañadas to the  north, Montaña Roja to southeast, Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas in the South and in the West, El Conde where I’d been a few days before  with Roque Imoque  nearby. I’d love to climb Imoque’s sharp pinnacle were I able to find someone with the necessary technical expertise to help me.

 At the end of the ridge is a daunting rocky pinnacle 30 or 40 ft in height. Gary did not exaggerate when he said it was not for walkers. Set into the pinnacle is a cave seat but at this point the ridge is only a few feet wide. I sat on the seat intending to have lunch there but left after a few minutes. It was quite cold there but I suspect apprehension still lingered and influenced my departure.  

I’d taken about the scheduled hour and a quarter to reach the cave seat and after a short break for lunch during which I continued to admire the view, I sent off on the return journey.  I managed to keep to the cairned path by looking well ahead to spot the next cairn. I was also grateful about the warning give by Garyabout not taking a seductive looking path appearing to be the obvious way down.

I descended to the road without incident and arrived at the village of ValledelAhijadero. The given time to that point is one hour. I arrived there in half an hour and back at the walk’s starting point after a further quarter of an hour. My total walking time was 2 hours compared with a suggested time of 2hours 40mins. I tend to descend quite quickly but even so the time suggested for the return journey seems to be a little generous in view of it being scheduled for 10 minutes longer than the ascent. Perhaps the schedule had included a lunch break or perhaps Garyhad worn himself out on the way up!!  

As I made my way down I wondered about how the walk might be varied.  Could one descend directly down one of the ridges to Valle del Ahijadero or would the terrain be too rough?   What if one did the road sections by car? An investment of around an hour and a half would then reward the mountain walker with a good climb over rough terrain, magnificent views and the excitement which this exposed summit ridge gives.

Anyway Garythank you for providing the means for my having a very enjoyable outing- I can certainly recommend it.

   

Montaña Chayofita and a Cave with a View

The view inland from the summit

An increasingly popular pastime in the south of Tenerife on the Los Cristianos/Playa de Las Americas border, is the short walk to the summit of Montaña Chayofita. This cinder cone volcano sits just behind Playa Las Vistas beach and during the winter months a steady procession of people can be seen climbing to the summit from where there are stunning views of the coastline and inland to the table-top summit of Roque del Conde and beyond.

The wide path to the top

When I first climbed it, many years ago, the path, such as it was, consisted of a faint trail through the volcanic cinders but now, a clear dirt path has been forged to the summit cairn. 

The View Inland

Part of the increase in popularity appears to have coincided with the local authorities placing an information board at the start of the path with a map showing the route, although quite why anyone needs a map I'm not sure. 

The Summit Cairn

Although the elevation is quite modest, the views to be had from the top certainly aren't as the panorama stretches from Montaña Guaza, with superb aerial views of Playa Las Vistas and Los Cristianos harbour and, on clear days, as far as the Teno Mountains in the west. 

Montaña Guaza

Inland, the most prominent feature is the peak of Roque del Conde but on a clear day the mountains in the National Park are visible too. As I climbed to the top, I shared the path with older people who quite clearly weren't used to walking up steep hills, as well as ultra-fit German walkers with trekking poles using the path as part of their daily keep-fit circuit and groups of curious holidaymakers climbing to take in the views. 

Las Vistas Beach

As with most cinder cones, there is a crater in the centre and as I descended, I noticed a small building in the bottom which seemed to be attracting people's attention and as I watched, a man carrying a number of water bottles headed towards the construction. 

Cave House & Garden

By now, my curiosity was aroused, so I descended into the cone and was amazed to find that the building was a small shelter containing water bottles while next to it was the entrance to a cave. It soon became apparent that this man was living in the cave, which he had furnished with a bed and one or two other pieces of furniture as well as carpets on the floor. There was even a calender on the wall and a radio playing music! 

Entrance to Cave House

The entrance to the cave-house, which had a small roped off garden area in front of it, was accessed by a pathway lined with verode bushes. As the man deposited his water bottles in the shelter and headed off back down the hill, people walked up the 'garden path' to have a look into his house. 

Inside the Cave House

Outside, a plate full of coins sat on a rock where people had left small donations as an 'entry fee'. I took my opportunity to take a couple of photographs before leaving a few coins on the plate and heading back down into town. 

Walking with Tenerife's Elusive Mouflon

Setting off from the Parador

The walk from the Parador to Vilaflor, Spain's highest village, starts at over 2,000 metres altitude and last Friday a group of us started the day in balmy temperatures in Los Cristianos as we caught the once a day bus to the Las Cañadas National Park. As the bus climbed the serpentine road to the park, the temperature plummeted until, as we entered the park, the frost covering the volcanic landscape made us glad that we had packed our fleeces. Starting off in the crisp, cold air under electric blue skies after a group photo outside the parador, we were soon walking quickly, trying to warm up as we headed for the path out of the giant caldera. The first hour of the walk involves climbing almost 300 metres in thin air and we made regular stops to catch our breath, giving us the chance to admire the fantastic scenery below. 

On the Ucanca Pass

Arriving just below the caldera rim, we reached the final ascent path to the Ucanca Pass, which in winter is usually a tricky climb over hard packed snow but due to the very dry winter the island has enjoyed so far this year, posed no real problem other than the rough, rocky ground underfoot. After around an hours climbing, we reached the pass and after another group photo, began the descent into the wild beauty of the Barranco de Eris de Carnero. As we descended, one of our group suddenly called our attention the 'deer' on the far wall of the barranco and as I looked in the direction he was pointing, I was amazed to see three 'deer-like' animals bounding across the rocks.

Approaching the Caldera Rim

Initially, I was a little bemused as I knew there are no deer on the island but then I recalled reading some years ago that there were a number of mouflon sheep on the island in the National Park region. These were introduced in 1970 for hunting, although there have since been moves to eradicate them in an attempt to stop them damaging the protected flora of the National Park. The males of the species have large, curving horns but the three we were watching as they expertly clambered across the volcanic, boulder strewn valley wall appeared to be female as no horns were visible. The mouflon are extremely elusive and rarely seen and this was the first time in many years of walking on the island that I had encountered them. Unfortunately, they were too far away to photograph but more information about them can be found Here

Decending into the Barranco de Eris de Carnero

Eventually, they disappeared out of sight and we continued our descent into the valley and as we reached the path to the Paisaje Lunar, or Lunar Landscape, we descended into the cloud. As the chilly mist swirled around us, we reached this valley of strangely eroded pumice pinnacles, sculpted over the years by the wind and rain and after a break here to take in the views we continued through the pines before descending steeply into Vilaflor.

At the Lunar Landscape

After exactly five hours of excellent walking, including an encounter with one of the islands more elusive inhabitants, we had just enough time for a quick drink in a bar before catching the bus as it returned from the National Park to the coast.
(The walk from the Parador to Vilaflor is no.4 in the book 'Discovering Tenerife on Foot')          

Walking Tenerife's Badlands

Puerto de Güimar

Last week, I finally got around to walking the Malpais de Güimar, the volcanic coastline close to Puerto de Güimar on the east coast of Tenerife. This walk has been on my 'to do' list for some time and while it doesn't present much of a challenge either in time or effort required, it did prove to be a fascinating walk. Starting from the pleasant, if unremarkable seafront of Puerto de Güimar, the walk starts by an information board at the edge of the malpais and there are a couple of routes to choose from.

The Malpais de Güimar

I decided to follow the coastal path to the village of El Socorro and then return through the lava-fields at the base of the volcanic cinder cone of Montaña Grande. The word 'malpais' translates as 'badlands' and almost any area of volcanic wasteland in Tenerife gets saddled with this rather sinister sounding title. The lava in this instance issued forth from Montaña Grande a mere 10,000 years ago, so the area, geologically speaking, is in it's infancy. I was fortunate enough to have picked a gloriously sunny morning for my walk and set off from the edge of the village, passing ramshackle fisherman's shanties on the edge of the shore.

The Salt Flats

I followed the well-defined path as the sun sparkled on the Atlantic Ocean, the dramatic mountains of the Güimar Valley forming a fantastic, contrasting backdrop to the black, cardón strewn lava. As I approached the next information board, I noticed a number of flat, rectangular areas set in the lava and the board explained that these were 'slat flats', where sea water would become trapped and evaporate in the sun leaving behind the sea salt. Continuing, I arrived at the 'summit' of Montaña de la Mar, which at 27 metres above sea-level, barely qualifies for the title 'montaña' but on the top I found another information board explaining how the malpais came into being. The elevation, though modest, also gave an excellent aerial view of the lava fields. After around an hour of walking, I arrived at the village of El Socorro. Here, I found a pleasant stretch of black sand beach, which provided an excellent opportunity for a breather and I sat for a while in the hot sunshine watching the waves breaking on the shore before heading off through the village to locate the return path.

Montaña Grande

El Socorro, although pleasant enough, is unfortunate in that it has a large industrial estate backing onto it and as I left the village, I skirted the edge of the incongruously situated warehouses before picking up the path to Montaña Grande. Leaving the industry behind, I now followed a wide path to the volcanic cone, where it became covered in sand and yet another information board informed me that this originated from the beach at El Socorro, having been blown there by the wind. There are two routes around the foot of the cone and I had chosen the one closest to the sea as the other paralleled the TF1 motorway too closely for my liking. From Montaña Grande, I followed the easy path back to Puerto de Güimar, where I relaxed with a drink in the square on the seafront at one of cafes after a fairly easy but fascinating walk of around three hours.  

The View from Roque Imoque

Roque Imoque is a mountain that is familiar to all visitors to the south of Tenerife, although many may not know it's name. Lying just inland from Playa de Las Americas and Los Cristianos are the peaks of the Adeje Mountains and Roque Imoque, with it's needle-point summit, is one of the most recognisable. There is an easy path from the pass below the summit, although if you want to get right to the very tip, some scrambling skills are required as there is a rocky pinnacle on top with sheer rock walls providing a fairly tricky climb to the point of the 'needle'. However, there is a path just below the summit, which affords fabulous views of the surrounding countryside, including the other neighbouring peaks and also down to the coast and inland to Teide on a clear day. 

The needle-point summit of Roque Imoque

The nearby summit of Roque del Conde from Roque Imoque. The resort area of Costa Adeje can be seen in the background

The nearby twin-peaked summit of Roque de Los Bresos. Both this and Roque Imoque can be climbed from paths starting at the threshing circle visible in the bottom-right of the picture.

Looking south to the coast and Los Cristianos and the volcanic dome of Mt.Guaza. The 'rift' in the landscape is the Barranco del Rey with the peak of Roque del Conde to the right. 

The view inland across the Ifonche plateau to Teide and the National Park