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

   

Exploring San Miguel in Tenerife

Not too far from where I live in the south of Tenerife is the small hill town of San Miguel de Abona. Passing through the main street, it's easy to think that this slightly sleepy, fairly typical Canarian town has little of interest for those visiting the island but for anyone taking the time to leave the main road and investigate the narrow back streets, there is much of interest to be found. 

Salto del Pastor sculpture

Recently, in line with many other areas of the south, the walker is being catered for as numerous signposted hiking routes have sprung up, including two passing through San Miguel to Aldea Blanca. Even more recently, a town walk has been created taking the casual stroller on an interesting ramble around the back streets of the old part of the town, following newly installed information boards highlighting various points of interest to be found along the way. As you enter the town from San Lorenzo, you arrive at the Mirador de Las Palmeros, where you will find a map detailing the walk and marking points of interest. The mirador is easily identified by the unusual sculpture of a shepherd practising an ancient method of travelling quickly across steep, rugged terrain called Salto del Pastor, in which a large pole was used to negotiate steep slopes and ravines. This technique, which is believed to have been first been used by the Guanches, the islands original  inhabitants, has now been developed into a folk-sport. 

El Calvario

From the mirador, the walk heads for El Calvario, in the old part of town, where you will find the La Casa del Capitan. This traditional old Canarian house belonged to the Alfonso family until the end of the nineteenth century and Miguel Alfonso Martinez achieved the highest military rank in the municipality, which is where the house gets it's name. After the house was devastated by fire, it was purchased and restored by the town and now houses an historical and ethnographic museum. The walk heads along the Calle de La Iglesia, towards the church square, following the route of an old Camino Real, or Royal Way, that once connected the towns of Granadilla, San Miguel, Aldea Blanca and San Lorenzo with the north of the island. 

Calle de La Iglesia

This camino would have once been used by vendors selling or trading goods from village to village as well as shepherds moving their herds. The walk now passes La Vieja Bodega, where you can join El Camino de Las Lajas, a 3.5 kilometre signposted hiking route to the village of Aldea Blanca. This is another camino that besides the normal traffic of shepherds and vendors selling wares, was also used as a  'corpse road' with the dead being transported from Aldea Blanca to San Miguel for burial. As you continue along the Calle de la Iglesia, you will pass a small alleyway, which was once the site of a gofio mill and a generator, which was installed in 1922, making San Miguel the first municipality in the south of the island to have electric street lighting.  

House in the old part of San Miguel

Eventually, the walk arrives at the attractive church square shaded by Indian laurels. From here, there are superb views down across the town to the south coast and you will also find benches where you can rest in the shade and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.

Church in San Miguel

Other buildings of interest in the square include the old library and birthplace of a famous Canarian, John Bethencourt Alfonso, a doctor, historian and anthropologist, who wrote 'The History of the Guanche People'.

Part two of the 'Crater to Coast Walk - Vilaflor to La Centinela' from 'Discovering Tenerife on Foot', follows the Camino Real from the Plaza de La Iglesia through the town to La Hoya and beyond to La Centinela.

Walking to Montaña Colorada, Tenerife.

Yesterday, I walked from the boundary of the Las Cañadas National Park to the red volcanic cone of Montaña Colorada. The walk descends on forest trails giving excellent views of the surrounding forests of the Ifonche region and also the Adeje Mountains. The weather was very hazy, which restricted the views to a degree but I was still able to get some reasonable shots during the walk.

El Sombrerito at the start of the walk, near the entrance to the Las Cañadas National Park. Pico Viejo and Mt.Teide can be seen in the background.

Walking in the Teno Mountains

I have been busy guiding recently and as I sat having a post walk drink and chat with one of the walkers, I realised that one of the things that gives me most pleasure when showing people around this wonderful island is their reaction to some of the stunning scenery.

Masca from the summit of Pico Verde

This was brought home to me particularly this week as I led a walk in the Teno Mountains on a route above Masca. I have walked this route many times in the past and although I never tire of the superb views into the Masca Valley, it was nice to have my eyes 're-opened' by the reactions of those seeing them for the first time.

The Teno Mountains

Upon reaching the vertiginous summit of Pico Verde, we enjoyed spectacular aerial views down to Masca hundreds of feet below, while a strong wind made us ever mindful of the narrow ridge we were perched on. Later, we climbed to the summit of Pico de Gala, which is a much more sedate affair as an access road leads all of the way to the communications aerials and fire tower adorning the summit. 

The Palmar Valley

From here there are more stunning views to Masca and also the Palmar valley, as well as La Gomera and the coastline of Tenerife. Later, as we emerged from a magical section of laurisilva forest, we were greeted by the sight of the majestic peak of Teide and it's near neighbour Pico Viejo. 

Teide & Pico Viejo 

Although I never tire of this view, it was nice to hear the enthusiastic comments of others to remind myself just how lucky I am to be living here on this beautiful island.    

Walking to The Deserted Village in a calima

The Deserted village of Las Fuentes

During the recent calima I walked the 'Deserted Village' walk from the book, which in the event proved to be a mistake. I had suggested the walk to a friend who was visiting the island and a day or so before he arrived, a weather warning was issued on the island for high temperatures but we decided to go ahead regardless.

Cave house in Las Fuentes

Walking in Tenerife can often be quite a 'perspiration soaked' affair and never more so than in a calima, a hot, dusty wind from the Sahara, and I have never walked in one quite so hot as this proved to be. As the day wore on the temperatures soared into the high thirties and what would normally be a perfectly manageable walk of around 3.5 hours became a 5.5 hour test of endurance!

Finca Montiel

The route to the mostly abandoned village of Las Fuentes crosses three barrancos (ravines) and temperatures in the bottom of these must have been hitting the 40c mark. Crossing the barranco streambeds and climbing out of the opposite side felt a little like walking through an oven as the heat retained in the rocks of the barranco walls radiated outwards and felt as though the central heating had been accidentally turned onto high! It is always advisable when walking in Tenerife to take plenty of water and soft drinks, I always carry a minimum of 2.5 litres and frequently drink all of it, particularly in the summer. In this instance I had three litres with me and and could have probably drunk even more.

The Island of La Gomera from El Choro

Approaching the village of El Jaral, we struggled in the searing heat as we climbed very slowly out of the last barranco of the day before following the road downhill back to our car. The cold beers after the walk that we enjoyed on the way home never tasted so good! Although I have walked in some of the less intense calimas, it is advisable to avoid strenuous exercise during these periods, which normally last for two to fours days. So if the air suddenly fills with a fine 'mist' and the temperature rises it's probably a good idea to find a shady spot, pour yourself a cool drink and leave the walking to another day. Check the 'Amendments and Updates' at the top of the page for the latest route information. 

Walking from Tenerife's National Park to it's highest village

Yesterday, I caught the once a day bus to the Las Cañadas National Park to the start of a walk from the Parador to Vilaflor, the island's highest village. The route involved a climb to the Ucanca Pass and then onto the summit of Montaña Guajara, from where I planned to descend on the GR131 to the Lunar Landscape and eventually onto Vilaflor to catch the return bus. It meant I had to keep up a good pace as I only had 5.75 hours to get back to Vilaflor to catch the bus.

The Parador with Tenerife's 2nd highest peak, Pico Viejo, in the background

Leaving the Parador, I headed towards Montaña Guajara, Tenerife's fourth highest peak at just under 9,000ft. .

After forty minutes of walking, I was on the summit of the pass, where I stopped briefly for a snack and to enjoy the stunning views of the National Park and the Parador below, now reduced to the size of a dolls house.

From the pass, the route tracked diagonally below cliffs towards the summit, although from here, the path was not immediately obvious. 

The climb involved some minor scrambling over boulders with sheer drops hundreds of feet to the caldera floor below.

After one hour thirty minutes of walking, I reached the summit of Montaña Guajara, where I stopped for a short break to enjoy the views of Teide and the National Park.

Gran Canaria apparently floating in the sky from the summit

The Ucanca Valley from the summit

The east coast and Gran Canaria from the GR131

The Barranco de Las Arenas from the GR131

Descending from the summit, I joined the European GR131 route and began descending towards Montaña Arena, a black sand volcanic cone below Montaña Guajara. Here, the path becomes a boulder-lined route across this surreal black 'beach'

Descending swiftly, I joined the path to the Lunar Landscape, a valley of wind and rain eroded pumice pinnacles.

After a steep descent, the outlying houses of Vilaflor, the highest village in Tenerife, came into view.

After just under five hours of walking and jogging, I arrived in the centre of the village and one of the most welcome views on the whole walk!